NOTICE
OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING TO BE HELD ON MARCH [●], 2023
TO
THE SHAREHOLDERS OF TWO:
You
are cordially invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting (the “Extraordinary General Meeting”) of two (the
“Company”), to be held at [●] Eastern Time, on March [●], 2023. You will be able to attend the Extraordinary
General Meeting online, vote, and submit your questions during the Extraordinary General Meeting by visiting [●]. While shareholders
are encouraged to attend the meeting virtually, you will be permitted to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting in person at the offices
of [●] located at [●].
The
Extraordinary General Meeting is being held to consider and vote upon the following proposals:
| 1. | As
a special resolution, to amend (the “Extension Amendment”) the Company’s
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Governing Documents”)
to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a business combination (as defined
below) (the “Extension”) from March 29, 2023 (the date which is 24 months
from the closing date of the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”))
to December 29, 2023 (the date which is 33 months from the closing date of
the IPO) (the “Extended Date”) (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”). |
| | |
| 2. | As
an ordinary resolution, to approve the adjournment of the Extraordinary General Meeting to
a later date or dates, if necessary, either (x) to permit further solicitation and vote of
proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment
Proposal or if the Company determines that additional time is necessary to effectuate the
Extension or (y) if the board of directors (the “Board”) determines before
the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed
with the Extension Amendment Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”). |
Each
of the Extension Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are more fully described in the accompanying proxy statement. You will
be able to attend and participate in the Extraordinary General Meeting online by visiting [●]. Please see “Questions
and Answers about the Extraordinary General Meeting — How do I attend the Extraordinary General Meeting?” in the accompanying
proxy statement for more information.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE EXTENSION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL AND, IF PRESENTED, THE ADJOURNMENT
PROPOSAL.
The
sole purpose of the Extension Amendment Proposal is to provide the Company with sufficient time to complete a potential merger, share
exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and
one or more businesses (a “business combination”). The Company’s prospectus for its IPO and its current Governing
Documents provide that the Company has until March 29, 2023, or 24 months after the closing date of its IPO (the “Current Outside
Date”), to complete a business combination. The Company’s Board currently believes that there may not be sufficient time
to enter into a definitive agreement, complete the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) review
process and hold an extraordinary general meeting to obtain shareholder approval of and consummate any potential initial business combination,
by the Current Outside Date. If the Company were precluded from completing its initial business combination by the Current Outside Date,
the Company would be forced to liquidate even if its shareholders are otherwise in favor of consummating such business combination. The
Board believes and has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to extend the Current Outside
Date to the Extended Date and have the Company’s shareholders approve the Extension Amendment Proposal.
If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, the Company plans to hold
another meeting of shareholders prior to the Extended Date in order to seek shareholder approval of any potential initial business combination,
and related proposals.
The
purpose of the Adjournment Proposal is to allow the Company to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates if
the Company determines that additional time is necessary to either permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that
there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal, the Company determines that additional time is necessary to
effectuate the Extension or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable
to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
The
approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at
least a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the holders of the Company’s issued Class A ordinary shares and Class B
ordinary shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
As
of the date of this proxy statement, the Company’s sponsor, two sponsor (the “Sponsor”), the Company’s
independent directors and Ms. Laura DePetra (collectively, the “initial shareholders”) hold in aggregate 5,359,375
founder shares. Accordingly, the shares held by the Sponsor and other initial shareholders represent 20.0% of the Company’s outstanding
ordinary shares.
Approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal is a condition to the implementation of the Extension. The Company’s Governing Documents
require that the Company not proceed with the Extension if the number of redemptions of its public shares causes the Company to have
less than $5,000,001 of net tangible assets, which requirement may not be waived by the Board.
The
Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the
votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast) or represented by proxy at the
Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
The
Company’s Board has fixed the close of business on January 26, 2023 as the record date for determining the Company’s shareholders
entitled to receive notice of and vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting and any adjournment thereof. Only holders of record of the
Company’s ordinary shares on that date are entitled to have their votes counted at the Extraordinary General Meeting or any adjournment
thereof. A complete list of shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting will be available for ten days
before the Extraordinary General Meeting at [●] for inspection by shareholders during ordinary business hours for any purpose germane
to the Extraordinary General Meeting.
In
connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal, if approved by the requisite vote of shareholders, holders of public shares (“public
shareholders”) may elect to redeem their public shares for a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount
then on deposit in the trust account established by the Company in connection with its IPO (the “trust account”) as
of two business days prior to such approval, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net
of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares (the “Election”), subject to certain limitations,
regardless of whether such public shareholders vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal. However, a public shareholder, together with
any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as
defined under Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted
from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares without the prior consent
of the Company. The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public
shares, as applicable, in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents,
including a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved by the requisite vote of shareholders, then the Withdrawal Amount (as defined below) will be withdrawn from the trust account and paid to the redeeming
public shareholders with respect to the portion of public shares that were validly redeemed as described above.
If
the Extension is effectuated, the remaining public shareholders will retain the opportunity to have their public shares redeemed in conjunction
with any potential initial business combination, subject to any
limitations set forth in the Governing Documents. In addition, the remaining public shareholders will be entitled to have their public
shares redeemed for cash if the Company has not completed a business combination by the Extended Date.
The
Company estimates that the per-share price at which the public shares may be redeemed from cash held in the trust account will be approximately
$10.13 (which amount includes interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously or yet released to the
Company to pay its taxes), for illustrative purpose, calculated as of January 26, 2023, the record date of the Extraordinary General
Meeting. On the record date, the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)
was $10.13. The Company cannot assure public shareholders that they will be able to sell their public shares in the open market, even
if the market price per share is higher than the redemption price stated above, as there may not be sufficient liquidity in its securities
when such shareholders wish to sell their shares.
The
Adjournment Proposal, if adopted, will allow the Board to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary
or appropriate, either (x) to permit further solicitation of proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise
in connection with, the Extension Amendment Proposal or (y) the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is
not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal. The Adjournment Proposal will only be presented
to the Company’s shareholders in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise in connection with, the approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer
desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment
Proposal is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company does not consummate an initial business
combination by the Current Outside Date, in accordance with its Governing Documents, the Company will (i) cease all operations except
for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes, if any
(less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption
will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s
obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable laws.
You
are not being asked to vote on any proposed business combination at this time. If the Extension is implemented and you do not elect to
redeem your public shares in connection with the Extension, you will retain the right to vote on
any potential initial business combination, when and if such business combination is submitted to the public shareholders
(provided that you are a shareholder on the record date for a meeting to consider such business combination) and the right to redeem
your public shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account in the event any proposed business combination is approved and completed
or the Company has not consummated a business combination by the Extended Date.
After
careful consideration of all relevant factors, the Company’s Board has determined that the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if
presented, the Adjournment Proposal are both advisable and recommends that you vote or give instruction to vote “FOR” both
the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal.
Enclosed
is the proxy statement containing detailed information concerning the Extension Amendment Proposal, Adjournment Proposal and the Extraordinary
General Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting, the Company urges you to read this material carefully
and vote your shares.
I
look forward to seeing you at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
March
[●], 2023 |
By Order of
the Board of Directors, |
|
|
|
/s/ |
|
Kevin E. Hartz |
|
Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Your
vote is important. If you are a shareholder of record, please sign, date and return your proxy card as soon as possible to make sure
that your shares are represented at the Extraordinary General Meeting. If you are a shareholder of record, you may also cast your vote
virtually at the Extraordinary General Meeting. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, you must instruct
your broker or bank how to vote your shares, or you may cast your vote virtually at the Extraordinary General Meeting by obtaining a
proxy from your brokerage firm or bank. Your failure to vote or instruct your broker or bank how to vote will have no effect on the outcome
of any vote on the Extension Proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted in connection with the determination of whether
a valid quorum is established but will have no effect on any of the proposals.
Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on March [●], 2023: This notice
of meeting and the accompanying proxy statement are being made available on or about [●], 2023 at [●].
TO
EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS, YOU MUST SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE TRANSFER AGENT BY 5:00 P.M. ET ON MARCH [●], 2023, THE DATE
THAT IS TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED VOTE AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING, THAT YOUR PUBLIC SHARES BE REDEEMED FOR CASH,
INCLUDING THE LEGAL NAME, PHONE NUMBER, AND ADDRESS OF THE BENEFICIAL OWNER OF THE SHARES FOR WHICH REDEMPTION IS REQUESTED, AND (3)
TENDER OR DELIVER YOUR SHARES (AND SHARE CERTIFICATES (IF ANY) AND OTHER REDEMPTION FORMS) TO THE TRANSFER AGENT, PHYSICALLY OR ELECTRONICALLY
USING THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY’S DWAC (DEPOSIT WITHDRAWAL AT CUSTODIAN) SYSTEM, IN EACH CASE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES
AND DEADLINES DESCRIBED IN THE ACCOMPANYING PROXY STATEMENT. IF YOU HOLD THE SHARES IN STREET NAME, YOU WILL NEED TO INSTRUCT THE ACCOUNT
EXECUTIVE AT YOUR BANK OR BROKER TO WITHDRAW THE SHARES FROM YOUR ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS.
PRELIMINARY
PROXY STATEMENT — SUBJECT TO COMPLETION DATED MARCH 3, 2023
TWO
900 Kearny St., Suite 610,
San
Francisco, CA 94133
PRELIMINARY
PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
TO
BE HELD ON MARCH [●], 2023
You
are cordially invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting (the “Extraordinary General Meeting”) of two (the
“Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), to be held at [●] Eastern
Time, on March [●], 2023. You will be able to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting online, vote, and submit your questions during
the Extraordinary General Meeting by visiting [●]. While shareholders are encouraged to attend the meeting virtually, you will be permitted
to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting in person at [●].
The
Extraordinary General Meeting is being held to consider and vote upon the following proposals:
| 1. | As
a special resolution, to amend (the “Extension Amendment”) the Company’s
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Governing Documents”)
to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a business combination (as defined
below) (the “Extension”) from March 29, 2023 (the date which is 24 months
from the closing date of the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”))
to December 29, 2023 (the date which is 33 months from the closing date of
the IPO) (the “Extended Date”) (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”). |
| 2. | As
an ordinary resolution, to approve the adjournment of the Extraordinary General Meeting to
a later date or dates, if necessary, to either (x) permit further solicitation and vote of
proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment
Proposal or if the Company determines that additional time is necessary to effectuate the
Extension or (y) if the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”)
determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer
desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal (the “Adjournment Proposal”). |
Each
of the Extension Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are more fully described herein. You will be able to attend and participate
in the Extraordinary General Meeting online by visiting [●]. Please see “Questions and Answers about the Extraordinary
General Meeting — How do I attend the Extraordinary General Meeting?” for more information.
The sole purpose of the Extension
Amendment Proposal is to provide the Company with sufficient time to complete a potential merger, share exchange, asset acquisition,
share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses (a
“business combination”). The Company’s prospectus for its IPO and its current Governing Documents provide that
the Company has until March 29, 2023, or 24 months after the closing date of its IPO (the “Current Outside Date”),
to complete a business combination. The Company’s Board currently believes that there may not be sufficient time to enter into
a definitive agreement, complete the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) review process and hold
an extraordinary general meeting to obtain shareholder approval of and consummate any potential initial business combination, by the
Current Outside Date. If the Company were precluded from completing its initial business combination by the Current Outside Date, the
Company would be forced to liquidate even if its shareholders are otherwise in favor of consummating such business combination. The Board
believes and has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to extend the Current Outside Date to
the Extended Date and have the Company’s shareholders approve the Extension Amendment Proposal.
If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, the Company plans to hold
another meeting of shareholders prior to the Extended Date in order to seek shareholder approval of any potential initial business combination,
and related proposals.
The
purpose of the Adjournment Proposal is to allow the Company to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates if
the Company determines that additional time is necessary to either permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that
there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal, the Company determines that additional time is necessary
to effectuate the Extension or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable
to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
The
approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at
least a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the holders of the Company’s issued Class A ordinary shares and Class B
ordinary shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
As
of the date of this proxy statement, the Company’s sponsor, two sponsor (the “Sponsor”), the Company’s
independent directors and Ms. Laura DePetra (collectively, the “initial shareholders”) hold in aggregate 5,359,375
founder shares. Accordingly, the shares held by the Sponsor and other initial shareholders represent 20.0% of the Company’s outstanding
ordinary shares.
The Company’s
Governing Documents require that the Company not proceed with the Extension if the number of redemptions of its public shares causes
the Company to have less than $5,000,001 of net tangible assets, which requirement may not be waived by the Board.
The
Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the
votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast) or represented by proxy at the
Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
The
Company’s Board has fixed the close of business on January 26, 2023 as the record date for determining the Company’s shareholders
entitled to receive notice of and vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting and any adjournment thereof. Only holders of record of the
Company’s ordinary shares on that date are entitled to have their votes counted at the Extraordinary General Meeting or any adjournment
thereof. A complete list of shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting will be available for ten days
before the Extraordinary General Meeting at [●] for inspection by shareholders during ordinary business hours for any purpose germane
to the Extraordinary General Meeting.
In
connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal, if approved by the requisite vote of shareholders, holders of public shares (“public
shareholders”) may elect to redeem their public shares for a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount
then on deposit in the trust account established by the Company in connection with its IPO (the “trust account”) as
of two business days prior to such approval, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net
of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares (the “Election”), subject to certain limitations,
regardless of whether such public shareholders vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal. However, a public shareholder, together with
any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as
defined under Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted
from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares without the prior consent
of the Company. The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public
shares, as applicable, in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents,
including a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved by the requisite vote of shareholders, then the Withdrawal Amount (as defined below) will be withdrawn from the trust account and paid to the redeeming
public shareholders with respect to the portion of public shares that were validly redeemed as described above.
If
the Extension is effectuated, the remaining public shareholders will retain the opportunity to have their public shares redeemed in conjunction
with any potential initial business combination, subject to any limitations set forth in the Governing Documents. In addition, the remaining
public shareholders will be entitled to have their public shares redeemed for cash if the Company has not completed a business combination
by the Extended Date.
The
withdrawal of funds from the trust account in connection with the Election will reduce the amount held in the trust account following
the Election, and the amount remaining in the trust account after such withdrawal may be only a fraction of the $214.4 million,
plus accrued interest (less any funds used to pay taxes) that was in the trust account as of the record date. In such event, the Company
may still seek to obtain additional funds to complete a potential business combination, but there can be no assurance that such
funds will be available on terms acceptable to the parties to such transaction or at all.
The
Company estimates that the per-share price at which the public shares may be redeemed from cash held in the trust account will be approximately
$10.13 (which amount includes interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously or yet released to the Company
to pay its taxes), for illustrative purposes, calculated as of January 26, 2023, the record date of the Extraordinary General
Meeting. On the record date, the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”)
was $10.13. The Company cannot assure public shareholders that they will be able to sell their public shares in the open market, even
if the market price per share is higher than the redemption price stated above, as there may not be sufficient liquidity in its securities
when such shareholders wish to sell their shares.
The
Adjournment Proposal, if adopted, will allow the Board to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary
or appropriate, either (x) to permit further solicitation of proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise
in connection with, the Extension Amendment Proposal or (y) the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is
not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal. The Adjournment Proposal will only be presented
to the Company’s shareholders in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise in connection with, the approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer
desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment
Proposal is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company does not consummate an initial business
combination by the Current Outside Date, in accordance with its Governing Documents, the Company will (i) cease all operations except
for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes, if any
(less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption
will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s
obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable laws.
The
Company’s initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares,
as applicable, in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents, including
a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside Date.
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) $10.00
per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust
account, if less than $10.00 per 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 the Company’s indemnity
of the underwriters of the IPO 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 it 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 that its Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, such approval will constitute consent for the Company to (i) remove from the trust
account an amount (the “Withdrawal Amount”) equal to the number of public shares properly redeemed multiplied by
the per-share price, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to such
approval, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the
number of then outstanding public shares and (ii) deliver to the holders of such redeemed public shares their portion of the
Withdrawal Amount. The remainder of such funds shall remain in the trust account and be available for use by the Company to complete
a potential initial business combination, on or before the Extended Date. Holders of public shares who do not redeem their public
shares now will retain their redemption rights and their ability to vote on such business combination through the Extended Date if
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved.
The
Company’s Board has fixed the close of business on January 26, 2023 as the date for determining the Company shareholders entitled
to receive notice of and vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Only record holders of the Company’s ordinary shares at the
close of business on the record date are entitled to vote or have their votes cast at the Extraordinary General Meeting. On the record
date, there were 21,437,500 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, and 5,359,375 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding,
which vote together as a single class with respect to the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal.
This
proxy statement contains important information about the Extraordinary General Meeting and the proposals to be voted on at the Extraordinary
General Meeting. Please read it carefully and vote your shares.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
The
statements contained in this proxy statement that are not purely historical are “forward-looking statements.” Our forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions
or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future
events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,”
“continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,”
“might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,”
“should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words
does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this proxy statement may include, without limitation,
statements about:
| ● | our
ability to finance or consummate any potential initial business combination; |
| | |
| ● | the
anticipated benefits of any potential initial
business combination; |
| | |
| ● | our
plans to seek shareholder approval of any potential initial business combination; |
| | |
| ● | our
executive officers and directors potentially having conflicts of interest in approving a
business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements
or other benefits; |
| | |
| ● | our
public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| | |
| ● | our
intentions to seek any further extension to consummate our initial business combination; |
| | |
| ● | our
expectations regarding the timing of shareholder redemption payments; and |
| | |
| ● | our
status under or applicability of the Investment Company Act and any actions we may take to
mitigate the risks associated therewith. |
The
forward-looking statements contained in this proxy statement are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments
and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated.
These forward- looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions
that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” and
elsewhere in this proxy statement, and under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2021, as amended, our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and any other documents filed by the Company with
the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results
may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable
securities laws.
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
These
Questions and Answers are only summaries of the matters they discuss. They do not contain all of the information that may be important
to you. You should read carefully the entire proxy statement, including the annex to this proxy statement.
Why
am I receiving this proxy statement?
This
proxy statement and the enclosed proxy card are being sent to you in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board for use
at the Extraordinary General Meeting, or at any adjournments or postponements thereof. This proxy statement summarizes the information
that you need to make an informed decision on the proposals to be considered at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
The
Company is a blank check company incorporated on January 15, 2021, as a Cayman Islands exempted company, for the purpose of entering
into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination
with one or more businesses.
In
connection with the formation of the Sponsor, the Sponsor received 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares for a per share purchase price of
approximately $0.004. Prior to the IPO, our Sponsor transferred 25,000 of its founder shares to each of Michelle Gill, Ryan Petersen
and Laura de Petra, and 30,000 of its founder shares to Pierre Lamond, in each case, at their original per share purchase price. As of
the date of this proxy statement, the initial shareholders continue to own an aggregate of 5,359,375 founder shares.
On
March 29, 2021, the Company consummated its IPO of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share (the “public
shares”). On April 13, 2021, the underwriter of the IPO acquired an additional 1,437,000 Class A ordinary shares pursuant to
the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option, at $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $214,375,000.
Simultaneously
with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of an aggregate of 600,000 Class A ordinary shares at a price of $10.00
per share in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $6,000,000. Simultaneously with the underwriter’s
partial exercise of its over-allotment option on April 13, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the private placement,
resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 28,750 Class A ordinary shares by our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to
the Company of $287,500 (with the initial such private placement, the “private placement,” and such shares, the “private
placement shares”). On December 29, 2022, our Sponsor forfeited its 628,750 private placement shares to the Company for no
value. As of the date of this proxy statement, the Sponsor does not own any Class A ordinary shares.
In
connection with the formation of the Sponsor, the Sponsor received 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares at a per share purchase price of
approximately $0.004. Prior to the IPO, our Sponsor transferred 25,000 of its founder shares to each of Michelle Gill, Ryan Petersen
and Laura de Petra, and 30,000 of its founder shares to Pierre Lamond, in each case, at their original per share purchase price. On April
19, 2021, following the expiration of the underwriter’s over-allotment option, the Sponsor forfeited 390,625 Class B ordinary shares
for no consideration, following which time there were 5,359,375 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. As of the date of this
proxy statement, the initial shareholders continue to own an aggregate of 5,359,375 founder shares.
Following
the closing of the IPO on March 29, 2021, an amount of approximately $214.4 million ($10.00 per share) out of the net proceeds of the
sale of the public shares in the IPO and the sale of the private placement shares was placed in the trust account, which was invested
in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“Investment
Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated
under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, until the earlier of: (a) the completion
of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote
to approve certain amendments to our Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside Date, and (c)
the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete the initial business combination within the period provided in our Governing
Documents. Like most blank check companies, our Governing Documents provide for the return of the IPO proceeds held in the trust account
to the public shareholders if we do not consummate a qualifying business combination on or before a certain date. In our case, such date
is March 29, 2023. As of the record date, the Company had approximately $217.2 million of cash in the trust account. We intend, on
or shortly prior to March 29, 2023, to instruct the trustee to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account and to maintain such
funds in cash, in an interest-bearing demand deposit account at a bank.
Our
Board has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company to amend the Governing Documents to extend the date we have to consummate
a business combination to December 29, 2023 in order to allow the Company more time to complete an initial business combination.
Therefore, our Board is submitting the proposals described in this proxy statement for the shareholders to vote upon.
What
is being voted on?
You
are being asked to vote on each of the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal. Both proposals are described
below:
| 1. | Extension
Amendment Proposal: To amend our Governing Documents to extend the date by which the
Company must consummate a business combination from March 29, 2023 (the date which is 24
months from the closing date of the IPO) to December 29, 2023 (the date which is 33
months from the closing date of the IPO). |
| | |
| 2. | Adjournment
Proposal: To approve the adjournment of the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later
date or dates, if necessary, either to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in
the event that there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal or
if we determine that additional time is necessary to effectuate the Extension or the Board
determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer
desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal. |
What
are the purposes of the Extension Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal?
Our Board
believes that there may not be sufficient time to consummate an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date.
The
purpose of the Adjournment Proposal is to allow the Company to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates if
we determine that additional time is necessary either to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that there are
insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal or if we determine that additional time is necessary to effectuate the
Extension or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed
with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
The
Extension Amendment Proposal must be approved
in order to implement the Extension. In addition, our Governing
Documents require that the Company not proceed with the Extension if the number of redemptions of our public shares causes the Company
to have less than $5,000,001 of net tangible assets, which requirement may not be waived by the Board.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, such approval will constitute consent for the Company to remove the Withdrawal Amount from
the trust account, deliver to the holders of redeemed public shares their portion of the Withdrawal Amount and retain the remainder of
the funds in the trust account for the Company’s use in connection with consummating a business combination on or before the Extended
Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is implemented, the removal of the Withdrawal Amount from the trust account
in connection with the Election will reduce the amount held in the trust account following the Election. The Company cannot predict the
amount that will remain in the trust account after such withdrawal if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the amount remaining
in the trust account may be only a fraction of the $214.4 million, plus accrued interest (less any funds used to pay taxes) that
was in the trust account as of the record date. In such event, the Company may still seek to obtain additional funds to complete its
initial business combination and there can be no assurance that such funds will be available on terms acceptable to the parties or at
all.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, we may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment Proposal
is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company has not consummated an initial business combination
by the Current Outside Date, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably
possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 franchise and income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by
the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders
(including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such
redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our
obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The
Adjournment Proposal will only be presented at the Extraordinary General Meeting if there are not sufficient votes for, or otherwise
in connection with, the approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting
that it is not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.
Our
initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable,
in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents, including a vote to approve
an extension to the Current Outside Date. In addition, they have agreed to waive their right to receive liquidating distributions from
the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by the Current
Outside Date.
Why
is the Company proposing the Extension Amendment Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal?
Our
Governing Documents provide for the return of the IPO proceeds held in trust to the holders of our public shares if we have not consummated
a qualifying business combination by the Current Outside Date. Our Board believes that there may not be sufficient time to enter into
a definitive agreement, make the requisite SEC filings, complete the SEC review process and hold an extraordinary general meeting
to obtain shareholder approval of and consummate an initial business combination, by the Current Outside Date. Accordingly, we have determined
to seek shareholder approval to extend the Current Outside Date to the Extended Date.
The
sole purpose of the Extension Amendment Proposal is to provide the Company with sufficient time to complete its initial business combination,
which our Board believes is in the best interest of our shareholders. We believe that given our expenditure of time, effort and money
on searching for potential business combination opportunities, circumstances warrant providing public shareholders an opportunity to
consider any potential initial business combination.
The
purpose of the Adjournment Proposal is to allow the Company to adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates if
we determine that additional time is necessary either to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that there are
insufficient votes to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal or if we determine that additional time is necessary to effectuate the
Extension or the Board determines before the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed
with the Extension Amendment Proposal. Accordingly, our Board is proposing the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if necessary, the Adjournment
Proposal to extend the Company’s corporate existence until the Extended Date.
You
are not being asked to vote on any proposed business combination at this time. If the Extension is implemented and you do not elect
to redeem your public shares in connection with the Extension, you will retain the right to vote on any potential initial business
combination, when and if such business combination is submitted to the public shareholders (provided that you are a shareholder on
the record date for a meeting to consider such business combination) and the right to redeem your public shares for a pro rata
portion of the trust account in the event any proposed business combination is approved and completed or the Company has not
consummated a business combination by the Extended Date.
Why
should I vote for the Extension Amendment Proposal?
Our
Board believes shareholders will benefit from the Company consummating a business combination and is proposing the Extension Amendment
Proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete a business combination until the Extended Date. The Extension would give
the Company the opportunity to complete the any potential initial business combination,
which our Board believes in the best interests of the shareholders.
Our
Governing Documents provide that if our shareholders approve an amendment to our Governing Documents that would affect the substance
or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company does not complete a business combination
by the Current Outside Date, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public
shares in connection with such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust
account, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number
of then outstanding public shares. This provision was included in the Governing Documents to protect our shareholders from having to
sustain their investments for an unreasonably long period if we failed to find a suitable business combination in the timeframe contemplated
by the Governing Documents. We also believe, however, that given our expenditure of time, effort and money on pursuing potential business
combination opportunities, circumstances warrant providing our public shareholders an opportunity to consider a potential initial business combination.
Our
Board recommends that you vote in favor of the Extension Amendment Proposal, but expresses no opinion as to whether you should redeem
your public shares.
Why
should I vote for the Adjournment Proposal?
If
the Adjournment Proposal is presented and not approved by our shareholders, our Board may not be able to adjourn the Extraordinary General
Meeting to a later date in the event that there are insufficient votes for, or otherwise in connection with, the approval of the Extension
Amendment Proposal.
Our
Board recommends that you vote in favor of the Adjournment Proposal.
How
do the Company’s insiders intend to vote their shares?
The
Sponsor, which is an affiliate of certain members of the Board and the Company’s management team, and the other initial shareholders
are expected to vote any ordinary shares over which they have voting control in favor of both of the proposals. The initial shareholders
waived their rights to redeem their founder shares and/or public shares, as applicable. On the record date, the initial shareholders
beneficially owned and were entitled to vote 5,359,375 founder shares, which represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding
ordinary shares.
In
addition, the Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their respective affiliates, may purchase public shares in privately negotiated
transactions or in the open market prior to or following the Extraordinary General Meeting, although they are under no obligation to
do so. Such public shares purchased by our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their respective affiliates would be (a)
purchased at a price no higher than the redemption price for the public shares, which is currently estimated to be $10.13 per
share, calculated based on the trust account amount as of the record date (which amount includes interest earned on the funds held in
the trust account and not previously or yet released to the Company to pay its taxes), and (b) would not be (i) voted by the Sponsor,
directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates at the Extraordinary General Meeting and (ii) redeemable by the Sponsor,
directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates. Any such purchases that are completed after the record date for the Extraordinary
General Meeting may include an agreement with a selling shareholder that such shareholder, for so long as it remains the record holder
of the shares in question, will vote in favor of the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or will not exercise its redemption rights with
respect to the shares so purchased. The purpose of such share purchases and other transactions would be to increase the likelihood that
the proposals to be voted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting are approved by the requisite number of votes and to reduce the number
of public shares that are redeemed. In the event that such purchases do occur, the purchasers may seek to purchase shares from shareholders
who would otherwise have voted against the Extension Amendment Proposal and elected to redeem their shares for a portion of the trust
account. None of the Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates may make any such purchases when they are
in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or during a restricted period under Regulation M under
the Exchange Act. Further, we, our directors and executive officers, our Sponsor, or any of their respective affiliates may enter into
agreements with one or more shareholders of the Company pursuant to which such stockholders would agree not to redeem all or part
of their public shares in connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or to vote in favor thereof, in consideration of payments
made in the form of cash, founder shares forfeited by Sponsor or otherwise. To our knowledge, as of the date hereof, no such agreement
has been entered into, and neither we nor our Sponsor (or our respective directors, members, officers or affiliates) have contacted or
discussed any shareholders for the purposes of entering into any such agreement.
Does
the Board recommend voting for the approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal?
Yes.
After careful consideration of the terms and conditions of the proposals, the Board has determined that the Extension Amendment Proposal
and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. The Board unanimously recommends
that shareholders vote “FOR” both the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal.
What
vote is required to adopt the Extension Amendment Proposal?
Approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at least
a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares present in person (including
via live webcast) or represented by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter on the record date.
As of the date of this proxy statement, the initial shareholders hold 20% of the Company’s outstanding ordinary shares.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is implemented, any holder of public shares may redeem all or a portion
of their public shares 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 such approval, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of
taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of
such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section
13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the
Class A ordinary shares without the prior consent of the Company.
In
addition, we will not proceed with the Extension if the number of redemptions of our Public Shares causes the Company to have less than
$5,000,001 of net tangible assets, which requirement may not be waived by the Board.
What
vote is required to adopt the Adjournment Proposal?
If
presented, the Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a simple
majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast) or represented
by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
If
the Adjournment Proposal is presented, what is the Resolution to be voted upon?
The
full text of the resolution to be proposed is as follows:
“RESOLVED,
as an ordinary resolution, that the general meeting be adjourned to a later date or dates to be determined by the chairman of the general
meeting, either (x) to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies or (y) because the board of directors has determined that it is
not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal.”
What
happens if I sell my public shares before the Extraordinary General Meeting?
The
January 26, 2023 record date is earlier than the date of the Extraordinary General Meeting. If you transfer your public shares after
the record date, but before the Extraordinary General Meeting, unless the transferee obtains from you a proxy to vote those shares, you
will retain your right to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting. If you transfer your public shares prior to the record date, you
will have no right to vote those shares at the Extraordinary General Meeting. If you acquired your public shares after the record date,
you will still have an opportunity to redeem them if you so decide.
What
if I don’t want to vote for the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or the Adjournment Proposal?
If
you do not want the Extension Amendment Proposal or, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal to be approved, you must vote “AGAINST”
such proposal. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, and the Extension is implemented, then the Withdrawal Amount will be
withdrawn from the trust account and paid to the redeeming holders.
Abstentions
and broker non-votes will be counted in connection with the determination of whether a valid quorum is established but will have no effect
on any of the proposals.
Will
you seek any further extensions to liquidate the trust account?
Other
than the extension until the Extended Date as described in this proxy statement, we do not currently anticipate seeking any further extension
to consummate our initial business combination, although we may determine to do so in the future.
What
happens if the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved?
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved,
the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company has not consummated an initial business combination by the Current
Outside Date, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible
but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 franchise and income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number
of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders
(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 our remaining shareholders and our Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject
in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable
laws.
Our
initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable,
in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension
to the Current Outside Date. In addition, they have agreed to waive their right to receive liquidating distributions from the trust account
with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, what happens next?
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, the Company will continue to attempt to consummate its initial business combination until
the Extended Date.
In
addition, the removal of the Withdrawal Amount from the trust account, if any, will reduce the amount remaining in the trust account
and increase the percentage interest of the Company ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders through the founder shares.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, we will file an amendment to our Governing Documents with the Registrar of Companies of
the Cayman Islands in the form of Annex A hereto. The Company will remain a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and our
public shares will remain publicly traded.
How
are the funds in the trust account currently being held?
The
funds in the trust account have, since our IPO, been held only in U.S. government securities within the meaning set forth in Section
2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or money market funds meeting certain conditions
of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, to mitigate the risk of being viewed as operating as an unregistered investment
company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act). As of the record
date, amounts held in the trust account included approximately $2.8 million of accrued interest.
There
is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to special purpose acquisition companies like us
(“SPACs”). It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company, including
under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, based on the rules currently in place and the current
views of the SEC. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, burdensome regulatory requirements
could force us to abandon our efforts to consummate an initial business combination. If we are forced to liquidate early, our shareholders
will have lost the opportunity to participate in a business combination and earn any potential gain on their investment.
We
currently intend to, on or prior to the 24-month anniversary of our IPO (March 29, 2023), instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust
Company, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds
held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account
until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Following a liquidation of the Trust Account
assets, if we are unable to achieve more than minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, the dollar amount our
public shareholders would otherwise receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company would be less than if the assets
in the Trust Account remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds. Interest on the Trust Account is variable and, while
it is currently expected to be approximately 3.0% per annum, the actual rate we obtain may be higher or lower, and may subsequently increase
or decrease significantly.
Furthermore,
there is no guarantee that moving the funds held in the Trust Account to cash prior to the 24-month anniversary of our IPO will successfully
mitigate the risk of us being deemed an unregistered investment company. Please also read see the section entitled “Risk Factors
— If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, our activities would be severely restricted….”
If
I do not redeem my shares now, would I still be able to vote on an initial business combination and exercise my redemption rights with
respect to an initial business combination?
Yes.
If you do not redeem your shares in connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal, then, assuming you are a shareholder as of the
record date for voting on any potential initial business combination, you will be able
to vote on such business combination when it is submitted to shareholders. You will also retain your right to redeem your public shares
upon consummation of such business combination, subject to any limitations set forth in the Governing Documents.
When
and where is the Extraordinary General Meeting?
The
Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at [●] Eastern Time, on March [●], 2023, at the offices of [●] located at [●], or virtually
via live webcast. You will be able to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting online, vote, and submit your questions during the Extraordinary
General Meeting by visiting [●] and entering the control number found on your proxy card, voting instruction form or notice included
in your proxy materials. We encourage you to access the Extraordinary General Meeting webcast prior to the start time. Online check-in
will begin fifteen minutes prior to the start time of the Extraordinary General Meeting, and you should allow ample time for the check-in
procedures. While shareholders are encouraged to attend the meeting virtually, you will be permitted to attend the Extraordinary General
Meeting in person at the offices of [●].
How
do I attend the virtual Extraordinary General Meeting, and will I be able to ask questions?
If
you are a registered shareholder, you received a proxy card from our transfer agent, [●] (“transfer agent”).
The form contains instructions on how to attend the virtual annual meeting including the URL address, along with your control number.
You will need your control number for access. If you do not have your control number, contact the transfer agent by phone at [●],
or email at [●].
You
can pre-register to attend the virtual meeting starting March [●], 2023 at [●] Eastern Time ([five] business days prior to
the Extraordinary General Meeting date). Enter the URL address into your browser [●], enter your control number, name and
email address. Once you pre-register you can vote or enter questions in the chat box. At the start of the Extraordinary General Meeting
you will need to re-log in using your control number and will also be prompted to enter your control number if you vote during the Extraordinary
General Meeting.
Beneficial
holders, who own their investments through a bank or broker, will need to contact the transfer agent to receive a control number. If
you plan to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting you will need to have a legal proxy from your bank or broker or if you would like
to join and not vote, the transfer agent will issue you a guest control number with proof of ownership. Either way you must contact the
transfer agent for specific instructions on how to receive the control number at the phone number or email address above. Please allow
up to [72] hours prior to the Extraordinary General Meeting for processing your control number.
If
you do not have internet capabilities, you can listen only to the Extraordinary General Meeting by dialing [●], within the U.S.
and Canada, or [●] (standard rates apply) outside the U.S. and Canada; when prompted enter the pin number [●]. This is listen
only, you will not be able to vote or enter questions during the Extraordinary General Meeting.
How
do I vote?
If
you are a holder of record of the Company’s ordinary shares you may vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting or by submitting
a proxy for the Extraordinary General Meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting virtually or in person,
we urge you to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. You may submit your proxy by completing, signing, dating and returning the
enclosed proxy card in the accompanying pre-addressed postage paid envelope. You may still attend the Extraordinary General Meeting and
vote in person or virtually if you have already voted by proxy.
If
your ordinary shares of the Company are held in “street name” by a broker or other agent, you have the right to direct your
broker or other agent on how to vote the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting, whether
in person or via live webcast. However, since you are not the shareholder of record, you may not vote your shares virtually at the Extraordinary
General Meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker or other agent.
How
do I change my vote?
If
you have submitted a proxy to vote your shares and wish to change your vote, you may do so by delivering a later-dated, signed proxy
card prior to the date of the Extraordinary General Meeting or by voting virtually at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Attendance at
the Extraordinary General Meeting alone will not change your vote. You also may revoke your proxy by sending a notice of revocation to
the Company at:
two
900
Kearny St., Suite 610,
San
Francisco, CA 94133
How
are votes counted?
Votes
will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the Extraordinary General Meeting, who will separately count “FOR”
and “AGAINST” votes, abstentions and broker non-votes for the Extension Amendment Proposal.
Abstentions
and broker non-votes will be counted in connection with the determination of whether a valid quorum is established but will have no effect
on the outcome of the Extension Amendment Proposal or, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal. Since the Adjournment Proposal is considered
a routine matter, brokers shall be entitled to vote on the Adjournment Proposal absent voting instructions, and thus there should be
no broker non-votes with respect to the Adjournment Proposal. For more information regarding broker non-votes, please read the question
“If my shares are held in “street name,” will my broker automatically vote them for me?” below.
If
my shares are held in “street name,” will my broker automatically vote them for me?
No.
Holders of ordinary shares that are held in street name must instruct their bank or brokerage firm that holds their shares how to vote
their shares. If you do not give instructions to your bank or brokerage firm, the bank or brokerage firm will nevertheless be entitled
to vote your shares with respect to “routine” items, but it will not be permitted to vote your shares with respect to “non-routine”
items. In the case of a non-routine item, such shares will be considered “broker non-votes” on that proposal.
Proposal
1 – The Extension Amendment Proposal is a matter that we believe will be considered “non-routine.”
Proposal
2 – The Adjournment Proposal is a matter that we believe will be considered “routine.”
Banks
or brokerages cannot use discretionary authority to vote shares on the Extension Amendment Proposal if they have not received instructions
from their clients. Your broker can tell you how to provide these instructions. Please submit your vote instruction form so your vote
is counted.
What
is a quorum requirement?
A
quorum of shareholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present if the holders of at least one-third of
our ordinary shares are represented in person (including via live webcast) or by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Your
shares will be counted towards the quorum only if you submit a valid proxy (or one is submitted on your behalf by your broker, bank or
other nominee) or if you vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will be counted towards the quorum
requirement. If there is no quorum, the chairperson of the Extraordinary General Meeting may adjourn the Extraordinary General Meeting
to another date.
Who
can vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting?
Only
holders of record of the Company’s ordinary shares at the close of business on January 26, 2023, are entitled to have their vote
counted at the Extraordinary General Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof. On the record date, 21,437,500 Class A ordinary
shares and 5,359,375 Class B ordinary shares were outstanding and entitled to vote.
Shareholder
of Record: Shares Registered in Your Name. If on the record date your shares were registered directly in your name with the Company’s
transfer agent, [●], then you are a shareholder of record. As a shareholder of record, you may vote virtually at the Extraordinary
General Meeting or vote by proxy. Whether or not you plan to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting, we urge you to fill out and return
the enclosed proxy card to ensure your vote is counted.
Beneficial
Owner: Shares Registered in the Name of a Broker or Bank. If on the record date your shares were held, not in your name, but rather
in an account at a brokerage firm, bank, dealer, or other similar organization, then you are the beneficial owner of shares held in “street
name” and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by that organization. As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct
your broker or other agent on how to vote the shares in your account. You are also invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting
in person or virtually. However, since you are not the shareholder of record, you may not vote your shares in person or virtually at
the Extraordinary General Meeting unless you request and obtain a valid proxy from your broker or other agent.
What
interests do the Company’s directors and executive officers have in the approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal?
The
Company’s directors and executive officers have interests in the Extension Amendment Proposal that may be different from, or in
addition to, your interests as a shareholder. These interests include ownership by them of founder shares, and the possibility of future
compensatory arrangements. See the section entitled “Proposal No. 1 — The Extension Amendment — Interests of the
Company’s Directors and Officers.”
What
if I object to the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or the Adjournment Proposal? Do I have dissenters’ rights?
Neither
Cayman Islands nor the Company’s Governing Documents provide shareholders with dissenters’ rights in connection with either
the Extension Amendment Proposal or, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal.
How
do I redeem my public shares?
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is implemented, each public shareholder may seek to redeem all or a portion
of his or her public shares 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 approval of the Extension, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest
shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the total number of then outstanding public shares. However, public shareholders will only
be entitled to receive cash for any public shares to be redeemed only if they:
|
(i) |
hold
public shares; and |
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|
|
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(ii) |
prior
to [●] Eastern Time, on March [●], 2023 (two business days prior to the scheduled vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting),
(a) submit a written request, including the name, phone number, and address of the beneficial owner of the shares for which redemption
is requested, to [●], the Company’s transfer agent, at [●], Attn: [●] (e-mail: [●]), that the Company
redeem their public shares for cash and (b) tender or deliver their shares to the transfer agent (and share certificates (if any)
and other redemption forms), physically or electronically through The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”). |
Public
shareholders may elect to redeem all or a portion of their public shares regardless of whether they vote for or against the Extension
Amendment Proposal and regardless of whether they hold public shares on the record date.
If
you hold your shares through a bank or broker, you must ensure your bank or broker complies with the requirements identified herein,
including submitting a written request that your shares be redeemed for cash to the transfer agent and delivering your shares to the
transfer agent prior to [●] Eastern Time on March [●], 2023 (two business days before the scheduled vote at the Extraordinary
General Meeting). You will only be entitled to receive cash in connection with a redemption of these shares if you continue to hold them
until the effective date of the Extension Amendment and Election.
Through
DTC’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian) System, this electronic delivery process can be accomplished by the shareholder, whether
it is a record holder or its shares are held in “street name,” by contacting the transfer agent or its broker and requesting
delivery of its shares through the DWAC system. Delivering shares physically may take significantly longer. In order to obtain a physical
share certificate, a shareholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC, and the Company’s transfer agent will need to act
together to facilitate this request. There is a nominal cost associated with the above- referenced tendering process and the act of certificating
the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100 and the broker
would determine whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. It is our understanding that shareholders should generally
allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. The Company does not have any control over this process
or over the brokers or DTC, and it may take longer than two weeks to obtain a physical share certificate. Such shareholders will have
less time to make their investment decision than those shareholders that deliver their shares through the DWAC system. Shareholders who
request physical share certificates and wish to redeem may be unable to meet the deadline for tendering their shares before exercising
their redemption rights and thus will be unable to redeem their shares.
Certificates
that have not been tendered in accordance with these procedures prior to the vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal will not be redeemed
for cash held in the trust account. In the event that a public shareholder tenders its shares and decides prior to the vote at the Extraordinary
General Meeting that it does not want to redeem its shares, the shareholder may withdraw the tender with the consent of the Board. If
you have tendered or delivered your shares for redemption to our transfer agent and decide prior to the vote at the Extraordinary General
Meeting not to redeem your public shares, you may request that our transfer agent return the shares (physically or electronically). You
may make such request by contacting our transfer agent at the address listed above under the question titles “How do I redeem
my public shares?”. In the event that a public shareholder tenders shares and the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved,
or is approved but the Extension is not implemented, these shares will not be redeemed and the physical certificates representing these
shares will be returned to the shareholder promptly following the determination that the Extension Amendment Proposal will not be approved
or that the Extension will not be implemented. The Company anticipates that a public shareholder who tenders shares for redemption in
connection with the vote to approve the Extension would receive payment of the redemption price for such shares soon after the Extension
is implemented. The transfer agent will hold the certificates of public shareholders that make the election until such shares are redeemed
for cash or returned to such shareholders.
Public
shareholders will also be able to redeem their public shares in connection with any shareholder vote to approve a business combination,
or if the Company has not consummated a business combination by the Extended Date.
What
should I do if I receive more than one set of voting materials?
You
may receive more than one set of voting materials, including multiple copies of this proxy statement and multiple proxy cards or voting
instruction cards, if your shares are registered in more than one name or are registered in different accounts. For example, if you hold
your shares in more than one brokerage account, you will receive a separate voting instruction card for each brokerage account in which
you hold shares. Please complete, sign, date and return each proxy card and voting instruction card that you receive in order to cast
a vote with respect to all of your ordinary shares.
Who
is paying for this proxy solicitation?
The
Company will pay for the entire cost of soliciting proxies. The Company has engaged [●] to assist in the solicitation of proxies
for the Extraordinary General Meeting. The Company has agreed to pay [●] a fee of $[●]. The Company will also reimburse [●]
for reasonable and customary out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, our directors and executive officers may also solicit proxies in person,
by telephone or by other means of communication, but will not be paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. The Company
may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.
Where
do I find the voting results of the Extraordinary General Meeting?
We
will announce preliminary voting results at the Extraordinary General Meeting. The final voting results will be tallied by the inspector
of election and published in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which the Company will file with the SEC within four business
days following the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Who
can help answer my questions?
If
you have questions about the proposals or if you need additional copies of the proxy statement or the enclosed proxy card you should
contact:
two
900
Kearny St.,
Suite
610,
San
Francisco, CA 94133
Telephone:
(415) – 480-1752
You
may also contact the Company’s proxy solicitor at:
[●]
[●]
[●]
Attn:
[●]
Telephone:
[●]
You
may also obtain additional information about the Company from documents filed with the SEC by following the instructions in the section
entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”
RISK
FACTORS
You
should consider carefully all of the risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022 (as amended
on April 1, 2022), any subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC and in the other reports we file with the SEC before
making a decision to invest in our securities. Furthermore, if any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and
operating results may be materially adversely affected or we could face liquidation. In that event, the trading price of our securities
could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described in the aforementioned filings
and below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are
not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results or result
in our liquidation.
The
SEC has issued proposed rules to regulate special purpose acquisition companies. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential business
combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals may increase our costs and the time needed
to complete an initial business combination, and may constrain the circumstances
under which we could complete our initial business combination.
On
March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules (the “SPAC Rule Proposals”), which include proposals relating to, among
other items, disclosures in business combination transactions between SPACs
such as us and private operating companies; the condensed financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell
companies; the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; the potential
liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to
regulation under the Investment Company Act, including a proposed rule that would provide SPACs a safe harbor from treatment as an investment
company if they satisfy certain conditions that limit a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities. Certain
of the procedures that we, a potential business combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with the SPAC
Rule Proposals, or pursuant to the SEC’s views expressed in the SPAC Rule Proposals, may increase the costs and the time required
to consummate an initial business combination, and may constrain the circumstances
under which we could complete such business combination.
If
we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, our activities would be severely restricted, we
would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and we may be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial
business combination, and instead be required to liquidate the Company. To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment
company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we intend to liquidate the securities held in the trust account and instead
hold all funds in the trust account in cash until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation,
which could reduce the dollar amount that our public shareholders would receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company.
There is no guarantee that doing so will fully mitigate such risk.
There
is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability
of the Investment Company Act to SPACs like us. It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered
investment company, including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, based on the rules currently
in place and the current views of the SEC. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act,
burdensome regulatory requirements could force us to abandon our efforts to consummate an initial business combination. If we are required to liquidate, our investors would not be able to realize
the benefits of owning stock in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares following
such a transaction.
We
currently intend to, on or prior to the 24-month
anniversary of our IPO (March 29, 2023), instruct Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect
to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the Trust Account
and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing bank deposit account until the earlier of consummation
of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Following a liquidation of the Trust Account assets, if we are
unable to achieve more than minimal interest on the funds held in the Trust Account, the dollar amount our public shareholders
would otherwise receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company would be less than if the assets in the Trust Account
remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds. Interest on such a cash account is variable and, while it is currently
expected to be approximately 3.0% per annum, the actual rate we obtain may be higher or lower, and may subsequently increase or decrease
significantly.
In
addition, even prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to our initial public
offering, we may be deemed to be an unregistered investment company. Under the proposed rules discussed above, a company
like ours that has not entered into a definitive agreement within 18 months after its IPO and has not consummated its business combination
by 24 months after its IPO would be outside the “safe harbor,” which would negatively impact our ability to defend against
a claim that we are an unregistered investment company. Regardless of whether the proposed rules are adopted, the longer that the
funds in the Trust Account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively
in such securities, even prior to the 24-month anniversary, there is a greater risk that we may be considered an unregistered
investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate. Accordingly, we may determine, in our discretion, to liquidate the
securities held in the Trust Account at an earlier time than the 24-month anniversary, and instead hold all
funds in the Trust Account as described above. There is no guarantee that the liquidation of securities held in our Trust Account
and allocation of such funds to a cash account will successfully mitigate the risk of being deemed an unregistered investment company.
There
are no assurances that the Extension will enable us to complete an initial
Business Combination.
Approving
the Extension Amendment Proposal involves a number of risks. Even if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is
implemented, the Company can provide no assurances that an initial business
combination will be consummated prior to the Extended Date. Our ability to consummate an initial business combination is dependent on
a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including completion of SEC or other regulatory review processes.
We
are required to offer shareholders the opportunity to redeem shares of Class A ordinary shares in connection with the Extension
Amendment Proposal, and we will be required to offer shareholders redemption rights again in connection with any shareholder vote to
approve any potential initial business combination. Even if the Extension Amendment Proposal or our initial business
combination are approved by our shareholders, it is possible that redemptions will leave us with insufficient cash to consummate an
initial business combination on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. The fact that we will have separate redemption periods in
connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal and our initial business combination vote could exacerbate these risks. Other than
in connection with a redemption offer or liquidation, our shareholders may be unable to recover their investment except through
sales of shares of Class A ordinary shares on the open market. The price of shares of Class A ordinary shares may be volatile, and
there can be no assurance that shareholders will be able to dispose of shares of Class A ordinary shares at favorable prices, or at
all.
If
the Extension Proposal is not approved, we will be required to cease all operations on March 29, 2023, except for the purposes of winding
up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less
than such amount in certain circumstances, and will forgo any of the potential benefits from a completed initial business combination
including potential stock price appreciation
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company has not consummated
an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding
up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 franchise and income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest
to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish
public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii)
as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board, liquidate
and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements
of other applicable law. Additionally, if the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, you will forgo any of the potential benefits
that could have been realized from a completed initial business combination resulting in owning shares in a successor operating business,
including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares following such a transaction.
The
ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved with respect to a large
number of our public shares may adversely affect the liquidity of our securities.
Pursuant
to our Governing Documents, a public shareholder may request that the Company redeem all or a portion of such public shareholder’s
public shares for cash if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is implemented. The ability of our public shareholders
to exercise such redemption rights with respect to a large number of our public shares may adversely affect the liquidity of our Class
A ordinary shares. As a result, you may be unable to sell your Class A ordinary shares even if the per-share market price is higher than
the per-share redemption price paid to public shareholders that elect to redeem their public shares if the Extension Amendment Proposal
is approved.
NYSE
may delist our securities from trading on its exchange following redemptions by our shareholders in connection with approval of the Extension
Amendment Proposal, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading
restrictions.
Our
Class A ordinary shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. After the Extraordinary General Meeting, we may be required to demonstrate
compliance with NYSE’s continued listing requirements in order to maintain the listing of our securities on NYSE. The NYSE would
normally give consideration to the prompt initiation of suspension and delisting procedures with respect to a security of an issuer when:
|
● |
its
average aggregate global market capitalization is below $50,000,000 or the average aggregate global market capitalization attributable
to publicly held shares is below $40,000,000, in each case over 30 consecutive trading days (not including shares held by directors,
officers or their immediate family members and other concentrated holders of 10% or more of such issuer’s outstanding shares); |
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● |
the
total number of public shareholders is less than 300 (including beneficial holders in addition to holders of record, but excluding
directors, officers or their immediate family members and other concentrated holders of 10% or more such issuer’s outstanding
shares); |
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● |
the
number of total stockholders is less than 1,200 (including beneficial holders in addition to holders of record) and the average monthly
trading volume is less than 100,000 shares for the most recent 12 months; or |
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● |
the
number of publicly-held shares is less than 600,000, provided that if the unit of trading is less than 100 shares this requirement
is reduced proportionately (excluding shares held by directors, officers or their immediate family members and other concentrated
holders of 10% or more such issuer’s outstanding shares). |
We
cannot assure you that any of our Class A ordinary shares will be able to meet any of NYSE’s continued listing requirements following
the Extraordinary General Meeting and any related shareholder redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares. If our securities do not meet
NYSE’s continued listing requirements, NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange.
If
NYSE delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities
exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material
adverse consequences, including:
|
● |
a
limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
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● |
reduced
liquidity for our securities; |
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● |
a
determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A
ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading
market for our securities; |
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a
limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
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a
decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The
National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the
sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our Class A ordinary shares qualify as covered
securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute
does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then
the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these
powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by SPACs, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies
unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in
their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute
and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Our
Sponsor, certain members of our Board and our officers have interests in the proposals that may conflict with those of other shareholders
in recommending that shareholders vote in favor of approval of the proposals in this proxy statement.
Our
Sponsor, certain members of our Board and our officers have interests in the proposals that may conflict with those of other shareholders
in recommending that shareholders vote in favor of approval of the proposals. For example, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive
their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable, in connection with a shareholder vote
to approve certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside
Date. In addition, they have agreed to waive their right to receive liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to
any founder shares they hold if the Company fails to consummate an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date. As a result,
founder shares held by the Sponsor and the Company’s independent directors will be worthless if the Extension is not approved and
we do not consummate an initial business combination by March 29, 2023
These
interests may influence our directors in making their recommendation that you vote in favor of the approval of the proposals described
in this proxy statement. You should take these interests into account in deciding whether to vote in favor of such proposals. You should
also read the section entitled “Proposal No. 1 — The Extension Amendment Proposal — Interests of the Company’s
Directors and Officers.”
Even
if we implement the Extension, we might not be able to complete any potential initial
business combination, if it is subject to review by a U.S. or non- U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment
in the United States (“CFIUS”), the SEC, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) or non-U.S. equivalents, or ultimately
prohibited.
Our
initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited
by government regulators.
For
example, CFIUS is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving acquisitions and investments by foreign
persons in U.S. businesses that have a nexus to critical technologies, critical infrastructure and/or sensitive personal data in order
to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the United States. If our initial business combination falls
within the scope of foreign ownership restrictions we may
be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the business combination
without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after consummating the business combination. CFIUS may decide to block
or delay the business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such business combination
or order us to divest all or a portion of the acquired U.S. business if we had proceeded without first obtaining CFIUS clearance.
As
another example, our initial business combination target may be connected to blockchain or digital assets, including, without limitation,
cryptocurrencies. The SEC has not issued any regulations over whether these types of assets constitute a security under U.S. securities
laws, and instead has taken a case-by-case approach to its analysis. Accordingly, if a business combination target is involved with such
digital assets, the SEC might not approve any registration or proxy statement we file in connection with our initial business combination or may cause a substantial delay in granting its approval.
In
addition, certain features of a business combination target’s products and services, including, among others, hedging products
and margin financing for soft commodities and precious metals, may be subject to constantly evolving legal and regulatory frameworks.
As a result, our initial business combination could be subjected to increased scrutiny during regulatory review and approval processes.
There can be no assurance that we will receive the necessary regulatory approvals to complete our initial business combination as planned,
or at all, or that the combined company will operate as anticipated.
Moreover,
if applicable, the process of government review, whether by CFIUS, the SEC, the FTC or otherwise, could be lengthy. If we cannot complete
the business combination by March 29, 2023, because a regulatory review or approval process extends beyond such timeframe, we fail to
obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period or because the business combination is ultimately prohibited by a government
entity, we may be required to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata share of amounts held
in the trust account. This will also cause you to lose any potential investment opportunity in a target company and the chance of realizing
future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.
THE
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
Date,
Time, Place and Purpose of the Extraordinary General Meeting
The
Extraordinary General Meeting will be held at [●] Eastern Time, on March [●], 2023. You will be able to attend the Extraordinary
General Meeting online, vote, and submit your questions during the Extraordinary General Meeting by visiting [●]. While shareholders
are encouraged to attend the meeting virtually, you will be permitted to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting in person at the offices
of [●] located at [●].
The
Extraordinary General Meeting is being held to consider and vote upon the following proposals:
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1. |
The
Extension Amendment Proposal: To amend our Governing Documents to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a business
combination from March 29, 2023 (the date which is 24 months from the closing date of the IPO), to December 29, 2023 (the
date which is 33 months from the closing date of the IPO). |
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2. |
The
Adjournment Proposal: To approve the adjournment of the Extraordinary General Meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary,
either to permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes to approve the Extension
Amendment Proposal or if we determine that additional time is necessary to effectuate the Extension or the Board determines before
the Extraordinary General Meeting that it is not necessary or no longer desirable to proceed with the Extension Amendment Proposal. |
Voting
Power; Record Date
You
will be entitled to vote or direct votes to be cast at the Extraordinary General Meeting if you owned our ordinary shares at the close
of business on January 26, 2023, the record date for the Extraordinary General Meeting. You will have one vote for each ordinary share
you owned at that time.
If
your shares are held in “street name” or are in a margin or similar account, you should contact your broker to ensure that
votes related to the shares you beneficially own are properly counted.
At
the close of business on the record date, there were 21,437,500 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding and 5,359,375 Class B
ordinary shares issued and outstanding, which vote together as a single class with respect to the Extension Amendment Proposal and, if
presented, the Adjournment Proposal.
Votes
Required
Approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at least
a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast)
or represented by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter on the record date.
If
presented, the Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a simple
majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast) or represented
by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
If
you do not want the Extension Amendment Proposal or, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal to be approved, you must vote “AGAINST”
such proposal. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, and the Extension is implemented, then the Withdrawal Amount will be
withdrawn from the trust account and paid to the redeeming holders. You will still be entitled to make the Election if you vote “AGAINST”,
abstain or do not vote on the Extension Proposal. We anticipate that a public shareholder who tenders shares for redemption in connection
with the vote to approve the Extension Amendment Proposal would receive payment of the redemption price for such shares soon after the
Extension is implemented.
Abstentions
and broker non-votes will be counted in connection with the determination of whether a valid quorum is established but will have no effect
on any of the proposals. Since the Adjournment Proposal is considered a routine matter, brokers shall be entitled to vote on the Adjournment
Proposal absent voting instructions, and thus there should be no broker non-votes with respect to the Adjournment Proposal.
Voting
You
can vote your shares at the Extraordinary General Meeting by proxy, in person or virtually.
You
can vote by proxy by having one or more individuals who will attend the Extraordinary General Meeting vote your shares for you. These
individuals are called “proxies” and using them to cast your vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting is called voting “by
proxy.”
If
you wish to vote by proxy, you must (i) complete the enclosed form, called a “proxy card,” and mail it in the envelope provided
or (ii) submit your proxy by telephone or over the internet (if those options are available to you) in accordance with the instructions
on the enclosed proxy card or voting instruction card.
If
you complete the proxy card and mail it in the envelope provided or submit your proxy by telephone or over the internet as described
above, you will designate [●] or, failing him, [●] or, failing him, the duly appointed chairman to act as your proxy at the
Extraordinary General Meeting. One of them will then vote your shares at the Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with the instructions
you have given them in the proxy card or voting instructions, as applicable, with respect to the proposals presented in this proxy statement.
Proxies will extend to, and be voted at, any adjournments or postponements of the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Alternatively,
you can vote your shares in person by attending the Extraordinary General Meeting virtually or at the offices of [●].
A
special note for those who plan to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting and vote: if your shares are held in the name of a broker,
bank or other nominee, please follow the instructions you receive from your broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares. You will
not be able to vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting unless you obtain a legal proxy from the record holder of your shares.
Our
Board is asking for your proxy. Giving our Board your proxy means you authorize it to vote your shares at the Extraordinary General Meeting
in the manner you direct. You may vote for or against any proposal or you may abstain from voting. All valid proxies received prior to
the Extraordinary General Meeting will be voted. All shares represented by a proxy will be voted, and where a shareholder specifies by
means of the proxy a choice with respect to any matter to be acted upon, the shares will be voted in accordance with the specification
so made. If no choice is indicated on the proxy, the shares will be voted “FOR” both the Extension Amendment Proposal
and, if presented, the Adjournment Proposal, and as the proxy holders may determine in their discretion with respect to any other matters
that may properly come before the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Shareholders
who have questions or need assistance in completing or submitting their proxy cards should contact our proxy solicitor, [●], at
[●] Attention: [●], Telephone: [●].
Shareholders
who hold their shares in “street name,” meaning the name of a broker or other nominee who is the record holder, must either
direct the record holder of their shares to vote their shares or obtain a legal proxy from the record holder to vote their shares at
the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Revocability
of Proxies
Any
proxy may be revoked by the person giving it at any time before the polls close at the Extraordinary General Meeting. A proxy may be
revoked by delivering to us, at two, 900 Kearny St., Suite 610, San Francisco, CA 94133, either a written notice of revocation
bearing a date later than the date of such proxy or a subsequent proxy relating to the same shares or by attending the Extraordinary
General Meeting and voting virtually.
Simply
attending the Extraordinary General Meeting will not constitute a revocation of your proxy. If your shares are held in the name of a
broker or other nominee who is the record holder, you must follow the instructions of your broker or other nominee to revoke a previously
given proxy.
Attendance
at the Extraordinary General Meeting
Only
holders of ordinary shares, their proxy holders and guests the Company may invite may attend the Extraordinary General Meeting. If you
wish to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting in person or virtually but you hold your shares through someone else, such as a broker,
please follow the instructions you receive from your broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares. You must bring a legal proxy
from the broker, bank or other nominee holding your shares, confirming your beneficial ownership of the shares and giving you the right
to vote your shares.
Solicitation
of Proxies
Your
proxy is being solicited by our Board on the proposals being presented to the shareholders at the Extraordinary General Meeting. Our
directors and executive officers may also solicit proxies in person, by telephone or by other means of communication, but will not be
paid any additional compensation for soliciting proxies. The Company may also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other agents for the
cost of forwarding proxy materials to beneficial owners.
The
cost of preparing, assembling, printing and mailing this proxy statement and the accompanying form of proxy, and the cost of soliciting
proxies relating to the Extraordinary General Meeting, will be borne by the Company.
Some
banks and brokers have customers who beneficially own ordinary shares listed of record in the names of nominees. The Company intends
to request banks and brokers to solicit such customers and will reimburse them for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for such solicitations.
If any additional solicitation of the holders of our outstanding ordinary shares is deemed necessary, the Company (through our directors
and executive officers) anticipates making such solicitation directly.
No
Right of Appraisal
The
Company’s shareholders do not have dissenters’ rights under Cayman Islands law nor the Company’s Governing Documents
in connection with the proposals to be voted on at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
Other
Business
The
Company is not currently aware of any business to be acted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting other than the matters discussed
in this proxy statement. The form of proxy accompanying this proxy statement confers discretionary authority upon the named proxy holders
with respect to amendments or variations to the matters identified in the accompanying Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting and with
respect to any other matters which may properly come before the Extraordinary General Meeting. If other matters do properly come before
the Extraordinary General Meeting, or at any adjournments or postponements of the Extraordinary General Meeting, the Company expects
that the ordinary shares represented by properly submitted proxies will be voted by the proxy holders in accordance with the recommendations
of our Board.
Principal
Executive Offices
Our
principal executive offices are located at 900 Kearny St., Suite 610, San Francisco, CA 94133. Our telephone number at such address
is (415) 480-1752.
PROPOSAL
NO. 1 — THE EXTENSION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL
Background
The
Company is blank check company incorporated on January 15, 2021, as a Cayman Islands exempted company, for the purpose of effecting a
merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.
On March 29, 2021, the Company consummated its IPO of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share. On April 13,
2021, the underwriter of the IPO acquired an additional 1,437,000 Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the underwriter’s partial
exercise of its over-allotment option, at $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $214,375,000.
Simultaneously
with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of an aggregate of 600,000 private placement shares at a price of $10.00
per private placement share in a private placement to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $6,000,000. Simultaneously
with the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option on April 13, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing
of the private placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 28,750 private placement shares by our Sponsor,
generating gross proceeds to the Company of $287,500. On December 29, 2022, our Sponsor forfeited its 628,750 Class A ordinary shares
to the Company for no value. As of the date of this proxy statement, the Sponsor does not own any Class A ordinary shares.
In
connection with the formation of the Sponsor, the Sponsor received 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares at a per share purchase price of
approximately $0.004. Prior to the IPO, our Sponsor transferred 25,000 of its founder shares to each of Michelle Gill, Ryan Petersen
and Laura de Petra, and 30,000 of its founder shares to Pierre Lamond, in each case, at their original per share purchase price. On April
19, 2021, following the expiration of the underwriter’s over-allotment option, the Sponsor forfeited 390,625 Class B ordinary shares
for no consideration, following which time there were 5,359,375 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. As of the date of this
proxy statement, the initial shareholders continue to own an aggregate of 5,359,375 founder shares.
The
prospectus for our IPO and our current Governing Documents provide that we have until March 29, 2023, or 24 months after the closing
date of our IPO, to complete a business combination.
The
Extension Amendment
The
Company is proposing to amend its Governing Documents to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a business combination
to the Extended Date.
The
sole purpose of the Extension Amendment Proposal is to provide the Company with sufficient time to complete our initial business combination.
Our prospectus for the IPO and our current Governing Documents provide that we have until March 29, 2023, or 24 months after the closing
date of the IPO, to complete a business combination.
Our Governing Documents require
that we not proceed with the Extension if the number of redemptions of our public shares causes the Company to have less than $5,000,001
of net tangible assets, which requirement may not be waived by the Board.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Current
Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company has not consummated an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date,
the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more
than ten business days thereafter, and subject to having lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares,
at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any interest earned
on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and after setting aside up to $100,000 to pay dissolution
expenses), divided by the total number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’
rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii)
as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board, in
accordance with applicable law, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for
claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Our
initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable,
in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension
to the Current Outside Date. In addition, they have agreed to waive their right to receive liquidating distributions from the trust account
with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date.
A
copy of the proposed amendment to our Governing Documents is attached to this proxy statement as Annex A.
Reasons
for the Proposal
The
sole purpose of the Extension Amendment Proposal is to provide the Company with sufficient time to complete an initial business combination,
which our Board believes is in the best interest of our shareholders. Approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal is a condition to
the implementation of the Extension.
The Governing Documents provide
that we have until the Current Outside Date to complete an initial business combination. Our Board believes that there may not be sufficient
time to enter into a definitive agreement, complete the SEC review process and hold an extraordinary general meeting to obtain
shareholder approval of and consummate any potential initial business combination, by the Current Outside Date. If we were precluded
from completing our initial business combination by the Current Outside Date, we would be forced to liquidate even if our shareholders
are otherwise in favor of consummating such business combination.
The Board believes it
is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to extend the Current Outside Date to the Extended Date in order to provide
sufficient time to consummate a potential initial business combination. We believe that given the Company’s expenditure of time,
effort and money on searching for potential business combination opportunities, circumstances warrant providing the Company’s public
shareholders an opportunity to consider a potential initial business combination. Accordingly, since we are unlikely to be able to complete
an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date, we have determined to seek shareholder approval to extend the time for closing
a business combination beyond the Current Outside Date to the Extended Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is Not Approved
Shareholder
approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal is required for the implementation of our Board’s plan to extend the date by which
the Company must consummate an initial business combination. Therefore, the Board will abandon and not implement the Extension unless
the Company’s shareholders approve the Extension Amendment Proposal.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment
Proposal is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and we do not consummate an initial business combination
by the Current Outside Date, in accordance with its Governing Documents, 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, and subject to having lawfully available
funds therefor, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then
on deposit in the trust account, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of taxes payable
and after setting aside up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the total number of then outstanding public shares, which
redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating
distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to
the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board, in accordance with applicable law, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each
case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
Our
initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares, as applicable,
in connection with a shareholder vote to approve certain amendments to our Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension
to the Current Outside Date. In addition, they have agreed to waive their right to receive liquidating distributions from the trust account
with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by the Current Outside Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is Approved
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, we will file an amendment to the Company’s Governing Documents with the Registrar
of Companies of the Cayman Islands in the form of Annex A hereto to extend the time the Company has to complete a business combination
until the Extended Date. We will remain a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and our public shares will remain publicly traded.
The Company will then continue to work to consummate an initial business combination
by the Extended Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, we plan to hold another general meeting prior to the Extended Date in order to seek shareholder
approval of a potential initial business combination, and related proposals.
You
are not being asked to vote on any proposed business combination at this time. If the Extension is implemented and you do not elect to
redeem your public shares in connection with the Extension, you will retain the right to vote on
any potential initial business combination, when and if such business combination is submitted to the public shareholders
(provided that you are a shareholder on the record date for a meeting to consider such business combination) and the right to redeem
your public shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account in the event any proposed business combination is approved and completed
or the Company has not consummated a business combination by the Extended Date.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the Extension is implemented, the removal of the Withdrawal Amount from the trust account
in connection with the Election will reduce the amount held in the trust account following the Election. The Company cannot predict the
amount that will remain in the trust account after such withdrawal if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the amount remaining
in the trust account may be only a fraction of the $214.4 million, plus accrued interest (less any funds used to pay taxes) that
was in the trust account as of the record date. In such event, we may still seek to obtain additional funds to complete a business combination,
and there can be no assurance that such funds will be available on terms acceptable to the parties or at all. We will not proceed with
the Extension if redemptions or repurchases of our public shares cause us to have less than $5,000,001 of net tangible assets
following approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal.
Redemption
Rights
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, and the Extension is implemented, any holder of public shares may redeem all or a portion
of their public shares 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 such approval, including any interest earned on the trust account deposits (which interest shall be net of
taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of
such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section
13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the
Class A ordinary shares without the prior consent of the Company. Our Governing Documents require that the Company not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets
to be less than $$5,000,001, which requirement may not be waived by the Board. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved by the
requisite vote of shareholders, then the Withdrawal Amount (as defined below)
will be withdrawn from the trust account and paid to the redeeming public shareholders with respect to the portion of public shares that
were validly redeemed as described above. In addition, the remaining public shareholders be entitled to have their shares redeemed for
cash if we have not completed a business combination by the Extended Date, subject to any limitations set forth in our Governing Documents.
TO
EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS, YOU MUST ENSURE YOUR BANK OR BROKER COMPLIES WITH THE REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED HEREIN, INCLUDING SUBMITTING
A WRITTEN REQUEST THAT YOUR SHARES BE REDEEMED FOR CASH TO THE TRANSFER AGENT AND DELIVERING YOUR SHARES TO THE TRANSFER AGENT PRIOR
TO [●] ET ON MARCH [●], 2023 (TWO BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE THE SCHEDULED VOTE AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING).
YOU
WILL ONLY BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE CASH IN CONNECTION WITH A REDEMPTION OF THESE SHARES IF YOU CONTINUE TO HOLD THEM UNTIL THE EFFECTIVE
DATE OF THE EXTENSION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL AND ELECTION.
Pursuant
to our Governing Documents, a public shareholder may request that the Company redeem all or a portion of such public shareholder’s
public shares for cash if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved. You will be entitled to receive cash for any public shares to
be redeemed only if you:
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(i) |
hold
public shares; and |
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(ii) |
prior
to [●] Eastern Time, on March [●], 2023 (two business days prior to the scheduled vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting),
(a) submit a written request, including the name, phone number, and address of the beneficial owner of the shares for which redemption
is requested, to [●], the Company’s transfer agent, at [●], Attn: [●] (e-mail: [●]), that the Company
redeem your public shares for cash and (b) tender or deliver your shares (and share certificates (if any) and other redemption forms)
to the transfer agent, physically or electronically through DTC. |
Public
shareholders may elect to redeem all or a portion of their public shares regardless of whether they vote for or against the Extension
Amendment Proposal and regardless of whether they hold public shares on the record date.
Through
DTC’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal at Custodian) System, this electronic delivery process can be accomplished by the shareholder, whether
it is a record holder or its shares are held in “street name,” by contacting the transfer agent or its broker and requesting
delivery of its shares through the DWAC system. Delivering shares physically may take significantly longer. In order to obtain a physical
share certificate, a shareholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC, and the Company’s transfer agent will need to act
together to facilitate this request. There is a nominal cost associated with the above- referenced tendering process and the act of certificating
the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100 and the broker
would determine whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. It is our understanding that shareholders should generally
allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. We do not have any control over this process or over
the brokers or DTC, and it may take longer than two weeks to obtain a physical share certificate. Such shareholders will have less time
to make their investment decision than those shareholders that deliver their shares through the DWAC system. Shareholders who request
physical share certificates and wish to redeem may be unable to meet the deadline for tendering their shares before exercising their
redemption rights and thus will be unable to redeem their shares.
Certificates
that have not been tendered in accordance with these procedures prior to the vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal will not be redeemed
for cash held in the trust account on the redemption date. In the event that a public shareholder tenders its shares and decides prior
to the vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting that it does not want to redeem its shares, the shareholder may withdraw the tender
with the consent of the Board. If you delivered your shares for redemption to our transfer agent and decide prior to the vote at the
Extraordinary General Meeting not to redeem your public shares, you may request that our transfer agent return the shares (physically
or electronically). You may make such request by contacting our transfer agent at the address listed above. In the event that a public
shareholder tenders shares and the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, these shares will not be redeemed and the physical certificates
representing these shares will be returned to the shareholder promptly following the determination that the Extension Amendment Proposal
will not be approved. We anticipate that a public shareholder who tenders shares for redemption in connection with the vote to approve
the Extension would receive payment of the redemption price for such shares soon after the Extension is implemented. The transfer agent
will hold the certificates of public shareholders that make the election until such shares are redeemed for cash or returned to such
shareholders.
If
properly demanded, we will redeem each public share for a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit
in the trust account, including any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our
franchise and income taxes, divided by the total number of then outstanding public shares. Based on the amount in the trust account as
of the record date, this would amount to approximately $10.13 per share, which amount includes interest earned on the funds held
in the trust account and not previously or yet released to the Company to pay its taxes. The closing price of the ordinary shares on
NYSE on January 26, 2023, the record date, was $10.13. The Company cannot assure public shareholders that they will be able to sell their
public shares in the open market, even if the market price per share is higher than the redemption price stated above, as there may not
be sufficient liquidity in its securities when such shareholders wish to sell their shares.
If
you exercise your redemption rights, you will be exchanging your shares of the Company’s ordinary shares for cash and will no longer
own the shares. You will be entitled to receive cash for these shares only if you properly demand redemption and tender your share certificate(s)
to the Company’s transfer agent prior to [●] Eastern Time on March [●], 2023 (two business days before the scheduled
vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting). The Company anticipates that a public shareholder who tenders shares for redemption in connection
with the vote to approve the Extension Amendment would receive payment of the redemption price for such shares soon after the Extension
is implemented.
Interests
of the Company’s Directors and Executive Officers
When
you consider the recommendation of our Board, you should keep in mind that the Company’s executive officers and directors, and
their affiliates, have interests that may be different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder. These interests include,
among other things:
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If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved and the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by the Current
Outside Date, in accordance with our Governing Documents, the 5,359,375 founder shares, which were acquired by our initial shareholders
prior to our IPO for an aggregate investment of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, will be worthless (as the initial shareholders
have waived liquidation rights with respect to such shares). The founder shares had an aggregate market value of approximately $54,290,469
based on the last sale price of the public shares of $10.13 on NYSE on January 26, 2023 (the record date); |
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On
December 29, 2022, our Sponsor forfeited the 628,750 Class A ordinary shares it purchased in connection with our IPO, losing the
value of its $6,287,500 investment. However, if we were able to obtain approval of the Extension Amendment Proposal and subsequently
consummate our initial business combination, even if the trading price of the shares of the post-combination company were as low
as $1.20 per share, the aggregate market value of the founder shares (converted into Class A common stock in connection with such
business combination, and assuming no forfeiture of the founder shares in connection therewith) held by the Sponsor would be approximately
equal to the initial investment in the Company by our Sponsor. As a result, if an initial business combination is completed,
the initial shareholders are likely to be able to make a substantial profit on their investment in us even at a time when the Class
A ordinary shares have lost significant value. On the other hand, if the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved and the Company
liquidates without completing its initial business combination before March 29, 2023, the Sponsor will have lost its opportunity
to offset the loss of its initial investment in us. |
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The
Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our registered public
accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering
into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii)
the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than
$10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn
to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business
that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity
of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act; |
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All
rights specified in the Governing Documents relating to the right of officers and directors to be indemnified by the Company, and
of the Company’s executive officers and directors to be exculpated from monetary liability with respect to prior acts or omissions,
will continue after a business combination. If a business combination is not approved and the Company liquidates, the Company will
not be able to perform its obligations to its officers and directors under those provisions; |
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All
of the current members of our Board are expected to continue to serve as directors at least through the date of the Extraordinary
General Meeting to approve a business combination and at least one is expected to continue to serve following a business combination
and receive compensation thereafter; and |
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the
Company’s executive officers and directors, and their affiliates are entitled to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred
by them in connection with certain activities on the Company’s behalf, such as identifying and investigating possible business
targets and business combinations. However, if the Company fails to obtain approval of the Extension Amendment and consummate a business
combination, they will not have any claim against the trust account for reimbursement. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to
reimburse these expenses if a business combination is not completed. |
Additionally,
if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and we consummate an initial business combination, our Sponsor, officers and directors
may have additional interests as will be described in the proxy statement for the business combination.
U.S.
Federal Income Tax Considerations
The
following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to U.S. Holders (as defined below)
and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) (i) of the Extension Amendment Proposal and (ii) that elect to have their public shares redeemed
for cash if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved.
This
discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our public shares who hold their public
shares as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion does
not address any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. taxation, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as gift and estate
taxes). This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to you
in light of your particular circumstances, including the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on net investment income and the different
consequences that may apply to you if you are subject to special rules that apply to certain types of investors, such as:
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our
sponsor, officers or directors; |
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banks,
financial institutions or financial services entities; |
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broker-dealers; |
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taxpayers
that are subject to the mark-to-market method of accounting rules; |
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tax-exempt
entities; |
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S-corporations; |
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governments
or agencies or instrumentalities thereof; |
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insurance
companies; |
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regulated
investment companies; |
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real
estate investment trusts; |
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expatriates
or former long-term residents of the United States; |
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persons
that actually or constructively own 5% or more of our public shares (by vote or value); |
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persons
that acquired our public shares pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans
or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services; |
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persons
required for U.S. federal income tax purposes to conform the timing of income accruals to their financial statements under Section
451 of the Code; |
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persons
that hold our public shares as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, wash sale, conversion or other integrated or similar
transaction; or |
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U.S.
Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. |
Moreover,
the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and
judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing
interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed
below.
We
have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may
disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future
legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
As
used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of public shares that is for U.S. federal income tax
purposes:
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individual citizen or resident of the United States; |
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a
corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated
as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
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an
estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
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a
trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one
or more |
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U.S.
persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury
regulations a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person. |
This
discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships (or other pass-through entities or arrangements classified as a partnership
for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or persons who hold our public shares through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity
or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our public shares, the U.S.
federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership (or other owner in a pass-through entity) generally will depend on the status
of the partner (or other owner) and the activities of the partner (or other owner) and the partnership (or other pass-through entity).
If you are a partner of a partnership holding our public shares, we urge you to consult your own tax advisor.
THIS
DISCUSSION IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP, AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF OUR DOMESTICATION AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR CAREFUL
TAX PLANNING. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES
TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF U.S. FEDERAL,
STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-UNITED STATES TAX LAWS, AS WELL AS UNDER ANY APPLICABLE TAX TREATY.
Tax
Treatment of Non-Redeeming Shareholders
A
public shareholder who does not elect to redeem their public shares (including any public shareholder who votes in favor of the Extension
Amendment) will continue to own its public shares, and will not recognize any income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes
solely as a result of the Extension Amendment Proposal.
U.S.
Holders
Generally
Subject
to the PFIC rules discussed below, the U.S. federal income tax consequences to a U.S. Holder of public shares that exercises its redemption
rights with respect to its public shares to receive cash in exchange for all or a portion of its public shares will depend on whether
it qualifies as a sale or exchange of the public shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale or exchange
of public shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described below under “-Taxation of Redemption Treated as Gain or Loss
on Sale of Public Shares.” If the redemption does not qualify as a sale or exchange of public shares, the U.S. Holder will
be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described below under “—Taxation of Redemption
Treated as a Distribution.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale or exchange treatment will depend largely on the total
number of our public shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any public shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder described
in the following paragraph) relative to all of our public shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. The redemption of
public shares generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the public shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if, within
the meaning of Section 302 of the Code, such redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S.
Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially
equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In
determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our public shares actually owned
by the U.S. Holder, but also our public shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition
to public shares owned directly, public shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest
or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any public shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option.
In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively
owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of public shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the
percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior
to our initial business combination, the public shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially
disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all
of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S.
Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution
of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other of our shares. The redemption of
the public shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful
reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction
in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances.
However,
the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder
in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.”
However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder
in a publicly held corporation where such shareholder exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful
reduction. A U.S. Holder should consult with its tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption of any public shares.
If
none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be
as described below under “—Taxation of Redemption Treated as a Distribution.” After the application of those
rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed public shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax
basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, possibly to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in other shares constructively
owned by it.
U.S.
Holders who actually or constructively own five or more of our shares (by vote or value) may be subject to special reporting requirements
with respect to a redemption of public shares, and such holders should consult with their tax advisors with respect to their reporting
requirements.
Taxation
of Redemption Treated as Gain or Loss on Sale of Public Shares
Subject
to the PFIC rules discussed below, if the redemption of a U.S. Holder’s public shares is treated as a sale, as discussed above
under the section entitled “—Generally,” a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to
the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash received in the redemption and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis
in its public shares surrendered in the redemption. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if
the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such public shares exceeds one year. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S.
Holder currently is subject to reduced tax rates. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this proxy statement
may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Taxation
of Redemption Treated as a Distribution
Subject
to the PFIC rules discussed below, if the redemption of a U.S. Holder’s public shares is treated as a distribution, as discussed
above under the section entitled “— Generally,” a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross
income, in accordance with such U.S. Holder’s method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as dividends the amount
of the cash received in the redemption to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under
U.S. federal income tax principles). The amount of any such dividends generally will be treated as foreign source dividend income for
U.S. federal income tax purposes. The amount of any such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates
and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received
from other domestic corporations. Cash received in the redemption in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against
and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its public shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be
treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such public shares (see “—Taxation of Redemption Treated as Gain or Loss
on Sale of Public Shares” above).
With
respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax laws currently in effect and subject to certain exceptions (including, but not limited
to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), dividends generally will be taxed
at the lower applicable long- term capital gains rate (see “—Taxation of Redemption Treated as Gain or Loss on Sale of
Public Shares” above) only if our public shares are readily tradable on an established public shares market in the United States
and certain other requirements, including certain holding period requirements, are met. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption
rights described in this proxy statement may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. In addition, if we
are treated as a PFIC, our dividends will not qualify for this lower applicable long-term capital gains rate. U.S. Holders should consult
their tax advisors regarding the availability of such lower rate for any amounts treated as dividends paid with respect to our public
shares in the redemption.
Passive
Foreign Investment Company Rules
A
foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of
its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to
own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined
based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which
it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income
generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade
or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
Because
we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income
test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable
year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC;
(2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the two taxable years following the start-up year; and
(3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years.
The
applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year (or
possibly not until after the close of the first two taxable years following our start-up year, as described under the start-up exception).
Additionally, it may be possible that we could be treated as a PFIC for a taxable year prior to the taxable year, which is treated as
our start-up year (within the meaning of the start-up exception). Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent
taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with
respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year and prospective U.S. Holders are urged to consult
their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules, the potential unavailability of the start-up exception, and
the making of a QEF election (as discussed further below).
Although
our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC generally will apply for subsequent years
to a U.S. Holder who held public shares while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years.
If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of
our public shares and the U.S. Holder did not make either a qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first
taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) public shares, a QEF election along with a purging election,
or a mark-to-market election, each as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i)
any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale of its public shares in the redemption and (ii) any “excess distribution”
made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than
125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the public shares during the three preceding taxable
years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the public shares).
Under
these rules:
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the
U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the public
shares; |
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the
amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution,
or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC,
will be taxed as ordinary income; |
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the
amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed
at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and |
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an
additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with
respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder. |
In
general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our public
shares by making a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains
(as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed,
in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election
to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject
to an interest charge.
The
QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder
generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment
Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S.
federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing
a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult
their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In
order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we
determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year we will endeavor to provide, upon written request, to a U.S. Holder such information as
the IRS may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election,
but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely
knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If
a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our public shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply
to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to
hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of
our public shares in the redemption generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional tax or interest charge will be imposed
under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our public shares that has made a QEF
election will be taxed currently on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent
distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to
such U.S. Holder. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s public shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income,
and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. Similar basis adjustments apply to property if,
by reason of holding such property, the U.S. Holder is treated under the applicable attribution rules as owning shares in a QEF. In addition,
if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our public
shares for such taxable year.
Alternatively,
if we are a PFIC and our public shares constitute “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences
discussed above if such U.S. Holder, at the close of the first taxable year in which it holds (or is deemed to hold) our public shares,
makes a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. Such U.S. Holder generally will include for each of
its taxable years as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its public shares at the end of such year over its
adjusted basis in its public shares. These amounts of ordinary income would not be eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to
qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. The U.S. Holder also will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess,
if any, of its adjusted basis of its public shares over the fair market value of its public shares at the end of its taxable year (but
only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s
basis in its public shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or
other taxable disposition of its public shares will be treated as ordinary income.
The
mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” generally, stock that is regularly traded on a national
securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including NYSE (on which our public shares are listed),
or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate
and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made
and for all subsequent taxable years unless the public shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the
PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability
and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election with respect to our public shares under their particular circumstances.
If
we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own
a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described
above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise
were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S.
Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance
that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in
any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide such required information.
U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A
U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form
8621 (whether or not a QEF or market-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.
If a U.S. Holder does not file the required IRS Form 8621, such person may be subject to substantial penalties, and the statute of limitations
on the assessment and collection of all U.S. federal income taxes of such person for the related tax year may not close before the date
which is three years after the date on which such form is filed.
The
rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition
to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our public shares should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application
of the PFIC rules to our public shares under their particular circumstances.
Tax
Reporting
Certain
U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities generally will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s
investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject
to certain exceptions. Interests in the Company (including our public shares) constitute specified foreign financial assets for these
purposes. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties
and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of
U.S.
federal income taxes generally will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax
advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to a redemption of our public shares.
Non-U.S.
Holders
This
section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means
a beneficial owner of our public shares (other than a partnership or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal
income tax purposes) who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
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non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates); |
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foreign corporation; or |
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but
generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the disposition
of our public shares. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences
of the of the transactions contemplated by the Extension Amendment (including any redemption of the public shares in connection therewith).
Generally
The
U.S. federal income tax consequences to a Non-U.S. Holder of public shares that exercises its redemption rights with respect to its public
shares will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the public shares redeemed, as described above under “Tax
Treatment of Redeeming Shareholders — U.S. Holders — Generally.” If such a redemption qualifies as a sale of public
shares, the U.S. federal income tax consequences to the Non-U.S. Holder will be as described below under “— Taxation of
Redemption Treated as a Sale of Public Shares.” If such a redemption does not qualify as a sale of public shares, the Non-U.S.
Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of which are described below under
“— Taxation of Redemption as a Distribution.”
Taxation
of Redemption Treated as a Sale of Public Shares
If
the redemption of a U.S. Holder’s public shares is treated as a sale, as described above under “Tax Treatment of Redeeming
Shareholders — U.S. Holders — Generally,” a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income
tax on any gain attributable to such sale unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United
States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder
maintains in the United States). Gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business
in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base
that such holder maintains in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal
income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal
income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
Taxation
of Redemption as a Distribution
If
the redemption of a U.S. Holder’s public shares is treated as a distribution, as described above under “Tax Treatment
of Redeeming Shareholders — U.S. Holders — Generally,” any portion of such distribution treated as a dividend paid
to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our public shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are
effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an
applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).
Dividends
that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required
by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United
States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable
U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to
an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
Proceeds
from the redemption of our public shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding.
Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required
certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. Information reporting and backup
withholding generally will not apply to a Non-U.S. Holder who provides certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury,
on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup
withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income
tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely
filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
THE
U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX DISCUSSION SET FORTH ABOVE IS INCLUDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE DEPENDING UPON
A HOLDER’S PARTICULAR SITUATION. HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF
(i) THE EXTENSION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL AND (ii) AN ELECTION TO HAVE THEIR PUBLIC SHARES REDEEMED FOR CASH IF THE EXTENSION PROPOSAL IS
APPROVED, INCLUDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES UNDER STATE, LOCAL, ESTATE, FOREIGN AND OTHER TAX LAWS AND TAX TREATIES AND THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS
OF CHANGES IN U.S. OR OTHER TAX LAWS.
Required
Vote
Approval
of the Extension Amendment Proposal will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at least
a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present in person (including via live webcast)
or represented by proxy at the Extraordinary General Meeting and entitled to vote on such matter on the record date. Approval of the
Extension Amendment Proposal is a condition to the implementation of the Extension.
If
a valid quorum is otherwise established, a shareholder’s failure to vote by proxy or online at the Extraordinary General Meeting
will have no effect on the outcome of any vote on the Extension Proposal. Abstentions will be counted in connection with the determination
of whether a valid quorum is established but will have no effect on the outcome of the Extension Proposal. If you hold your shares in
“street name” and do not give instructions to your bank or brokerage firm, your bank or brokerage firm cannot use discretionary
authority to vote shares on the Extension Amendment Proposal if they have not received instructions from you. Your broker can tell you
how to provide these instructions. Please submit your vote instruction form so your vote is counted.
The
Sponsor, which is an affiliate of certain members of the Board and the Company’s management team, and the Company’s independent
directors are expected to vote any ordinary shares over which they have voting control in favor of both of the proposals. The initial
shareholders waived their rights to redeem any founder shares or public shares they hold in connection with a shareholder vote to approve
certain amendments to the Company’s Governing Documents, including a vote to approve an extension to the Current Outside Date.
On the record date, the initial shareholders beneficially owned and were entitled to vote an aggregate of 5,359,375 founder shares, representing,
in the aggregate, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
If
the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, the Company may again seek to extend the Current Outside Date. If the Extension Amendment
Proposal is not approved, the Current Outside Date is not otherwise extended and the Company has not consummated an initial business
combination by the Current Outside Date, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly
as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 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 franchise and income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses)
divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights
as shareholders (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 our remaining shareholders and our Board, liquidate and
dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of
other applicable laws.
The
Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their respective affiliates, may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions
or in the open market prior to or following the Extraordinary General Meeting, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such public
shares purchased by our Sponsor, directors, executive officers or any of their respective affiliates would be (a) purchased at a price
no higher than the redemption price for the public shares, calculated based on the trust account amount as of the record date and (b)
would not be (i) voted by the Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates at the Extraordinary General Meeting
and (ii) redeemable by the Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates. Any such purchases that are completed
after the record date for the Extraordinary General Meeting may include an agreement with a selling shareholder that such shareholder,
for so long as it remains the record holder of the shares in question, will vote in favor of the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or
will not exercise its redemption rights with respect to the shares so purchased. The purpose of such share purchases and other transactions
would be to increase the likelihood that the proposals to be voted upon at the Extraordinary General Meeting are approved by the requisite
number of votes and to reduce the number of public shares that are redeemed. In the event that such purchases do occur, the purchasers
may seek to purchase shares from shareholders who would otherwise have voted against the Extension Amendment Proposal and elected to
redeem their shares for a portion of the trust account. None of the Sponsor, directors, executive officers or their respective affiliates
may make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or during
a restricted period under Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Further, we, our directors and executive officers, our Sponsor,
or any of their respective affiliates may enter into agreements with one or more shareholders of the Company pursuant to which such stockholders
would agree not to redeem their public shares in connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal and/or to vote in favor thereof, in
consideration of payments made in the form of cash, founder shares forfeited by Sponsor or otherwise. To our knowledge, as of the date
hereof, no such agreement has been entered into, and neither we nor our Sponsor (or our respective directors, members, officers or affiliates)
have contacted or discussed any shareholders for the purposes of entering into any such agreement.
Recommendation
As
discussed above, after careful consideration of all relevant factors, our Board has determined that the Extension Amendment Proposal
is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Our Board has approved and declared advisable adoption of the Extension
Amendment.
OUR
BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE EXTENSION AMENDMENT PROPOSAL. OUR BOARD EXPRESSES NO OPINION AS TO WHETHER YOU SHOULD
REDEEM YOUR PUBLIC SHARES.
The
existence of financial and personal interests of our directors and officers may result in a conflict of interest on the part of one or
more of the directors or officers between what such directors or officers may believe is in the best interests of the Company and its
shareholders and what such directors or officers may believe is best for himself, herself or themselves in determining to recommend that
shareholders vote for the proposals. See the section entitled “Proposal No. 1 — The Extension Amendment — Interests
of the Company’s Directors and Officers” above for a further discussion.