UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No.1)
(Mark One)
x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-39687
Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 85-2749902 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer |
|
2877 Paradise Rd. #702 Las Vegas, Nevada |
89109 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
650-618-2524
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class: | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
| Units, each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-half of one Redeemable Warrant | DBDRU | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
| Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share | DBDR | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC | ||
| Redeemable Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | DBDRW | 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 x
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ¨ No x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition 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 | x | Smaller reporting company | x | |||
| Emerging growth company | x |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes x No ¨
The registrant’s shares were not listed on any exchange and had no value as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of 2020. The registrant’s units begin trading on the November 6, 2020 on the Nasdaq Capital Market and the registrant’s shares of Class A common stock and warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on November 19, 2020. The aggregate market value of the units outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price for the units on December 31, 2020, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market was approximately $240.8 million.
As of May 24, 2021 there were 23,156,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 5,789,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the registrant issued and outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company,” “we”, “our” or “us”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K, or this Amendment, to amend our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2020, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC”) on March 29, 2021, or the “Original Filing,” to restate our financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021 (the “Original Financial Statements”).
The restatement primarily relates to consideration of the factors in determining whether to classify contracts that may be settled in an entity’s own stock as equity of the entity or as an asset or liability in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. In the Original Financial Statements, the Company classified the public warrants and private placement warrants issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (the “Warrants”) as equity instruments. Upon further consideration of the rules and guidance, management of the Company concluded that the Warrants are precluded from equity classification. As a result, the Warrants should be recorded as liabilities on the balance sheet and measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations.
As a result, on May 24, 2021, after consultation with Marcum LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors concluded that the Original Financial Statements should no longer be relied upon and are to be restated in order to correct the classification error.
The Company’s accounting for the Warrants, compensation expense, and transaction costs associated with the Warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities did not have any effect on the Company’s previously reported investments held in trust, cash flows or cash.
The Company has not amended its Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 17, 2020 or its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on November 29, 2020 for the period affected by the restatement. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported is superseded by the information in this Amendment, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed report should no longer be relied upon.
The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein. In addition, the Management Discussion & Analysis, Risk Factors, Note 9a and Item 8 have been updated to detail further disclosure of the effects and actions taken by management and the Board of Directors.
In addition, as required by Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, new certifications by the Company’s principal executive officers and principal financial officer are filed as exhibits (in Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 31.3, 32.1, 32.2, and 32.3) to this Amendment under Item 15 of Part IV hereof.
Except as described above, this Amendment does not amend, update or change any other items or disclosures contained in the Original Filing, and accordingly, this Amendment does not reflect or purport to reflect any information or events occurring after the original filing date or modify or update those disclosures affected by subsequent events. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Original Filing.
Restatement Background
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC issued a public statement (the “Public Statement”) on accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”). The Public Statement discussed “certain features of warrants issued in SPAC transactions” that “may be common across many entities.” The Public Statement indicated that when one or more of such features is included in a warrant, the warrant “should be classified as a liability measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.”
This Amendment reflects the reclassification of the warrants in light of the Public Statement, subsequent to the filing of the Original Financial Statements (see Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein for more details on the impact of the restatement on our financial statements).
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Items Amended In This Amendment
For the convenience of the reader, this Amendment sets forth the Original Filing in its entirety, as amended to reflect the restatement. No attempt has been made in this Amendment to update other disclosures presented in the Original Filing, except as required to reflect the effects of the restatement. The following items have been amended as a result of the restatement:
| • | Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors. |
| • | Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
| • | Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
| • | Part II – Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. |
| • | Part IV – Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
This Amendment does not reflect adjustments for events occurring after March 29, 2021, the date of the filing of the Original Filing, except to the extent they are otherwise required to be included and discussed herein and did not substantively modify or update the disclosures herein other than as required to reflect the adjustments described above. This Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC since the date of filing of the Original Filing and all of the Company’s filings after the date hereof.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Report (as defined below), 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 of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or 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 ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial 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 initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • |
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; | |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | 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; or |
| • | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not 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. 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.
Unless otherwise stated in this Report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| • | “board of directors” or “board” are to the board of directors of the Company; |
| • | “Class A common stock” are to the Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001; |
| • | “Class B common stock” are to Class B common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001; |
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| • | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively; |
| • | “Continental” are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our trust account (as defined below) and warrant agent of our public warrants (as defined below); |
| • | “DGCL” are to the Delaware General Corporation Law; |
| • | “DWAC System” are to the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian System; |
| • | “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; |
| • | “FINRA” are to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; |
| • | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as provided elsewhere in this Report; |
| • | “GAAP” are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; |
| • | “IFRS” are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board; |
| • | “initial business combination” are to a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses; |
| • | “initial public offering” are to the initial public offering that was consummated by the Company in November 2020; |
| • | “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to the initial public offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| • | “Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; |
| • | “JOBS Act” are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
| • | “Marcum” are to Marcum LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | “Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Capital Market; |
| • | “PCAOB” are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States); |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; |
| • | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in the initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| • | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in the initial public offering or thereafter in the open market), to the private placement warrants if held by third parties other than our sponsor (or permitted transferees), and to any private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees), in each case, following the consummation of our initial business combination; |
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| • | “Registration Statement” are to the Form S-1 filed with the SEC on October 5, 2020, as amended; |
| • | “Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020; |
| • | “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” are to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; |
| • | “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; |
| • | “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
| • | “sponsor” are to Roman DBDR Tech Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
| • | “TMT” are to technology, media and telecom; |
| • | “trust account” are to the trust account in which certain proceeds of the sale of the units in the initial public offering and private placement warrants was placed following the closing of the initial public offering; |
| • | “units” are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one public share and one-third of one public warrant; |
| • | warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees; and |
| • | “we,” “us,” “Company” or “our Company” are to Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. |
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PART I
| Item 1. | Business. |
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we are focusing our search on companies in the TMT industries. Our management team has had significant success sourcing, acquiring, growing and monetizing these types of companies. We believe this experience makes us well suited to identify, source, negotiate and execute an initial business combination with the ultimate goal of pursuing attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.
Initial Public Offering
In November 2020, we consummated our initial public offering of 23,156,000 units (including our underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option with respect to 1,156,000 units). Each unit consists of one public share and one-half of one public warrant, with each public warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per whole share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $231,560,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 10,837,400 warrants (including 462,400 warrants sold in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option) to our sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of $10,837,400.
A total of $236,191,200, comprised of the proceeds from the initial public offering (including the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option) and proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants was placed in the trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.
Management Team
We believe our management team is well positioned to identify and evaluate businesses within the TMT industries that would benefit from being a public company and from access to our expertise. We believe we will achieve this mission by utilizing our team’s extensive experience in growing and operating companies within the TMT industries as well as our broad network of contacts in the TMT industries.
Business Strategy
Our acquisition strategy focuses broadly on the TMT industries with an emphasis on the cloud data storage and information security spaces. Both markets are experiencing substantive growth driven by the combination of increasing data sources and rapid adoption by society of the digital community enabled by this infrastructure.
Our management team has a unique combination of deal structuring experience to address the specific needs of our target market coupled with proven operating capabilities based upon its substantial technical expertise and deep understanding of the underlying technology path and business adoption cycle. The team, driven by these skills, has realized capital in various private companies that have exited via IPO and trade sale.
Our team has worked together for over 20 years across Silicon Valley, including roles as founders, technology executives and board directors, which has allowed our team to develop a pipeline of proprietary deal flow based upon our relationships with many C-Level executives / founders, former employees and associates, and deal partners across the leading venture capital and private equity groups.
We believe our management team’s experience and deal flow pipeline will allow us to create value for our stockholders over time.
The cloud computing market is expected to grow from approximately $371 billion in 2020 to over $832 billion by 2025, cloud storage is expected to grow from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to over 175 zettabytes in 2025 and the number of connected devices is expected to grow to over 55 billion by 2025. We believe these trends create an increased cyber risk, with an estimated over $5 trillion of risk over the next five years driving the demand for information security solutions.
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The initial focus of our acquisition search is concentrating on companies driven by these three macro themes combining security, cloud computing and cloud data storage. The market for cloud-based solutions is accelerating with Bessemer Venture Partners predicting a majority of the software market will be in the cloud by 2025 and nearly 100% by 2032. This trend has created several recent cloud-based winners including Zoom, DataDog and Snowflake. The Covid-19 effect is accelerating the movement to the cloud across a variety of industries.
We are targeting established companies with large and growing revenues and diversified customer bases that are selling well-developed and/or mature technologies and services into the new market segments that gave been created as part of the above technology trends, and/or are category leaders.
The selection process leverages our team’s relationships with experienced executive teams and VCs/ private sponsors, which we believe can be enhanced with our team’s business development assistance. Our management team has extensive relationships in the Stanford University and University of Michigan alumni networks and have a unique technical ability to assess market and product risk with substantial business development and operational skills to scale a business globally.
Our initial focus is on U.S. companies, but we are also considering European and Asian entities that have established a proven business model and can use capital to rapidly scale. We will utilize our team’s many years of experience and relationships to work with top venture firms looking to efficiently scale their winning portfolio companies and partner with private equity firms looking to build further business value in the technology industry.
We believe our management team has a competitive advantage as a result of its experience identifying emerging market disruptive leaders and leading global technology companies, with strengths in company operations, business and corporate development and mergers and acquisitions coupled with the application of technologies in Fortune 5000 enterprise accounts. This is coupled with our team’s substantial deal experience, where they have worked cooperatively with targets and companies to develop and execute financings on a primary and secondary basis, using different parts of the capital structure and financial structuring to support dividend recapitalizations and other corporate financing strategies to maximize the returns of stakeholders. Our deep technical domain expertise in both information security and cloud data storage allows us to capitalize and partner with management teams looking to build multi-billion dollar companies. Our combined experience including technical expertise enables us to offer public investors and target company stakeholders a differentiated approach to accelerating growth in key global markets by helping management enhance operational efficiency and scale. In the last decade, members of our management team have been investors and operators in multiple start-ups that completed an initial public offering. They have also been involved in seeding early-stage founders and helping raise the initial Series A funding while also running the companies to access the public markets through an initial public offering. In addition, they have executed secondary offerings and recapitalization strategies to serve the specific needs and goals of founders and early investors.
The management team has assisted in pioneering distinct markets including Network Intrusion Detection in the early 2000’s with investment and management as either a principal or board member at Recourse Technologies (acquired by Symantec in 2002) and Intruvert (acquired by McAfee). We also invested seed capital and were the initial management team for FusionIO, creating the nascent PCIe Card. Dr. Basile and Mr. Doll, Jr. transitioned from their executive roles at Fusion IO to Violin Memory in 2009 prior to Fusion IO’s IPO in 2011, after which the company’s shares traded up to $40.34 in November 2011 and then traded as low as $7.92 in June 2014 before being acquired in June 2014 for $11.22 per share by SanDisk. Violin Memory was one of the first developers of the Flash Array market, which, according to MarketandMarkets, is expected to grow rapidly from an estimated $5.9 billion in 2018 to an expected $17.8 billion by 2023. Violin shares were offered to the public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013, and Dr. Basile and Mr. Doll, Jr. left their executive roles in December 2013 when the company’s revenues were reduced by the shutdown of the United States federal government, a key company customer. Three years later, in December 2016, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Soros Management, a large equity and bond holder, acquired the assets of Violin Memory through bankruptcy procedures in April 2017.
Business Combination Criteria
Our business combination criteria is not limited to a particular industry or geographic sector, however, given the experience of our management team and board, we are focusing our search on companies in the TMT industries.
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating initial business combination opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
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Size We are focusing on companies that alone, or through a strategic combination with another company, have a most recent enterprise valuation between $500 million and $1.5 billion. We believe at this scale we can most effectively apply the experience and resources of the management team to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. Stage: From late stage venture through mature enterprise buyout.
Location: We are searching for attractive target acquisition opportunities globally, with an emphasis on companies in North America and Europe.
Focus: We are targeting companies in the Security and Cloud Data Storage Tech sectors globally. Within those broader sectors, we are concentrating on companies that are aligned to the secular trends of digitization, data-centricity and broader technology adoption and positioned for strong growth that can be enhanced through partnership with our management team.
Management Capability: We are targeting companies with strong management teams that are capable of scaling to operate successfully on a global basis. Our management team is committed to providing support, guidance and, where necessary, additional management talent to assist the target company in executing its value creation strategy and achieving its vision.
Differentiation: We are looking for potential acquisitions that have powerful competitive advantages, strong innovation capabilities and an adaptive management team committed to a positive culture grounded in strong values, including the importance of diversity and inclusion while serving the interests of a broader set of stakeholders.
Benefit from being a Public Company: We are evaluating companies that can benefit greatly from becoming a public company and the associated public profile and broader access to capital.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity.
Competitive Strengths
We leverage the following sources of competitive strength in seeking to achieve our business strategy:
• Management team’s industry knowledge and contacts.
• Deal flow and business development resources available from our sponsor and its affiliates.
• Management team’s experience and reputation in sourcing opportunities.
• Extensive relationships within the private equity community (a likely source of deal flow).
• Management team’s demonstrated ability to create value for their shareholders.
• Strong track record of operational excellence.
Our Acquisition, Investment and Post-Closing Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things: an analysis of overall industry and competitive conditions, a review of historical financial and operating data, meetings with incumbent management and employees, interaction with third-parties who are industry experts, on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We will also utilize the expertise of our management team and our sponsor’s and its affiliates’ resources in analyzing and evaluating operating plans, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business as well as the suitability of the target to become a public company.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders fairness opinions that our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
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Our Business Combination Process
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our founders shares, common stock and/or private placement warrants, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of 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 were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
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 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. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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.
Our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period varies based on the current stage of the business combination process. We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in many industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure as a public company makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
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Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following November 10, 2025, (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 Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
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 common stock 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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $228,110,489, after payment of $8,104,600 of deferred underwriting fees, before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in any operations other than the pursuit of our initial business. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements into which we may enter), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
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If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
Target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the prospectus for our initial public offering and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction; in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
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If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the “Investment Company Act”. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
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Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and
• cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
| Type of Transaction | Whether Stockholder Approval is Required | |
| Purchase of assets | No | |
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | No | |
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | No | |
| Merger of the company with a target | Yes |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;
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• any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
• the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. 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. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of 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 public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
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Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct 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 require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, we will not redeem any public shares unless 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. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
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In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 8,683,501, or 37.5%, of the 23,156,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and our sponsor, officers and directors do not purchase any public shares) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not redeem our public shares unless our net tangible assets are at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
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Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the meeting held to approve a proposed initial business combination by a date set forth in the proxy materials mailed to such holders or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy materials until the date set forth in such proxy materials to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until May 10, 2022.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 10, 2022, 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 dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 18-month time period.
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Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 10, 2020. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 18-month time period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares unless our net tangible assets are at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.20 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, 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 dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 18th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
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If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter 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 business combinations. 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 initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 2877 Paradise Rd. #702, Las Vegas, NV 89109 and our telephone number is (650) 618-2524. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
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Employees
We currently have three officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
On November 5, 2020, we registered our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, 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 targets we may conduct an initial business combination with 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 initial 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 GAAP 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 will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 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 have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following November 10, 2025, (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 shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
| Item 1A. | Risk Factors. |
As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:
| ● | we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target; |
| ● | we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame; |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized; |
| ● | we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ● | our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
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| ● | we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption; |
| ● | we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time; |
| ● | you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination; |
| ● | trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy; |
| ● | an active market for our public securities’ may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination; and |
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●
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our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management.
Our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and are recorded at fair value upon issuance with any changes in fair value each period reported in our statement of operations, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Following the consummation of our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement, we have 22,415,400 warrants outstanding (comprised of the 11,578,000 public warrants included in the units and the 10,837,400 private placement warrants). We have recorded the warrant liability at fair value upon issuance as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third-party valuation firm. The warrant liability is adjusted for the change in fair value each period with a charge or credit recognized in our statement of operations. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings, which may be material, may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities. In addition, potential targets may seek a business combination partner that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management also evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls and we will disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. 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 on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere in this report, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the classification of our warrants as equity instead of liabilities. On May 24, 2021, our audit committee authorized management to restate our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, and, accordingly, management concluded that the control deficiency that resulted in the incorrect classification of our warrants constituted a material weakness as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our warrant liabilities, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures for the affected period.
We have implemented a remediation plan, described under Item 9A, Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures, to remediate the material weakness surrounding our historical presentation of our warrants but can give no assurance that the measures we have taken will prevent any future material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Even though we have strengthened our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements. |
For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our Registration Statement.
| Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments. |
Not applicable.
| Item 2. | Properties. |
Our executive offices are located at 2877 Paradise Rd. #702, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109 and our telephone number is (650) 618-2524. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
| Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
To the knowledge of our management team, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
| Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
Not applicable.
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| Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
| (a) | Market Information |
Our units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols DBDRU, DBDR, and DBDRW, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on November 6, 2020, and our public shares and public warrants commenced separate public trading on November 19, 2020.
| (b) | Holders |
On March 29, 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our shares of Class A common stock and two holders of record of our warrants.
| (c) | Dividends |
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
| (d) | Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans. |
None.
| (e) | Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities |
None.
| (f) | Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers |
None.
| (g) | Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering |
In November 2020, the Company consummated its initial public offering of 23,156,000 units, including 1,156,000 units issued pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one public share and one-half of one public warrant, with each whole public warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one public share for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $231,560,000.
A total of $236,191,200 of the proceeds from the initial public offering (which amount includes $7,700,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and the sale of the private placement warrants, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account at at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental, acting as trustee. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act.
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| Item 6. | Reserved. |
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
References to the “Company,” “us,” “our” or “we” refer to Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes included herein.
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our 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, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations has been amended and restated to give effect to the restatement and revision of our Original Financial Statements. We are restating our historical financial results to reclassify our Warrants as derivative liabilities pursuant to ASC 815-40 rather than as a component of equity as we had previously treated the Warrants. The impact of the restatement is reflected in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations below. Other than as disclosed in the Explanatory Note and with respect to the impact of the restatement, no other information in this Item 7 has been amended and this Item 7 does not reflect any events occurring after the Original Filing. The impact of the restatement is more fully described in Note 2 to our financial statements included in Item 15 of Part IV of this Amendment and Item 9A: Controls and Procedures, both contained herein.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on August 21, 2020, for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities through December 31, 2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and, after our Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account. We expect to incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $5,340,678, which consists of formation costs of $188,995, change in fair value of warrant liability of $3,810,618, compensation expense of $650,244, and transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering of $714,710 offset by interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $22,970 and an unrealized gain on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $919.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On November 10, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 22,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $220,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 10,375,000 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating gross proceeds of $10,375,000.
On November 17, 2020, in connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 1,156,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 462,400 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $12,022,400.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $236,191,200 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $13,206,613 in transaction costs, including $4,631,200 of underwriting fees, $8,104,600 of deferred underwriting fees and $470,813 of other costs.
For the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $525,572. Net loss of $5,340,678 was affected by interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $22,970, change in fair value of warrant liability of $4,460,862, transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering of $714,710, an unrealized gain on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $919 and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which used $336,577 of cash from operating activities.
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As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $236,215,089. 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 deferred underwriting commissions and income taxes payable), to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $603,615 outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, 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 a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Upon consummation of a Business Combination, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants identical to the Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.
We monitor the adequacy of our working capital in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial Business Combination. 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 Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. 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.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We began incurring these fees on November 6, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and our liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,104,600 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will be waived by the underwriters in the event that the Company does not complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
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Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Warrant Liability
We account for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40-15-7D and 7F under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Net Loss per Common Share
We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable taxes, if any, by the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption outstanding for the period. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for and non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing net loss less income attributable to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, by the weighted average number of shares of non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
| Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk. |
Through December 31, 2020, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities, activities relating to our initial public offering and since the initial public offering, the search for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination. We have engaged in limited operations and have not generated any revenues. We have not engaged in any hedging activities since our inception on August 21, 2020. We do not expect to engage in any hedging activities with respect to the market risk to which we are exposed.
The net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account at at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental, acting as trustee, have been 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.
| Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
Reference is made to pages F-1 through F-17 comprising a portion of this Report.
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| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. |
None.
| Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures. |
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officers and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In connection with this Amendment, our management re-evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officers and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Due to a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting over the accounting for complex transactions, which resulted in the restatement of the Company’s Warrants as described in the Explanatory Note to this Amendment, the Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls were not effective as of December 31, 2020.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
This Report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the 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.) In light of the material weakness which resulted in the restatement of our financial statements included in this Amendment, we plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
| Item 9B. | Other Information. |
None.
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| Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance |
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:
| Name | Age | Position | |||
| Dr. Donald G. Basile | 55 | Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| Dixon Doll, Jr. | 53 | Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| John C. Small | 53 | Chief Financial Officer | |||
| Dixon Doll | 78 | Senior Director | |||
| Alan Clingman | 61 | Director | |||
| Paul Misir | 48 | Director | |||
| Arun Abraham | 39 | Director | |||
| James L. Nelson | 72 | Director |
Dr. Donald G. Basile has served as our Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer since inception. Dr. Basile has also served as an executive officer and director at Monsoon Blockchain Corporation since November 2019 and as a director of GIBF, GP Inc. since September 2018. Dr. Basile previously served as a director of Violin Memory, Inc. from April 2009 to January 2014 and as its Chief Executive Officer from April 2009 to December 2013. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of FusionIO from January 2008 to March 2009 and as its Chairman from July 2006 to March 2009. Dr. Basile previously worked at AT&T Bell Labs, IBM, United Health Group and Lenfest Group (acquired by Comcast) and served as Managing Director of Raza Foundries and Vice President of Raza Microelectonics (RMI). Dr. Basile received a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on distributed computing from Stanford University, a MS in Electrical Engineering focused on advanced computer architecture from Stanford University and a BS in Electrical Engineering with a minor in economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. We believe Dr. Basile is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his depth of investment experience and vast network of relationships.
Dixon Doll, Jr. has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer since inception. Mr. Doll is currently also the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of DBM Cloud Systems, Inc. since January 2016 and the Managing Director of Longstreet Ventures, Inc. since January 2003. From July 2009 to January 2014, Mr. Doll served as the Chief Operating Officer and as a director of Violin Memory, Inc. He has also previously worked as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development at FusionIO from February 2008 to February 2009, as the Vice President of Corporate Development of NEON from May 1998 to July 2001 and as Vice President of Corporate Development of Recourse Technologies from July 2001 to August 2002. In addition, he was a Business Development Manager at Oracle Alliances Division from September 1994 to May 1998. Mr. Doll has previously served as a consultant to Oak Investment Partners, GTGR, Carlyle Group and DCM. He also is a partner at Birchwood Partners, an angel fund that helps early stage companies launch. Mr. Doll is the son of Dixon Doll, one of our director nominees. Mr. Doll holds a bachelors of arts from Georgetown University and has been a member of the board of advisors to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts since 2012. He holds an MBA from The University of Michigan.
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John C. Small has served as our Chief Financial Officer since inception. Mr. Small is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Diamond Standard, and served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Quanterra Capital Management LP from May 2019 to December 2020. He served as the Chief Operating Officer of Mode Media from April 2016 to September 2016, and the Chief Financial Officer of Viggle, Inc. (Nasdaq: VGGL) from September 2012 to October 2015. He served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Tsunami XR from October 2016 to May 2019. Mr. Small joined GLG Partners in 2000 as a Senior Asset Manager responsible for Telecom, Media, Technology and Renewable Energy investments for the GLG North American Opportunity Fund and served as the President of the GLG North America office from April 2000 to August 2011. He worked as a Telecom and Media analyst at Ulysses Management from January 1997 to March 2000 and as a Telecom analyst at Odyssey Partners from March 1996 to January 1997. He also worked as an equity research analyst at Dillon Read (from January 1992 to September 1993) and Morgan Stanley (from October 1993 to February 1996). Mr. Small has previously served as a director of Loyalty Alliance, Inc., PayEase Ltd., INFINIA Corporation, ViSole Energy, Inc., New Millennium Solar Equipment Co, ShortList Media Ltd, DraftDay Inc., and Spinvox Ltd. Mr. Small received a BA in Economics concentrating in International Relations from Cornell University.
Dixon Doll has served as our Senior Director since November 2020. Mr. Doll currently serves as Vice Chairman on the Advisory Board for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Institute (SIEPR). Previously, Mr. Doll served as the Chairman of Network Equipment Technologies (NWK) and as a director of DIRECTV (DTV). Mr. Doll was elected to the Board of the National Venture Capital Association in 2005 and served on the Executive Committee and as Chairman from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Doll led DCM Ventures’ investments in About.com (acquired by The New York Times Co.), @Motion (acquired by Openwave), Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR), Coradiant (acquired by BMC), Force10 Networks (acquired by Dell), Foundry Networks (Nasdaq: FDRY), Internap (Nasdaq: INAP), Ipivot (acquired by Intel), and Neutral Tandem (Nasdaq: TNDM). He is a Board Member of Catholic Information Services (CIS), the Papal Foundation Rome and the University of San Francisco, where he serves as Chairman of the investment committee. He received his B.S. degree (cum laude) from Kansas State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, where he was a National Science Foundation scholar. Mr. Doll is the father of Dixon Doll, Jr., our Co-Chief Executive Officer. We believe that Mr. Doll is well qualified to serve as a member of our board because of his extensive investment, his service as a current and former director of public companies, and his vast network of relationships.
Alan Clingman has served as our one of our directors since November 2020. Since January 2008, Mr. Clingman has served as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Yellow River Asset Management. He has also served as the co-founder of LRG Energy since February 2018. Mr. Clingman started his first business, Coal & Carbon Industries, in 1981 and purchased AIOC, a small commodities trading company in New York, in 1988. He also served as the CEO and Chairman of Marquis Jet from March 2001 to April 2003 and founded Cortiva Education from November 2003 to January 2007, which was acquired by Steiner Leisure (NASDAQ: STNR). We believe Mr. Clingman is well qualified to serve as a member of our board due to his strategic expertise, deep business knowledge and vast network of relationships.
Paul Misir has served as our one of our directors since November 2020. Since May 2013, Mr. Misir has served as the founder and Managing Partner of Notos LLC, where he consults boards of late stage private and public telecom, data, and technology companies on corporate strategy and the development of capital markets offerings. From July 2001 to December 2011, Mr. Misir served as the Founder and Managing Partner of Morning Street Capital and its related funds (including as Founder and CEO of its predecessor merchant bank and market research advisor, Columbia Strategy LLC). Mr. Misir holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. We believe Mr. Misir is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his depth of investment experience and vast network of relationships.
Arun Abraham has served as our one of our directors since November 2020. Mr. Abraham is an executive director at M. Klein and Company, a global strategic advisory firm, where he advises technology, FinTech, media, sports and other companies and select financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and other large private investors. Since joining M. Klein and Company in July 2017, Mr. Abraham has also helped execute various special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) processes and transactions for both SPACs sponsored by M. Klein and for third-party advisory clients. Previously, Mr. Abraham was an investment banker at Lazard Frères & Co. from August 2016 to June 2017 and at Evercore Partners from May 2013 to August 2016, where he advised technology, media, FinTech, healthcare and other leading global companies and investors. From 2007 to 2011, he served as an attorney at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and is a member of the New York State Bar. Mr. Abraham holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a J.D. from USC Law School and a B.A. from Yale University. We believe Mr. Abraham is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his depth of experience with strategic investment, M&A and SPAC transactions including with companies in the technology sector, capital markets experience, and his broad network of relevant investor, financial and technology industry relationships.
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James L. Nelson has served as our one of our directors since December 2020. Mr. Nelson has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Global Net Lease, Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, since July 2017 and has been a director of the company since March 2017. Mr. Nelson’s former leadership positions are many. He was director of Herbalife Nutrition Ltd from 2014 to 2020 and lead director from July 2019; former director and member of the audit committee of Caesars Entertainment Corporation, a casino-entertainment company, from March 2019 until October 2020; former director and member of the audit committee of Icahn Enterprises GP from June 2001 to March 2019; former CEO of Orbitex Management, a financial services company; and former CEO of Eaglescliff Corporation, a specialty investment banking, consulting, and wealth management firm. His previous director positions include membership on the boards of American Entertainment Properties, Tropicana Entertainment, and Take Two Interactive Software. We believe Mr. Nelson is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his significant public company experience.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of six directors, 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 stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Alan Clingman and James L. Nelson, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Dixon Doll and Paul Misir, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Dr. Donald G. Basile and Arun Abraham, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
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, other than the Chairman of the Board which is appointed to a three year term and can only be removed for cause. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated amended and restated bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Pursuant to an agreement with our sponsor, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that complies with Nasdaq rules, has been approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee has been filed as an exhibit to this Report.
Audit Committee
James L. Nelson, Arun Abraham, Paul Misir and Alan Clingman serve as the members of our audit committee, and Mr. Nelson chairs 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. Each of James L. Nelson, Arun Abraham, Paul Misir and Alan Clingman 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 Mr. Nelson 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 registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
• pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
• setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;
• setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
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• obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (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 and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence;
• reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
• reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
Arun Abraham, Paul Misir and Alan Clingman serve as the members of our 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. Each of Arun Abraham, Paul Misir and Alan Clingman is independent and Mr. Misir chairs 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, if any is paid by us, 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, if any is paid by us, 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 the payment to our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an 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 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.
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Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 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. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are James L. Nelson, Arun Abraham, Paul Misir and Alan Clingman. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. 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 stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to this Report. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. 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.
| Item 11. | Executive Compensation |
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement or consulting fee, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
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 stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial 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 initial 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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We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
The compensation committee has reviewed and discussed this Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management and, based upon its review and discussions, the compensation committee recommended to the board of directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Report.
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| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of December 31, 2020 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock, by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock; |
| ● | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and |
| ● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 28,945,000 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 23,156,000 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) 5,789,000 shares of our Class B common stock, issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020. On all matters to be voted upon, except for the election of directors of the board, holders of the shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock 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 Report.
| Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Class | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock | |||||||||||||||
| Roman DBDR Tech Sponsor LLC (3) | -- | -- | 5,789,000 | 100.00 | % | 20.00 | % | |||||||||||||
| Dr. Donald G. Basile (3) | -- | -- | 5,789,000 | 100.00 | % | 20.00 | % | |||||||||||||
| Dixon Doll, Jr. (3) | -- | -- | 5,789,000 | 100.00 | % | 20.00 | % | |||||||||||||
| John C. Small (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Dixon Doll (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Alan Clingman (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Paul Misir (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Arun Abraham (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| James L. Nelson (4) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (8 individuals) | -- | -- | 5,789,000 | 100.00 | % | 20.00 | % | |||||||||||||
| Other 5% owners | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||||||||||
| Karpus Investment Management (5) | 4,272,590 | 18.45 | % | -- | -- | 14.76 | % | |||||||||||||
| * | less than 1% |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 2877 Paradise Rd. #702 Las Vegas, NV 89109. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
| (3) | Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. Dr. Donald G. Basile, our Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Dixon Doll, Jr., our Co-Chief Executive Officer, are the managing members of our sponsor. As such, they have voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by our sponsor and may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. |
| (4) | Each of these individuals holds a direct or indirect interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| (5) | According to the Schedule 13G filed on December 10, 2020 with the SEC by Karpus Management, Inc., d/b/a Karpus Investment Management ("KIM"), KIM is an investment adviser who has sole voting power with respect to 3,940,090 Class A shares and sole dispositive authority with respect to 4,272,590 Class A shares. The principal business address of KIM is 183 Sully's Trail, Pittsford, New York 14534. |
29
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Table
None.
Changes in Control
None.
| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
In August 2020, our sponsor purchased 7,906,250 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. In October 2020, our sponsor returned to us, at no cost, an aggregate of 1,581,250 founder shares which we cancelled, resulting in an aggregate of 6,325,000 founder shares outstanding and held by our sponsor. At the time of closing our initial public offering, another 536,000 founder shares were forfeited, resulting in 5,789,000 founder shares outstanding, all held by our sponsor. The founder shares (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,837,400 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($10,837,400 in the aggregate) in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any 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 business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals 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. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the offering. As of November 10, 2020, we had borrowed $95,657 under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of our initial public offering. The loan was repaid upon the closing of our initial public offering.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
30
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We entered into a registration and shareholder rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, which was filed with the Registration Statement.
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 Messrs. Clingman, Misir and Abraham are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
| Item 14. | Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Form 10-Q and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled $30,240. The aggregate fees of Marcum related to audit services in connection with our initial public offering totaled $41,200. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees 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.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we did not pay Marcum any audit-related fees.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax services, planning or advice for the year ended December 31, 2020.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
31
| Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules |
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Report: |
| (1) | Financial Statements |
| (2) | Financial Statements Schedule |
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes beginning on F-1 on this Report.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
| Item 16. | Form 10-K Summary |
Not applicable.
32
ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the accompanying financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, have been restated.
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/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Melville, NY
March 29, 2021 except for the effects of the restatement discussed in Note 2, as to which the date is May 24, 2021
F-2
ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP.
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(As Restated)
| ASSETS | ||||
| Current Assets | ||||
| Cash | $ | 603,615 | ||
| Prepaid expenses | 434,689 | |||
| Total Current Assets | 1,038,304 | |||
| Cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | 236,215,089 | |||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 237,253,393 | ||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
| Current Liabilities | ||||
| Accrued expenses | $ | 98,112 | ||
| Total Current Liabilities | 98,112 | |||
| Warrant liability | 27,455,162 | |||
| Deferred underwriting payable | 8,104,600 | |||
| Total Liabilities | 35,657,874 | |||
| Commitments | ||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, 19,274,070 shares at redemption value | 196,595,514 | |||
| Stockholders’ Equity | ||||
| Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | — | |||
| Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 3,881,930 issued and outstanding (excluding 19,274,070 shares subject to possible redemption) | 389 | |||
| Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,789,000 shares issued and outstanding | 579 | |||
| Additional paid-in capital | 10,339,715 | |||
| Accumulated deficit | (5,340,678 | ) | ||
| Total Stockholders’ Equity | 5,000,005 | |||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | $ | 237,253,393 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP.
(As Restated)
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 21, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
| For the Period | ||||
| from | ||||
| August 21, | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| (Inception) | ||||
| Through | ||||
| December 31, | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| Operating and formation costs | $ | 188,995 | ||
| Loss from operations | (188,995 | ) | ||
| Other expense: | ||||
| Change in fair value of derivative liability: Private Placement Warrants | (1,842,358 | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of derivative liability: Public Warrants | (1,968,260 | ) | ||
| Transaction costs: Private Placement Warrants | (22,475 | ) | ||
| Transaction costs: Private Public Warrants | (692,235 | ) | ||
| Compensation Expense | (650,244 | ) | ||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 22,970 | |||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 919 | |||
| Other expense, net | (5,151,683 | ) | ||
| Loss before provision for income taxes | (5,340,678 | ) | ||
| Provision for income taxes | — | |||
| Net loss | $ | (5,340,678 | ) | |
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A Common stock subject to possible redemption | 19,525,316 | |||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A Common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 0.00 | ||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Common stock | 7,018,311 | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Common stock | (0.76 | ) | ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(As Restated)
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 21, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
Class A | Class B | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – August 21, 2020 (Inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | — | 6,325,000 | 633 | 24,367 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of 23,156,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts | 23,156,000 | 2,315 | — | — | 206,908,882 | — | 206,911,197 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares | — | — | (536,000 | ) | (54 | ) | 54 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | (19,274,070 | ) | (1,926 | ) | — | — | (196,593,588 | ) | — | (196,595,514 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (5,340,678 | ) | (5,340,678 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2020 | 3,881,930 | $ | 389 | 5,789,000 | $ | 579 | $ | 10,339,715 | $ | (5,340,678 | ) | $ | 5,000,005 | |||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP.
(As Restated)
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 21, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
| Net loss | $ | (5,340,678 | ) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | (22,970 | ) | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | 4,460,862 | |||
| Transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering | 714,710 | |||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account | (919 | ) | ||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
| Prepaid expenses | (434,689 | ) | ||
| Accrued expenses | 98,112 | |||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (525,572 | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
| Investment of cash in Trust Account | (236,191,200 | ) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (236,191,200 | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 226,928,800 | |||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 10,837,400 | |||
| Proceeds from promissory note – related party | 95,657 | |||
| Repayment of promissory note – related party | (95,657 | ) | ||
| Payment of offering costs | (445,813 | ) | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 237,320,387 | |||
| Net Change in Cash | 603,615 | |||
| Cash – Beginning of period | — | |||
| Cash – End of period | $ | 603,615 | ||
| Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities: | ||||
| Initial classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 200,570,524 | ||
| Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | (3,975,006 | ) | |
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 8,104,600 | ||
| Payment of offering costs by the Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B common stock | $ | 25,000 | ||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares | $ | (54 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on August 21, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”).
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on November 5, 2020. On November 10, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 22,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $220,000,000, which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 10,375,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Roman DBDR Tech Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $10,375,000, which is described in Note 4.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on November 10, 2020, an amount of $224,400,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), to be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, as described below.
On November 12, 2020, the underwriters notified the Company of their intention to partially exercise their over-allotment option. As such, on November 17, 2020, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 1,156,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, and the sale of an additional 462,400 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $12,022,400. A total of $11,791,200 of the net proceeds was deposited into the Trust Account, bringing the aggregate proceeds held in the Trust Account to $236,191,200.
Transaction costs amounted to $13,206,613, consisting of $4,631,200 of underwriting fees, $8,104,600 of deferred underwriting fees and $470,813 of other offering costs.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. NASDAQ rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with a proposed Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
F-7
If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that, a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than 15% of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.20 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed (a) to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek stockholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by May 10, 2022 (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the amount initially deposited into the Trust Account ($10.20).
F-8
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure its stockholders that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
NOTE 2 — RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company previously accounted for its outstanding Public Warrants (as defined in Note 4) and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The warrant agreement governing the Warrants includes a provision that provides for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant. In addition, the warrant agreement includes a provision that in the event of a tender offer or exchange offer made to and accepted by holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a single class of stock, all holders of the Warrants would be entitled to receive cash for their Warrants (the “tender offer provision”).
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement, dated as of November 5, 2020, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Agreement”).
In further consideration of the SEC Statement, the Company’s management further evaluated the Warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. ASC Section 815-40-15 addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s common stock. Under ASC Section 815-40-15, a warrant is not indexed to the issuer’s common stock if the terms of the warrant require an adjustment to the exercise price upon a specified event and that event is not an input to the fair value of the warrant. Based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s Private Placement Warrants are not indexed to the Company’s common stock in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares. In addition, based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the tender offer provision fails the “classified in stockholders’ equity” criteria as contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-25.
As a result of the above, the Company should have classified the Warrants as derivative liabilities in its previously issued financial statements. Under this accounting treatment, the Company is required to measure the fair value of the Warrants at the end of each reporting period as well as re-evaluate the treatment of the warrants (including on November 10, 2020 and December 31, 2020) and recognize changes in the fair value from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for the current period.
F-9
| As Previously Reported | Adjustments | As Restated | ||||||||||
| Balance sheet as of November 10, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liability | $ | — | $ | 22,547,500 | $ | 22,547,500 | ||||||
| Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption | 212,828,471 | (22,547,500 | ) | 190,280,971 | ||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 113 | 222 | 335 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 4,999,970 | 1,303,608 | 6,303,578 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (712 | ) | (1,303,830 | ) | (1,304,542 | ) | ||||||
| Balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liability | $ | — | $ | 27,455,162 | $ | 27,455,162 | ||||||
| Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption | 224,050,680 | (27,455,162 | ) | 195,595,518 | ||||||||
| Common Stock | 119 | 270 | 389 | |||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital | 5,164,409 | 5,175,301 | 10,339,710 | |||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit | (165,106 | ) | (5,175,571 | ) | (5,340,677 | ) | ||||||
| Stockholders’ Equity | 5,000,001 | 4 | 5,000,005 | |||||||||
| Statement of Operations for the Period from August 21, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | $ | — | $ | (4,460,862 | ) | $ | (4,460,862 | ) | ||||
| Transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering | — | (714,710 | ) | (714,710 | ) | |||||||
| Net loss | (165,106 | ) | (5,175,572 | ) | (5,340,678 | ) | ||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Common stock subject to possible redemption | 21,828,647 | (2,303,331 | ) | 19,525,316 | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, Common stock subject to possible redemption | 0.00 | — | 0.00 | |||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, Common stock | 6,078,552 | 939,759 | 7,018,311 | |||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Common stock | (0.03 | ) | (0.73 | ) | (0.76 | ) | ||||||
| Cash Flow Statement for the Period from August 21, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 (audited) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss | (165,106 | ) | (5,175,572 | ) | (5,340,678 | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | $ | — | $ | (4,460,862 | ) | $ | (4,460,862 | ) | ||||
| Transaction costs associated with Initial Public Offering | — | (714,710 | ) | (714,710 | ) | |||||||
| Initial classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | 224,215,068 | (23,644,544 | ) | 200,570,524 | ||||||||
| Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | (164,388 | ) | (3,810,618 | ) | (3,975,006 | ) | ||||||
NOTE 3. 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 (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder 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 statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
F-10
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 did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2020, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds which are primarily invested in U.S. Treasury securities.
Warrant Liability (Restated)
The Company accounts for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40-15-7D and 7F under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that is 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, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Offering Costs
The company complies with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A – “Expenses of Offering.” Offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, regulatory filing, accounting, and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. The offering costs relate to the Class A Common Stock and Distributable Redeemable Warrants which comprised the Unit offered as part of the Initial Public Offering. Those costs were allocated on a relative fair value basis with the portion of the offering costs allocated to the Distributable Redeemable Warrants being charged to expense and the portion of the offering costs assigned to the Public Shares being allocated to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Public Stockholders who properly redeem their Public Shares (as described in Note 1) in connection with the Initial Business Combination will not bear any of the offering costs. Total offering costs amounted to $13,206,613, which consists of $4,631,200 of upfront underwriting fees, $8,104,600 of deferred underwriting fees (further discussed in Note 6) and $470,813 of other offering costs, of which $714,710 was charged to expense and $12,491,903 was charged to Stockholders’ equity.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 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, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was enacted in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Under ASC 740, the effects of changes in tax rates and laws are recognized in the period which the new legislation is enacted. The CARES Act made various tax law changes including among other things (i) increasing the limitation under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”) for 2019 and 2020 to permit additional expensing of interest (ii) enacting a technical correction so that qualified improvement property can be immediately expensed under IRC Section 168(k), (iii) making modifications to the federal net operating loss rules including permitting federal net operating losses incurred in 2018, 2019, and 2020 to be carried back to the five preceding taxable years in order to generate a refund of previously paid income taxes and (iv) enhancing the recoverability of alternative minimum tax credits. Given the Company’s full valuation allowance position and capitalization of all costs, the CARES Act did not have an impact on the financial statements.
F-11
Net Loss Per Common Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 22,415,400 shares in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of loss per share for common shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of loss per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted, for common stock subject to possible redemption is calculated by dividing the proportionate share of income or loss on marketable securities held by the Trust Account by the weighted average number of common stock subject to possible redemption outstanding since original issuance.
Net loss per share, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for income or loss on marketable securities attributable to common stock subject to possible redemption, by the weighted average number of non-redeemable shares of common stock outstanding for the period.
Non-redeemable common stock includes Founder Shares and non-redeemable shares of common stock as these shares do not have any redemption features. Non-redeemable common stock participates in the income or loss on marketable securities based on non-redeemable shares’ proportionate interest.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per common share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
| For the Period from August 21, 2020 (inception) Through December 31, 2020 | ||||
| Class A Common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||
| Numerator: Earnings allocable to common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account | $ | 22,970 | ||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account | 919 | |||
| Less: interest available to be withdrawn for payment of taxes | (23,889 | ) | ||
| Net Income | $ | — | ||
| Denominator: Weighted Average Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | ||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 19,525,316 | |||
| Basic and diluted net income per share | $ | 0.00 | ||
| Non-Redeemable Common Stock | ||||
| Numerator: Net Loss minus Net Earnings | ||||
| Net Loss | $ | (5,340,678 | ) | |
| Net income allocable to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | — | |||
| Non-Redeemable Net Loss | $ | (5,340,678 | ) | |
| Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Common Stock | ||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Non-Redeemable common stock, | 7,018,311 | |||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share, Non-Redeemable | $ | (0.76 | ) | |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation maximum of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account.
F-12
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 4. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 22,000,000 Units at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option on November 17, 2020, the Company sold an additional 1,156,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (see Note 7).
NOTE 5. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 10,375,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or $10,375,000 in the aggregate, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option on November 17, 2020, the Company sold an additional 462,400 Private Placement Warrants, at a purchase price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $462,400. The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On August 26, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 7,906,250 shares of Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). On October 26, 2020, the Sponsor returned to the Company, at no cost, an aggregate of 1,581,250 Founder Shares which the Company cancelled, resulting in an aggregate of 6,325,000 Founder Shares outstanding. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 825,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor would collectively own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (assuming the Sponsor did not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering). In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option and the forfeiture of the remaining over-allotment option, 536,000 Founder Shares were forfeited and 289,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture resulting in an aggregate of 5,789,000 Founder Shares outstanding at December 31, 2020.
The Sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or similar transaction that results in the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on November 6, 2020, to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of the Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred and paid $14,450 in fees for these services.
F-13
Promissory Note — Related Party
On August 26, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and was payable on the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Note of $95,657 was repaid at the closing of the Initial Public Offering on November 10, 2020.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants will be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement entered into on November 5, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) are entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to our Class A common stock). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The registration and shareholder rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,104,600 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
F-14
NOTE 8. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of $0.0001 par value preferred stock. At December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock— The Company is authorized to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 3,881,930 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding, excluding 19,274,070 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue up to 20,000,000 shares of Class B, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2020, there were 5,789,000 shares of Class B common stock outstanding.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination, and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company).
NOTE 9. WARRANTS
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants for redemption:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant; |
F-15
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the reported last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). |
If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may not exercise its redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or the Company is unable to effect such registration or qualification.
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless. If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of common shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants will and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
F-16
NOTE 10. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax liability at December 31, 2020 is as follows:
| December 31, | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| Deferred tax asset (liability) | ||||
| Organizational/Start-up costs | $ | 24,416 | ||
| Net operating loss carryforward | 10,449 | |||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities | (193 | ) | ||
| Total deferred tax assets, net | 34,672 | |||
| Valuation Allowance | (34,672 | ) | ||
| Deferred tax liability, net of valuation allowance | $ | — | ||
The income tax provision for the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 consists of the following:
| December 31, | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| Federal | ||||
| Current | $ | — | ||
| Deferred | (34,672 | ) | ||
| State and Local | ||||
| Current | — | |||
| Deferred | — | |||
| Change in valuation allowance | 34,672 | |||
| Income tax provision | $ | — | ||
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $49,757 U.S. federal net operating loss carryover available to offset future taxable income.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from August 21, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $34,672.
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2020 is as follows:
| December 31, 2020 | ||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate | 21.0 | % | ||
Warrant issuance costs | (2.8 | )% | ||
| Expenses related to warrants | (2.6 | )% | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | (15.0 | )% | ||
| Change in valuation allowance | (0.6 | )% | ||
| Income tax provision | (0.0 | )% | ||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. The Company's tax returns since inception remain open to examination by the taxing authorities.
NOTE 11. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS (Restated)
The Company follows the guidance in ASC Topic 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.
F-17
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. |
At December 31, 2020, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $939 of cash and $236,214,150 of money market funds, which are primarily invested in U.S. Treasury securities. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description | Level | December 31, 2020 | ||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | 1 | $ | 236,214,150 | |||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | 1 | 14,125,160 | ||||||
| Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | 3 | 13,330,002 | ||||||
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on our balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.
Initial Measurement
The Company established the initial fair value for the Warrants on November 5, 2020, the date of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, using a Monte Carlo simulation model for the Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants. The Company allocated the proceeds received from (i) the sale of Units (which is inclusive of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one Public Warrant), (ii) the sale of Private Placement Warrants, and (iii) the issuance of Class B common stock, first to the Warrants based on their fair values as determined at initial measurement, with the remaining proceeds allocated to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, Class A common stock and Class B common stock based on their relative fair values at the initial measurement date. The Warrants were classified as Level 3 at the initial measurement date due to the use of unobservable inputs.
The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation model for the Private Placement Warrants and Public Warrants were as follows at initial measurement (which includes valuation for the over-allotment exercise on November 17, 2020) and for subsequent measurement (Private Placement Warrants only):
| Input | November 5, 2020 (Initial Measurement) | December 31, 2020 (Subsequent Measurement) | ||||||
| Risk-free interest rate | 0.36 | 0.37 | % | |||||
| Expected term (years) | 5 | 5.05 | ||||||
| Expected volatility | 20.0 | 18.5 | % | |||||
| Exercise price | $ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||
| Fair value of Units | $ | 10.00 | 10.11 | |||||
On November 5, 2020 (after including the impact of the underwriters partial exercise of their overallotment option on November 17, 2020), the Private Placement Warrants were determined to have a value of $1.06 per warrant and the Public Warrants were determined to be $1.05 per warrant for aggregate values of $11.5 million and $12.2 million, respectively.
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:
| Private Placement | Public | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Fair value as of August 21, 2020 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||
| Initial measurement on November 5, 2020 | 11,487,644 | 12,156,000 | 23,156,900 | |||||||||
| Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions | 1,842,358 | 1,968,260 | 3,810,618 | |||||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2020 | $ | 13,330,002 | $ | 14,125,160 | $ | 27,455,162 | ||||||
Due to the use of quoted prices in an active market (Level 1) to measure the fair value of the Public Warrants, subsequent to initial measurement, the Company had transfers out of Level 3 totaling $12,156,000 during the period from November 5, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
NOTE 12. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-18
EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Filed herewith. |
|
** *** |
Furnished herewith Previously filed |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the SEC on October 5, 2020. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on October 19, 2020. |
| (3) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2020. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| May 24, 2021 | ROMAN DBDR TECH ACQUISITION CORP. | |
| By: | /s/ Dr. Donald G. Basile | |
| Name: | Dr. Donald G. Basile | |
| Title: | Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Position | Date | ||
| /s/ Dr. Donald G. Basile | Co-Chief Executive Officer | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Dr. Donald G. Basile | (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Dixon Doll, Jr. | Co-Chief Executive Officer | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Dixon Doll, Jr. | (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ John C. Small | Chief Financial Officer | May 24, 2021 | ||
| John C. Small | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Dixon Doll | Director | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Dixon Doll | ||||
| /s/ Alan Clingman | Director | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Alan Clingman | ||||
| /s/ Paul Misir | Director | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Paul Misir | ||||
| /s/ Arun Abraham | Director | May 24, 2021 | ||
| Arun Abraham | ||||
| /s/ James L. Nelson | Director | May 24, 2021 | ||
| James L. Nelson | ||||
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Dr. Donald G. Basile, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b) | (Paragraph omitted pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-8238/34-47986 and 33-8392/34-49313); |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | /s/ Dr. Donald G. Basile | |
| Dr. Donald G. Basile | |||
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Dixon Doll, Jr., certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b) | (Paragraph omitted pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-8238/34-47986 and 33-8392/34-49313); |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | /s/ Dixon Doll, Jr. | |
| Dixon Doll, Jr. | |||
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.3
CERTIFICATIONS
I, John C. Small, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b) | (Paragraph omitted pursuant to SEC Release Nos. 33-8238/34-47986 and 33-8392/34-49313); |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | John C. Small | |
| John C. Small | |||
| Chief Financial Officer | |||
| (Principal Financial Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Dr. Donald G. Basile, Co-Chief Executive Officer, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| 2. | To my knowledge, the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the Report. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | /s/ Dr. Donald G. Basile | |
| Dr. Donald G. Basile | |||
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | |||
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Dixon Doll, Jr., Co-Chief Executive Officer, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| 2. | To my knowledge, the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the Report. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | /s/ Dixon Doll, Jr. |
| Dixon Doll, Jr. | ||
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.3
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with Amendment No.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Roman DBDR Tech Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, John C. Small, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| 2. | To my knowledge, the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the report. |
| Date: May 24, 2021 | By: | /s/ John C. Small | |
| John C. Small | |||
| Chief Financial Officer | |||
| (Principal Financial Officer) |