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As Of Filer Filing As/For/On Docs:Pgs Issuer Agent 3/03/08 Performance Acquisition Corp S-1/A 2/29/08 2:135 RR Donnelley/FA
Document/Exhibit Description Pages Size 1: S-1/A Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 HTML 942K 2: EX-23.1 Consent of Experts or Counsel HTML 5K
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| Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 |
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2008
Registration No. 333-148367
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
PERFORMANCE ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 6770 | 26-1304050 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
970 West Broadway
PMB 402
(307) 633-2831
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Jonathan J. Ledecky, President and Secretary
Performance Acquisition Corp.
970 West Broadway
PMB 402
(307) 633-2831
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
| David Alan Miller, Esq. Jeffrey M. Gallant, Esq. Graubard Miller The Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue (212) 818-8800 (212) 818-8881 - Facsimile |
Bruce S. Mendelsohn, Esq. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 590 Madison Avenue (212) 872-1000 (212) 872-1002 - Facsimile |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. x
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED , 2008
P R O S P E C T U S
$500,000,000
Performance Acquisition Corp.
50,000,000 Units
Performance Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more operating businesses in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, which we refer to as our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus, or 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months after the date of this prospectus and the initial business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period, we will liquidate and distribute the proceeds held in the trust account to our public stockholders. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We do not have any specific initial business combination under consideration. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, contacted or been contacted by any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one half of one redeemable common stock purchase warrant, which we refer to as a warrant throughout this prospectus. We are offering 50,000,000 units. The public offering price will be $10.00 per unit. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $5.50. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of the completion of our initial business combination and one year from the date of this prospectus, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available. The warrants will expire five years from the date of this prospectus, unless earlier redeemed.
We have also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 7,500,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
Eric J. Watson, our chairman of the board and treasurer, Jonathan J. Ledecky, our president and secretary, and William Morris Agency, LLC, an entity affiliated with John M. Mass, a director of ours, have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5.0 million in the aggregate) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. We refer to these warrants as the “sponsors’ warrants.” The proceeds from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants in the private placement will be deposited into a trust account and be subject to a trust agreement, described below, and will be part of the funds distributed to our public stockholders in the event we are unable to complete a business combination. The sponsors’ warrants will be substantially similar to the warrants included in the units sold in this offering except that if we call the warrants for redemption, the sponsors’ warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis at the election of the holder and will not be redeemable by us so long as they are still held by these purchasers or their affiliates. The purchasers of the sponsors’ warrants have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of these warrants until we consummate our initial business combination.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to have the units listed on the American Stock Exchange. Assuming that the units are listed on the American Stock Exchange, the units will be listed under the symbol “ .U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants will begin separate trading on the 35th day after the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading. No fractional warrants will be issued and only whole warrants will trade. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the common stock and warrants will be traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbols “ ” and “ .WS,” respectively. We cannot assure you, however, that our securities will continue to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “ Risk Factors” beginning on page 23 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| Per Unit |
Total | |||||
| Public Offering Price |
$ | 10.00 | $ | 500,000,000 | ||
| Underwriting Discount(1) |
$ | 0.70 | $ | 35,000,000 | ||
| Proceeds to Performance Acquisition Corp. (before expenses) |
$ | 9.30 | $ | 465,000,000 | ||
| (1) | Includes $0.40 per unit or $20.0 million in the aggregate ($23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting discounts and commissions to be placed in the trust account described below. Such funds will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. |
The underwriters are offering the units on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to purchasers on or about , 2008. Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the sponsors’ warrants described in this prospectus, approximately $9.79 per share, or $489,250,000 in the aggregate (approximately $9.77 per share, or $562,000,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be deposited into a trust account, at JPMorgan Chase NY Bank, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company as trustee. These funds will not be released until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation (which may not occur until 24 months from the date of this prospectus or 30 months under certain circumstances).
Citi
The date of this prospectus is , 2008
Until , 2008 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
i
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 23 of this prospectus and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing. References in this prospectus to “we,” “us” or “our company” refer to Performance Acquisition Corp. References in this prospectus to “public stockholders” refer to those persons that purchase the securities offered by this prospectus, including any of our officers, directors and founders (as defined below) who purchase these securities, either in this offering or afterwards, provided that such individuals’ status as “public stockholders” shall only exist with respect to those securities so purchased. References in this prospectus to our “management team” refer to our officers and directors. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 937,500 founders’ warrants, have been forfeited by our founders.
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on October 24, 2007. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase reorganization or similar business combination with a currently unidentified operating business or several operating businesses in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf (including William Morris Agency, LLC), contacted or been contacted by any potential target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. Additionally, we have neither engaged nor retained any agent or other representative, including William Morris Agency, LLC, to conduct any research or take any steps to identify, locate or contact any suitable acquisition candidate.
The entertainment, media and/or publishing industry encompasses those companies which create, produce, deliver, own, distribute and/or market entertainment and information content, products and services. These companies serve both domestic and international audiences. The media and entertainment industry represents a large and expanding segment of the United States economy. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, global media and entertainment industry spending reached $1.4 trillion in 2006 and is expected to increase to $2.0 trillion in 2011. The United States marketplace accounts for $582 billion, or 41%, of the $1.4 trillion in spending.
Growth in this industry has historically been driven by the introduction of new technologies and the expansion of domestic and international markets. The latter part of the 20th century witnessed the introduction and consumer acceptance of cable television, home video, video games and compact discs. The 1990s witnessed the emergence of additional products and improved delivery systems such as interactive multimedia entertainment software, simulator and virtual reality attractions and fiber optic cable. The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed even greater expansion as the emergence of next-generation technologies and the convergence of platforms have significantly strengthened growth opportunities for television distribution through direct broadcast satellite and digital cable, video games, Internet access and home video.
The market is also in transition as digital distribution is growing rapidly and now playing a more important role in the overall market but also creating a new medium. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, the global Entertainment & Media industry is experiencing sustained growth and will increase at a 6.4% compound annual growth rate to $2 trillion by 2011. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that digital and mobile spending during the next five years will rise to $153 billion by 2011. The study estimates that within the next five years, more than 40% of the industry growth will be generated through online and wireless technologies and, during the same period, broadband households will grow by 300 million to 540 million subscribers and wireless subscribers will increase from 2.3 billion in 2006 to 3.4 billion in 2011.
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We will seek to capitalize on the significant experience of Eric J. Watson, our chairman of the board and treasurer, Jonathan J. Ledecky, our president and secretary, and William Morris Agency, LLC, one of our stockholders and an affiliate of John M. Mass, one of our directors, in identifying, acquiring and operating a wide variety of service businesses. William Morris Agency, LLC, which, together with William Morris SPAC Holdings, LLC, we refer to in this prospectus as William Morris, is one of the largest and preeminent diversified talent and literary agency in the world. Founded in 1898, William Morris employs over 750 people specifically focused on the entertainment, media, and publishing industries in offices in New York City, Beverly Hills, Nashville, Miami, London and Shanghai. William Morris represents clients in all segments of the media and entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music and personal appearances, Broadway theatre and theatrical touring, book publishing, commercial endorsements, sports marketing, corporate consulting, digital media and video games. We believe we will benefit from the broad range of business relationships, industry expertise and market insight enjoyed by William Morris as well as those of John M. Mass, a member of William Morris and a member of our board of directors. William Morris is also well positioned in the deal flow of the media, entertainment, and publishing industries. William Morris Agency, LLC has entered into a right of first review agreement with us, in which William Morris Agency, LLC has agreed to present, and to allow Mr. Mass to present, any suitable business opportunity to us prior to presenting it to any other entity, including William Morris, subject to certain exceptions described in this prospectus.
Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky have together been personally involved in the formation of over 25 companies and such companies have made over 400 acquisitions. In all of these transactions, each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky was involved, either directly or in a supervisory capacity, in searching for targets, conducting due diligence, negotiating the terms of the acquisitions and consummating such transactions. Mr. Watson has been the chairman of, and interests associated with him own, Cullen Investments Limited, a private investment company which he founded in January 1995. Mr. Watson and his associated interests have a substantial portfolio comprising interests in the fashion, retail, financial services, real estate, infrastructure maintenance, sports and entertainment sectors. Cullen Investments owns Bendon, an international manufacturer and retailer of women’s lingerie whose brands include the licensed Elle Macpherson Intimates and Stella McCartney labels. Another major investment held by interests associated with Mr. Watson is a 50% ownership of the Hanover Group, one of the largest privately owned financial service businesses in New Zealand with operations extending to the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Prior to founding Cullen Investments, Mr. Watson was the founding chairman and largest stockholder of Blue Star Group, a retail and distribution group he founded in January 1992.
Since March 1999, Mr. Ledecky has served as chairman of Ironbound Partners Fund LLC, a private investment management fund. In October 1994, Mr. Ledecky founded U.S. Office Products and served as its chief executive officer until November 1997 and chairman until June 1998. In February 1997, Mr. Ledecky founded Building One Services Corporation (originally Consolidation Capital Corporation), an entity formed to identify attractive consolidation opportunities which ultimately focused on the facilities management industry. In November 1997, Building One raised $552 million in an initial public offering. Mr. Ledecky served as Building One’s chief executive officer from November 1997 through February 1999 and as its chairman from inception through its February 2000 merger with Group Maintenance America Corporation.
Each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and Robert B. Hersov and Edward J. Mathias, each of whom is a member of our board of directors, was also an officer and/or director of Endeavor Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed in July 2005 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. Endeavor Acquisition Corp. consummated its initial public offering in December 2005 and raised gross proceeds of approximately $129.3 million at an offering price of $8.00 per unit. In December 2006, Endeavor Acquisition Corp. entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination to acquire American Apparel, Inc. and its affiliated companies. American Apparel is a leading provider of cotton leisure wear geared toward contemporary metropolitan adults and sold through company-owned retail locations and online. Endeavor Acquisition Corp. consummated its business combination with American Apparel on December 12, 2007.
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Each of Messrs. Watson, Ledecky, Hersov, and Mathias is also an officer and/or director of Victory Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed in January 2007 for the purpose of acquiring, through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, one or more operating businesses in any industry other than the franchising, healthcare or financial services industries. Victory Acquisition Corp. consummated its initial public offering in April 2007 and raised gross proceeds of $330 million at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. Until Victory Acquisition Corp. consummates a business combination, each of these individuals will be required to present all business opportunities which are suitable for Victory Acquisition Corp. to Victory Acquisition Corp. prior to presenting them to us.
Additionally, each of Messrs. Watson, Ledecky, Hersov and Mathias and each of Jim Gray and Jimmie Lee Solomon, Jr., each a director of ours, is also an officer and/or director of Triplecrown Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed in June 2007 for the purpose of acquiring, through a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, one or more operating businesses in the financial services industry. Triplecrown Acquisition Corp. consummated its initial public offering in October 2007 and raised gross proceeds of approximately $552 million at an offering price of $10.00 per unit.
In connection with our formation, our executive officers and certain of our directors organized Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. and Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with an operating business located in North America in any industry other than the financial services industry or the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry. Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share capital exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more operating businesses located outside of North America in any industry other than the financial services industry or the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry. We believe that conducting these offerings simultaneously will be beneficial to us for a number of reasons, including allowing us to allocate expenses for identifying target businesses between us, Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. and Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. (such as airfare, lodging and other expenses), thereby potentially reducing the cost to each of us. Additionally, if our offering was the only one being conducted at this time and our officers or directors were presented with an opportunity to acquire a target business located outside of our required parameters, they would be forced to simply abandon such opportunity even though it might be very attractive. By conducting these offerings simultaneously with different target parameters, if our officers or directors were to be presented with such an opportunity, they could present such opportunity to either of the other two companies depending on the characteristics of the targets, thereby reducing the likelihood of not being able to pursue an attractive transaction. We believe this will benefit our stockholders as well as those of Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. and Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. Our officers and directors are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, which could create a conflict of interest when allocating their time between our operations and their other commitments, including Grand Slam Acquisition Corp., Endeavour International Acquisition Corp., Triplecrown Acquisition Corp. and Victory Acquisition Corp. This offering and that of Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. and Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. are not contingent upon each other and while the timing of the offerings may coincide, they are not required to do so. Each offering will proceed independently from the other two.
The past experience of our management and members of our board of directors does not guarantee that we will be successful in consummating a business combination. There are numerous risks and uncertainties detailed elsewhere in this prospectus that could impact our ability to consummate a business combination outside of the control of such individuals. Furthermore, our management has been involved with companies that have been forced to file for bankruptcy following their involvement with such companies, including U.S. Office Products. The future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated
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with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our officers or directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination and we do not intend to ensure that our officers and directors will be able to maintain their positions with us following the consummation of a business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to consummate a business combination at all or on terms favorable to us, nor can we guarantee that we will be successful following the consummation of a business combination.
Our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses whose fair market value, individually or collectively, is equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. This may be accomplished by identifying and acquiring a single business or multiple operating businesses, which may or may not be related, contemporaneously. However, we will always acquire at least a controlling interest in a target business (typically meaning more than 50% of the voting securities of the target business).
The target business or businesses that we acquire may have a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. In order to consummate such a business combination, we may issue a significant amount of our debt or equity securities to the sellers of such business and/or seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities. There are no limitations on our ability to incur debt or issue securities in order to consummate a business combination regardless of whether or not we acquire a target business or businesses having a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If we issue securities in order to consummate a business combination, our stockholders could end up owning a minority of the combined company’s voting securities (or that of a parent company depending on the structure of the initial business combination) as there is no requirement that our stockholders own a certain percentage of our company after our business combination. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such arrangement to issue our debt or equity securities and have no current intention of doing so.
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or within 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period), we will liquidate and distribute the proceeds held in the trust account to our public stockholders in an amount we expect to be approximately $9.79 per share of common stock held by them (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds.
Private Placements
Effective October 24, 2007, we issued 14,375,000 units to William Morris, Summit Trust, an affiliate of Eric J. Watson, Jonathan J. Ledecky and Edward J. Mathias, Robert B. Hersov, Jim Gray, John M. Mass and Jimmie Lee Solomon, each a director of ours, for an aggregate of $25,000 in cash, at a purchase price of approximately $0.002 per unit. We refer to the current holders of these units as the “founders” throughout this prospectus. Each of these units includes one share of common stock and one half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock. This includes an aggregate of up to 1,875,000 units that are subject to forfeiture by our founders to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in
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full by the underwriters. These holders will be required to forfeit to us, at no cost to us, a number of units necessary to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our securities after giving effect to the offering and exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. We refer to these outstanding units, shares of common stock and warrants as the “founders’ units,” “founders’ common stock” and “founders’ warrants” throughout this prospectus.
The founders’ units are identical to the units being sold in this offering, except that:
| • | up to an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of common stock and 937,500 warrants, are subject to forfeiture by our founders to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters; |
| • | the founders’ units will be placed in escrow and the founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions and entitled to the registration rights described below; |
| • | the founders’ warrants will become exercisable after the consummation of our initial business combination if and when the last sales price of our common stock exceeds $15.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period beginning 90 days after the initial business combination; |
| • | the founders’ warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis at the holder’s election and will not be redeemable by us, in each case, as long as they are held by the founders or their permitted transferees; |
| • | the founders have agreed to vote the founders’ common stock in the same manner as the majority of shares voted by the public stockholders at the special or annual meeting called for the purpose of approving our initial business combination; |
| • | the founders have agreed to vote their founders’ common stock in favor of our dissolution and liquidation in the event that we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months or 30 months from the date of this prospectus, as applicable. |
| • | the founders will not be able to exercise conversion rights (as described below) with respect to the founders’ common stock; and |
| • | the founders have agreed to waive their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to the founders’ common stock if we fail to consummate an initial business combination. |
In addition, Eric J. Watson, Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5.0 million in the aggregate) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The $5.0 million of proceeds from this investment will be added to the proceeds of this offering and will be held in the trust account pending our completion of an initial business combination on the terms described in this prospectus. If we do not complete such a business combination, then the $5.0 million will be part of the liquidating distribution to our public stockholders, and the sponsors’ warrants will expire worthless.
The sponsors’ warrants will not be transferable or salable by the purchasers (subject to limited exceptions for transfers to permitted transferees including the permitted transferee agreeing to be bound to such transfer restrictions) until we complete a business combination, and will be exercisable on a cashless basis at the holder’s election and will be non-redeemable by us, in each case, as long as they are held by the purchasers or their permitted transferees. In addition, commencing on the date they become exercisable, the sponsors’ warrants and the underlying shares of common stock are entitled to registration rights under an agreement to be signed on or before the date of this prospectus. With the exception of the terms noted above, the sponsors’ warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering.
Our executive offices are located at 970 West Broadway, PMB 402, Jackson, Wyoming 83001, and our telephone number is (307) 633-2831.
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The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 23 of this prospectus.
| Securities offered: |
50,000,000 units, each unit consisting of: | |
| • one share of common stock; and | ||
| • one half of one warrant. | ||
| Trading commencement and separation of |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants may trade separately on the 35th day after the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. determines that an earlier date is acceptable. No fractional warrants will be issued and only whole warrants will trade. In no event will Citigroup Global Markets Inc. allow separate trading of the common stock and warrants until we file an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including an audited balance sheet, promptly upon the consummation of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date the units commence trading. The audited balance sheet will reflect our receipt of the proceeds from the exercise of the over-allotment option if the over-allotment option is exercised prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. If the over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise and consummation of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, or amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K, information indicating if Citigroup Global Markets Inc. has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 35th day after the date of this prospectus and will issue a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. | |
| Units: |
||
| Number outstanding before this offering: |
14,375,000 units1 | |
| Number to be outstanding after this offering: |
62,500,000 units2 | |
| Common Stock: |
||
| Number outstanding before this offering: |
14,375,000 shares1 | |
| Number to be outstanding after this offering: |
62,500,000 shares2 | |
| 1 |
This number includes an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 937,500 founders’ warrants that are subject to forfeiture by our founders if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters. Only a number of founders’ units, shares of founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants necessary for our founders to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our securities will be forfeited upon consummation of this offering. |
| 2 |
Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 937,500 founders’ warrants have been forfeited by our founders. |
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| Warrants: |
||
| Number outstanding before this |
7,187,500 warrants1 | |
| Number to be sold privately |
5,000,000 warrants | |
| Number to be outstanding after this |
36,250,000 warrants2 | |
| Exercisability: |
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of common stock. Because each unit includes one half of one warrant, holders will need to have two units in order to have at least one warrant. Warrants may be exercised only in increments of one whole warrant. | |
| Exercise price: |
$5.50 per share. | |
| Exercise period: |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: | |
| • the completion of our initial business combination, or | ||
| • one year from the date of this prospectus; | ||
| provided in each case that we have an effective and current registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. | ||
| We have agreed to use our best efforts to have an effective registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants as of the date the warrants become exercisable and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. | ||
| The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York time, five years from the date of this prospectus or earlier upon redemption. | ||
| On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. | ||
| Redemption: |
At any time while the warrants are exercisable and there is an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of | |
| common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described below with respect to the sponsors’ warrants): | ||
| • in whole and not in part; | ||
| • at a price of $.01 per warrant; | ||
| 1 |
This number includes an aggregate of 937,500 founders’ warrants that are subject to forfeiture by our founders if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters. Only a number of founders’ warrants necessary for our founders to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our securities will be forfeited upon consummation of this offering. |
| 2 |
Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 937,500 founders’ warrants have been forfeited by our founders. |
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| • upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”); and | ||
| • if, and only if, the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $15.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption. | ||
| We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants throughout the 30-day redemption period. The underwriters do not have any consent rights in connection with our exercise of our redemption rights. | ||
| If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” though the public stockholders are not eligible to do so at their own option. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. | ||
| Reasons for redemption limitations: |
We have established the above conditions to our exercise of redemption rights to provide: | |
| • warrant holders with adequate notice of exercise only after the then-prevailing common stock price is substantially above the warrant exercise price; and | ||
| • a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing common stock price and the warrant exercise price so there is a buffer to absorb the market reaction, if any, to our redemption of the warrants. | ||
| If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption, each warrant holder can exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the common stock may fall below the $15.00 trigger price as well as the $5.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued. | ||
| Proposed American Stock Exchange symbols for our: |
||
| Units: |
“ .U” | |
| Common stock: |
“ ” |
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| Warrants: |
“ .WS” | |
| Founders’ units: |
Effective October 24, 2007, our founders purchased 14,375,000 founders’ units, representing 14,375,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 7,187,500 founders’ warrants, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. This includes an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of common stock and 937,500 warrants, that are subject to forfeiture by our founders to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters. These holders will be required to forfeit only a number of founders’ units necessary to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our securities after giving effect to the offering and exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. The founders’ units are identical to the units being sold in this offering, except that: | |
| • up to an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units are subject to forfeiture by our founders to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters; | ||
| • the founders’ units will be placed in escrow and the founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions and entitled to the registration rights described in this prospectus; | ||
| • the founders’ warrants will become exercisable after the consummation of our initial business combination if and when the last sales price of our common stock exceeds $15.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period beginning 90 days after the initial business combination and may be exercised for unregistered shares of common stock if a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of founders’ warrants is not effective and current;
• the founders’ warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis at the election of the holder and will not be redeemable by us, in each case, as long as they are held by the founders or their permitted transferees;
• the founders have agreed to (i) vote the founders’ common stock in the same manner as the majority of shares voted by the public stockholders in connection with the vote required to (ii) approve our initial business combination and (iii) vote in favor of our dissolution and liquidation in the event that we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months or 30 months from the date of this prospectus, as applicable;
• the founders will not be able to exercise conversion rights (as described below) with respect to the founders’ common stock; and
• the founders have agreed to waive their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to the founders’ common stock if we fail to consummate an initial business combination. | ||
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| All of the founders’ units will be placed in escrow with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as escrow agent. | ||
| The founders have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to sell or otherwise transfer any of the founders’ units and underlying securities until 180 days after the date of the completion of a business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $15.25 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 90 days after our initial business combination or (ii) we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. We refer to such restrictions as the “transfer restrictions” throughout this prospectus. In addition, the founders are entitled to registration rights with respect to the founders’ units under an agreement to be signed on or before the date of this prospectus. The holders of the majority of these shares may elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing the earlier of (i) nine months after the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date the founders’ units are released from escrow. | ||
| Sponsors’ warrants purchased through private placement: |
Eric J. Watson, Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris have entered into agreements with us to purchase an aggregate of 5,000,000 sponsors’ warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5.0 million in the aggregate). The purchasers are obligated to purchase the sponsors’ warrants from us simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The sponsors’ warrants will be purchased separately and not in combination with common stock or in the form of units. The purchase price of the sponsors’ warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account pending the completion of our initial business combination. If we do not complete a business combination that meets the criteria described in this prospectus and are forced to liquidate, then the $5.0 million purchase price of the sponsors’ warrants will become part of the distribution to our public stockholders and the sponsors’ warrants will expire worthless. | |
| The sponsors’ warrants will not be transferable or salable by the purchasers (subject to limited exceptions including the transferee agreeing to be bound to such transfer restrictions) until we complete a business combination. The sponsors’ warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis at the election of the holder and will be non-redeemable by us, in each case, so long as they are held by the purchasers or their affiliates. In addition, commencing 90 days after the consummation of our initial business combination, the sponsors’ warrants and the underlying common stock are entitled | ||
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| to registration rights under an agreement to be signed on or before the date of this prospectus. With the exception of the terms noted above, the sponsors’ warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. | ||
| Offering and sponsors’ warrants private placement proceeds to be held in trust account and amounts payable prior to trust account distribution or liquidation: |
$489,250,000, or approximately $9.79 per unit ($562,000,000, or approximately $9.77 per unit, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the sponsors’ warrants will be placed in the trust account at JPMorgan Chase NY Bank with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company as trustee, pursuant to an agreement to be signed on the date of this prospectus. These proceeds include $20.0 million in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We believe that the inclusion in the trust account of the purchase price of the sponsors’ warrants and the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions is a benefit to our public stockholders because additional proceeds will be available for distribution to them if a liquidation of our company occurs prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Except as described below, proceeds in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of our consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. Unless and until our initial business combination is consummated, proceeds held in the trust account will not be available for our use for any purpose, including the payment of expenses related to (i) this offering, and (ii) the investigation, selection and negotiation of an agreement with one or more target businesses, except that there can be released to us from the trust account (a) interest income earned on the trust account balance to pay our tax obligations and (b) interest income earned of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the trust account balance to fund our working capital requirements; provided, however, that we will not be allowed to withdraw interest income earned on the trust account for our working capital requirements unless we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time. With these exceptions, expenses incurred by us while seeking a business combination may be paid prior to a business combination only from the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account (initially, approximately $50,000). | |
| Limited payments to insiders: |
There will be no fees, reimbursements or other cash payments paid or awarded by us or a target business to or earned by our founders, officers, directors or their affiliates prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is) other than: | |
| • Repayment of non-interest bearing loans totaling $135,000 in the aggregate made to us by Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky to cover offering expenses; and | ||
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| • Reimbursement for any expenses incident to identifying, investigating and consummating a business combination with one or more target businesses, none of which have been incurred to date. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses that could be incurred; provided, however, that to the extent such out-of-pocket expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the balance in the trust account, such out-of-pocket expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. | ||
| Our audit committee will review and ratify all reimbursements made to our founders, sponsors, officers, directors or their affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review. | ||
| All amounts held in the trust account that are not paid to converting stockholders as a result of their shares being converted to cash, released to us in the form of interest income or payable to the underwriters for deferred discounts and commissions will be released to us on closing of our initial business combination: |
All amounts held in the trust account that are not distributed to public stockholders who exercise their conversion rights (as described below) as their shares are converted to cash or previously released to us as interest income for our working capital requirements and tax obligations will be released on closing of our initial business combination with one or more target businesses, subject to compliance with the conditions to consummating a business combination that are described below. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their conversion rights and to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions that are equal to 4.0% of the gross proceeds of this offering, or $20.0 million (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Funds released from the trust account to us can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial combination occurs. If our initial business combination is paid for using stock or debt securities, we may apply the cash released to us from the trust account to general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the acquired businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial business combination or to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. | |
| As discussed below, there are specific provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that may not be amended prior to our consummation of a business combination, including our | ||
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| requirements to seek stockholder approval of such a business combination and to allow our stockholders to seek conversion of their shares if they do not approve of such a business combination as well as the related conversion threshold and the fact that such provision may not be amended prior to our consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, there is no specific percentage of public stockholders that would allow for such provisions to be amended. While we have been advised that such provisions limiting our ability to amend our certificate of incorporation may not be enforceable under Delaware law, we view these provisions, which are contained in Article Sixth of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as obligations to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive these provisions. | ||
| Stockholders must approve initial business combination: |
We will seek stockholder approval before effecting our initial business combination regardless of the type of transaction it is, even if the business combination would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law. | |
| In connection with the vote required to approve our initial business combination, all of our founders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote the shares of common stock owned by them immediately before this offering in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders at the meeting called for the purpose of approving our initial business combination. They have also agreed to vote any shares acquired by them in this offering or in the aftermarket in favor of a business combination. Thus, additional purchases of shares of common stock by our founders, including our officers or directors, would likely allow them to exert additional influence over the approval of our initial business combination. The factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. Another factor that would be taken into consideration would be that any such additional purchases would likely increase the chances that our initial business combination would be approved. We will proceed with a business combination only if (i) a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and (ii) public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares of common stock sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights described below. We will not increase or decrease the conversion threshold prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Accordingly, it is our intention in every case to structure and consummate a business combination in which approximately 29.99% of the public stockholders may exercise their conversion rights and the business combination will still go forward. | ||
| Conditions to consummating our initial business combination: |
We will not consummate a business combination with any target business affiliated with any of our officers, directors or founders | |
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| including (i) an entity that is either a portfolio company of, or has otherwise received a material financial investment from any private equity fund or investment company (or an affiliate thereof) that is affiliated with such individuals, (ii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently passive investors, (iii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently officers or directors, or (iv) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently invested through an investment vehicle controlled by them. Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that collectively have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If we acquire less than 100% of a target business in our initial business combination, the aggregate fair market value of the portion we acquire must equal at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions as described above) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of a portion of a target business will likely be calculated by multiplying the fair market value of the entire business by the percentage of the business we acquire. However, we will always acquire at least a controlling interest of a target business (typically meaning more than 50% of the voting securities of such target business). We may seek to consummate a business combination with an initial target business or businesses with a collective fair market value in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. However, we may need to obtain financing to consummate such a business combination and have not taken any steps to obtain any such financing. | ||
| We will consummate our initial business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of our initial business combination and less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering are voted against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights described below. It is important to note that voting against our initial business combination alone will not result in conversion of a stockholder’s shares into a pro rata share of the trust account, which only occurs when the stockholder also exercises the conversion rights described below. | ||
| Conversion rights for stockholders |
We will not complete any proposed initial business combination in connection with which public stockholders owning 30% or more of the shares included in the units sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. We will not increase or decrease the conversion threshold prior to the consummation of our initial business | |
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| combination. We have set the conversion percentage at 30% in order to reduce the likelihood that a small group of investors holding a block of our stock will be able to stop us from completing a business combination that may otherwise be approved by a large majority of our public stockholders. If our initial business combination is approved and completed, public stockholders voting against our initial business combination will be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, before payment of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and including interest earned on their pro rata portion of the trust account, net of interest income on the trust account balance previously released to us to pay our tax obligations and net of interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the trust account balance previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements. If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then public stockholders voting against our initial business combination will not be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. The founders will not be able to exercise conversion rights with respect to any of our shares that they may acquire prior to, in or after this offering under any circumstances. | ||
| Public stockholders who convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the trust account will be paid their conversion price promptly following the consummation of our initial business combination and will continue to have the right to exercise any warrants they own. The initial per share conversion price is approximately $9.79 per share (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds. Since this amount is less than the $10.00 per unit price in this offering and may be lower than the market price of the common stock on the date of conversion, there may be a disincentive on the part of public stockholders to exercise their conversion rights. Because converting stockholders will receive their proportionate share of deferred underwriting compensation and the underwriters will be paid the full amount of the deferred underwriting compensation at the time of closing of our initial business combination, the non-converting stockholders will bear the financial effect of such payments to both the converting stockholders and the underwriters. | ||
| Limitations on conversion rights: |
A public stockholder, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) will be restricted from seeking conversion rights with respect to more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering. We will require each public stockholder seeking to exercise conversion rights to certify to us, under penalty of perjury, whether such stockholder is acting in concert or as a group with any other stockholder. Such a public stockholder would still be entitled to vote against a proposed business combination with respect to all shares owned by him or his | |
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| affiliates. We believe this restriction will deter stockholders from accumulating large blocks of stock before the meeting held to approve a proposed business combination and threatening to exercise their conversion right as a means to force us or our management to purchase their stock at a significant premium to the then current market price. Absent this provision, a public stockholder who owns more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to vote against a proposed business combination and seek conversion of all of its shares, regardless of the merits of the transaction, if, for example, its shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then current market price. By eliminating a stockholder’s ability to convert more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will deter these stockholders from threatening to block a transaction which is favored by a majority of our other public stockholders. | ||
| If any proposed initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then public stockholders voting against such initial business combination who exercised their conversion rights would not be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. If any proposed initial business combination is not approved, public stockholders will continue to have conversion rights with respect to any subsequently proposed initial business combination regardless of how such stockholder voted in the vote to approve a previous potential business combination. Public stockholders would be entitled to receive their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit in the trust account only in the event that the initial business combination they voted against was duly approved and subsequently completed, or in connection with our liquidation. Stockholders will no longer have conversion rights after completion of our initial business combination. | ||
| Liquidation if no business combination: |
If we do not effect our initial business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or within 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period), pursuant to the terms of the trust agreement by and between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, we will seek stockholder approval to dissolve as promptly as practicable and to liquidate and release only to our public stockholders, as part of our plan of distribution, the amount in our trust account, including (i) all accrued interest, net of income taxes payable on such interest and net of interest earned on the trust account balance previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements and (ii) all deferred underwriting discounts and commissions plus any remaining assets, all subject to our obligations under the Delaware General Corporation Law to provide for claims of creditors. Absent special circumstances, | |
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| creditors take priority over stockholders in a liquidation under the Delaware General Corporation Law. | ||
| Stockholders approval of liquidation requirement: |
We cannot provide investors with assurances of a specific timeframe for our dissolution and liquidation. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, upon the expiration of such 24- or 30-month time period, as applicable, it is intended that our purposes and powers will be limited to dissolving, liquidating and winding up. Also contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is the requirement that our board of directors, to the fullest extent permitted by law, consider a resolution to dissolve our company at that time. Consistent with such obligations, our board of directors will seek stockholder approval for any such plan of distribution, and our founders have agreed to vote in favor of such dissolution and liquidation. As promptly as practicable upon the later to occur of (i) the approval by our stockholders of our plan of distribution or (ii) the effective date of such approved plan of distribution, we will liquidate our trust account to our public stockholders. | |
| Our founders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to the founders’ common stock. They will, however, participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to any shares of common stock acquired in or after this offering. There will be no distribution from the trust account with respect to our warrants, and all rights of our warrants will terminate on our liquidation. We estimate that our total costs and expenses for implementing and completing our stockholder-approved dissolution and plan of distribution, if not done in connection with a stockholder vote with respect to a potential business combination, will be between $75,000 and $125,000. This amount includes all costs and expenses relating to filing a certificate of dissolution with the State of Delaware, the winding up of our company, printing and mailing a proxy statement, holding a stockholders’ meeting relating to the approval by our stockholders of our dissolution and plan of distribution, legal fees and other filing fees. We believe that there should be sufficient funds available to us out of the net interest earned on the trust account and released to us as working capital, to fund the $75,000 to $125,000 in costs and expenses. If such funds are insufficient, Messrs. Watson and Ledecky have agreed to advance us the funds necessary to complete such liquidation and have agreed not to seek repayment for such expenses. | ||
| In the event we seek stockholder approval for our dissolution and plan of distribution and do not obtain such approval, we will nonetheless continue to pursue stockholder approval for our dissolution. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is intended that our powers following the expiration of the permitted time periods for consummating a business combination will automatically thereafter be limited to acts and activities relating to dissolving and winding up our affairs, | ||
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| including liquidation. If no proxy statement seeking the approval of our stockholders for a business combination has been filed 60 days prior to the date which is 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or 60 days prior to the date which is 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period), our board will, prior to such date, convene, adopt and recommend to our stockholders our dissolution and plan of distribution, and on such date file a proxy statement with the SEC seeking stockholder approval for such plan. Pursuant to the trust agreement governing such funds, the funds held in our trust account may not be distributed except upon our dissolution and, unless and until such approval is obtained from our stockholders, the funds held in our trust account will not be released (other than in connection with the funding of working capital, a conversion or a business combination as described elsewhere in this prospectus). Consequently, holders of a majority of our outstanding stock must approve our dissolution and plan of distribution in order to receive the funds held in our trust account and, other than in connection with a conversion or a business combination, the funds will not be available for any other corporate purpose.
If we are unable to conclude an initial business combination and we expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the purchase price paid in consideration for the founder’s units other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, without taking into account any interest earned on the trust account, we expect that the initial per-share liquidation price will be approximately $9.79 (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.21 less than the per-unit offering price of $10.00 ($0.23 less if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full). The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to claims of our creditors that are in preference to the claims of our stockholders. In addition, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the actual per-share liquidation price will not be less than approximately $9.79 (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
While we will seek to have all vendors and service providers (which would include any third parties we engaged to assist us in any way in connection with our search for a target business and lenders for money borrowed) and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the trust account, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Nor is there any guarantee that, even if such entities execute such |
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| agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account or that a court would not conclude that such agreements are not legally enforceable. Eric J. Watson, Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris have agreed that they will be jointly and severally liable, by means of direct payment to the trust account, to ensure that the full amount of proceeds in the trust account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or claims of vendors, lenders or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us. However, we cannot assure you that they will be able to satisfy those obligations, if they are required to do so. Furthermore, Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris will not have any liability as to any claimed amounts owed to a third party who executed a waiver (including a prospective target business). Based on representations of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris as to their accredited investor status (as such term is defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act) and that they have sufficient funds available to them to satisfy their indemnification obligations, we believe they will be able to satisfy any indemnification obligations that may arise given the limited nature of the obligations, even considering the indemnification obligations of such individuals to other blank check companies, and we will enforce our rights under these indemnification arrangements against each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris. However, we cannot assure you that they will be able to satisfy their obligations if they are required to do so. | ||
| Conflicts of Interest: |
Potential investors should be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
• None of our officers and directors is required to commit his full time to our affairs and, accordingly, he may have conflicts of interest in allocating his time among various business activities.
• In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to our company as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented and as a result, if they present such an opportunity to another entity prior to us, we could be deprived of an appropriate target business to acquire if one of those entities accepts it.
• Certain of our officers and directors are affiliated with Victory Acquisition Corp. Since Victory Acquisition Corp. can acquire a target business in any industry other than the franchising, financial services or healthcare industries, the business opportunities required to be presented to Victory Acquisition Corp. will overlap with those that we would be interested in.
• Our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with entities, including other blank check companies, engaged in | |
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| business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by our company.
• The founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants owned by our officers and directors will not be released from escrow until 180 days after the successful consummation of an initial business combination; the founders’ warrants, the sponsors’ warrants purchased by our officers and directors and any warrants which they may purchase in this offering or in the aftermarket will expire worthless if an initial business combination is not consummated; unless we consummate our initial business combination, our officers and directors will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and the amount of interest income from the trust account that may be released to us as working capital; and our officers and directors will not receive liquidation distributions with respect to any of their founders’ common stock. For the foregoing reasons, our officers and directors stand to profit by successfully completing a business combination, even one which may not be attractive to our other stockholders. Accordingly, our board may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate to effect a business combination with.
• Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to an initial business combination.
For a complete description of the applicable conflicts of interest, see the section titled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” | ||
| Audit Committee to monitor compliance: |
Effective upon consummation of this offering, we will establish, and will maintain, an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the Audit Committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise cause compliance with the terms of this offering. | |
| Determination of offering amount: |
We agreed to raise $500,000,000 in the offering based on the previous transactional experience of our management. We also considered the size of the offering to be an amount we believed would be successfully received given our proposed industry focus and the size of initial public offerings of other similarly structured blank check companies. This belief is not based on any research, analysis, evaluations, discussions or compilations of information with respect to any particular investment or any such action undertaken in connection with our organization. We cannot assure you that our belief is correct, that we will be able to successfully identify acquisition candidates, that we will be able to obtain any necessary financing or that we will be able to consummate a transaction with one or more target businesses. | |
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| Right of First Review: |
William Morris and Mr. Mass have entered into right of first review agreements with us, in which they have agreed to present to us for our consideration any suitable business opportunity to acquire a target business with a fair market value in excess of $375 million, prior to presentation to any other entity, provided such target business allows them to present their company to us. In any event, neither William Morris nor Mr. Mass will seek to acquire such target business or be a principal in such opportunity. In addition, if a client of William Morris has already identified a specific acquisition in which it seeks the assistance of William Morris, William Morris will not be obligated to present such opportunity to us. | |
Risks
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. In addition, you should consider the following risks:
| • | this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, therefore, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings; |
| • | investors’ funds will be held in trust until we are able to consummate our initial business combination or liquidate; |
| • | if third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in trust could be reduced and the per share liquidation price may be less than approximately $9.79 (or approximately $9.77 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full); |
| • | shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them; and |
| • | we will be relying on our officers and directors to locate suitable target businesses and our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination, as described above; and |
| • | an effective registration statement may not be in place when you desire to exercise your warrants, thereby potentially causing such warrants to be practically worthless. |
You should carefully consider these and the other risks which are set forth in detail in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 23 of this prospectus.
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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| November 30, 2007 | |||||
| Actual |
As Adjusted | ||||
| Balance Sheet Data: |
|||||
| Working capital (deficiency) |
(13,492 | ) | 469,324,008 | ||
| Total assets |
150,008 | 469,324,008 | |||
| Total liabilities |
126,000 | — | |||
| Value of common stock which may be converted to cash |
— | 146,774,990 | |||
| Stockholders’ equity |
24,008 | 322,549,018 | |||
The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering including the application of the related gross proceeds, the receipt of $5.0 million from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants and the payment of the estimated remaining expenses of this offering. The “as adjusted” working capital and “as adjusted” total assets assumes that an initial business combination has been consummated and $20.0 million (approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) representing deferred underwriting discounts and commissions is paid to the underwriters.
The “as adjusted” working capital and total assets amounts include approximately $469,250,000 (which is net of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of approximately $20.0 million) to be held in the trust account, which will be distributed to us on completion of our initial business combination. We will use such funds to pay amounts owed to (i) any public stockholders who exercise their conversion rights and (ii) the underwriters in the amount of $20.0 million (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in payment of their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. All such proceeds will be distributed to us from the trust account only upon the consummation of a business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or within 30 months from the consummation of this offering if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months after consummation of this offering and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period). If a business combination is not so consummated, any net assets outside of the trust account and the proceeds held in the trust account, including the deferred underwriting discounts and commission and all interest thereon, net of interest income on the trust account balance previously released to us to pay our tax obligations and interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the trust account balance previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements, will be distributed solely to our public stockholders as part of our liquidation (subject to our obligations under the Delaware General Corporation Law to provide for claims of creditors).
We will not consummate an initial business combination if public stockholders owning 30% or more of the shares of common stock included in the units sold in this offering vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights. Accordingly, we may effect a business combination if public stockholders owning up to 14,999,999 of the 50,000,000 shares of common stock sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. If this occurred, we would be required to convert to cash up to 14,999,999 of the shares of common stock sold in this offering (or 17,249,999 shares of common stock if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) at an initial per-share conversion price of approximately $9.79 for approximately $146,774,990 in the aggregate (or approximately $9.77 per share for approximately $168,599,990 in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full). The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to:
| • | the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, before payment of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and including accrued interest, net of any amounts previously released to us as described above, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of the business combination, |
| • | divided by the number of shares of common stock sold in this offering. |
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the material risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus before making a decision to invest in our units. We believe that the risks described below are all of the material risks we face. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below.
We are a recently formed development stage company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently formed development stage company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing an initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete a business combination. If we expend all of the $50,000 in proceeds from this offering not held in trust and interest income earned of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, (net of income taxes on such interest) on the balance of the trust account that may be released to us to fund our working capital requirements in seeking a business combination, but fail to complete such a combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of November 30, 2007, we had $112,508 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $13,492. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate a business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within the required time frame, in which case, we would be forced to liquidate our assets.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we have 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the initial business combination relating thereto has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period) in which to complete an initial business combination. If we fail to consummate an initial business combination within the required time frame, we will, in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation dissolve, liquidate and wind up. The foregoing requirements are set forth in Article Sixth of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and may not be eliminated except in connection with, and upon consummation of, our initial business combination. We may not be able to find suitable target businesses within the required time frame.
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As we approach the deadline for the consummation of our initial business combination, our negotiating position and ability to conduct adequate due diligence on any potential target may be reduced.
Our negotiating position and our ability to conduct adequate due diligence on any potential target may be reduced as we approach the deadline for the consummation of a business combination. We do not have any specific business combination under consideration, and neither we, nor any representative acting on our behalf, has had any contacts with any target businesses regarding a business combination, nor taken any direct or indirect actions to locate or search for a target business.
If our stockholders approve our liquidation before an initial business combination and distribute the trust account, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we are unable to complete a business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination relating thereto has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period) and our stockholders approve our liquidation, the per-share liquidation distribution may be less than $10.00 because of the expenses of this offering, our general and administrative expenses, the anticipated costs of seeking a business combination and third-party claims, if any. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $700,000 and underwriting discounts and commissions of $35.0 million (or approximately $40.3 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (ii) the sale of the sponsors’ warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $5.0 million, will be approximately $469.3 million (or approximately $539.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Accordingly, we will be placing approximately $9.79 per share, or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, in trust. We will have access to (i) interest income earned on the trust account balance to pay our tax obligations and (ii) interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time) for our working capital requirements. You will receive $10.00 per share upon our liquidation only if interest accumulated on the funds held in the trust account, less the amount available to us, after payment of all third party claims and expenses of liquidating, exceeds $0.21 per share (or $0.23 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Furthermore, there will be no distribution with respect to our outstanding warrants which will expire worthless if we liquidate before the completion of a business combination.
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination, our public stockholders will be forced to wait up to 30 months before receiving liquidation distributions.
We have 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination relating thereto has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period) in which to complete a business combination. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the expiration of 24 or 30 months unless we consummate an initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought conversion of their shares. Only after the expiration of this full time period will public stockholders be entitled to liquidation distributions if we are unable to complete an initial business combination. Accordingly, investors’ funds may be unavailable to them until such date.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, since our securities will be listed on the American Stock Exchange, a
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national securities exchange, and we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5.0 million upon the successful consummation of this offering and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules such as completely restricting the transferability of our securities, requiring us to complete a business combination within 18 months of the effective date of the initial registration statement and restricting the use of interest earned on the funds held in the trust account. Because we are not subject to Rule 419, our units will be immediately tradable, we will be entitled to withdraw (i) interest income earned on the trust account balance to pay our tax obligations and (ii) interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time) for our working capital requirements prior to the completion of a business combination and we have a longer period of time to complete such a business combination than we would if we were subject to such rule.
Because each unit includes only one half of a warrant, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit includes one share of common stock and one half of a warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to alleviate the dilutive effect of the warrants and make us a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Although the exercise price of our warrants is lower than that of warrants in other offerings, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included one warrant.
If we do not consummate a business combination and dissolve, payments from the trust account to our public stockholders may be delayed.
We currently believe that any dissolution and plan of distribution in connection with to the expiration of the 24 and 30 month deadlines would proceed in approximately the following manner:
| • | prior to such deadline, our board of directors will, consistent with its obligations described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law, consider a resolution for us to dissolve and consider a plan of distribution which it may then vote to recommend to our stockholders; at such time it will also cause to be prepared a preliminary proxy statement setting out such plan of distribution as well as the board’s recommendation of such plan; |
| • | upon such deadline, we would file our preliminary proxy statement with the SEC; |
| • | if the SEC does not review the preliminary proxy statement, then, 10 days following the passing of such deadline, we will mail a definitive proxy statement to our stockholders, and 30 days following the passing of such deadline we will convene a meeting of our stockholders, at which they will either approve or reject our dissolution and plan of distribution; and |
| • | if the SEC does review the preliminary proxy statement, we currently estimate that we will receive their comments 30 days following the passing of such deadline. We will mail the definitive proxy statement to our stockholders following the conclusion of the comment and review process (the length of which we cannot predict with any certainty, and which may be substantial) and we will convene a meeting of our stockholders at which they will either approve or reject our dissolution and plan of distribution. |
In the event we seek stockholder approval for our dissolution and plan of distribution and do not obtain such approval, we will nonetheless continue to pursue stockholder approval for our dissolution. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is intended that our powers following the expiration of the permitted time periods for consummating a business combination will automatically thereafter be limited to
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acts and activities relating to dissolving and winding up our affairs, including liquidation. Pursuant to the trust agreement governing such funds, the funds held in our trust account may not be distributed except upon our dissolution and, unless and until such approval is obtained from our stockholders, the funds held in our trust account will not be released (other than in connection with the funding of working capital, a conversion or a business combination as described elsewhere in this prospectus). Consequently, holders of a majority of our outstanding stock must approve our dissolution in order to receive the funds held in our trust account and the funds will not be available for any other corporate purpose.
These procedures, or a vote to reject any dissolution and plan of distribution by our stockholders, may result in substantial delays in the liquidation of our trust account to our public stockholders as part of our plan of distribution.
Because of our limited resources and structure, we may not be able to consummate an attractive business combination.
We expect to encounter intense competition from entities other than blank check companies having a business objective similar to ours, including venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds and operating businesses competing for acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. Our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, the obligation we have to seek stockholder approval of a business combination may delay the consummation of a transaction. Additionally, our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
If the net proceeds of this offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 30 months, we may be unable to complete a business combination.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, plus the interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be available to us, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 30 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. However, we cannot assure you that our estimates will be accurate. We could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit the funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
We may require stockholders who wish to convert their shares in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for conversion that may make it more difficult for them to exercise their conversion rights prior to the deadline for exercising their rights.
We may require public stockholders who wish to convert their shares in connection with a proposed business combination to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent at any time prior to the vote taken at the stockholder meeting relating to such business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System. Traditionally, in order to perfect conversion rights in connection with a blank check company’s business
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combination, a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to convert. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the consummation of the business combination during which he could monitor the price of the stock in the market. If the price rose above the conversion price, he could sell his shares in the open market before actually delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. Thus, the conversion right, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become a continuing right surviving past the consummation of the business combination until the converting holder delivered his certificate for conversion. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting would be imposed to ensure that a converting holder’s election to convert is irrevocable once the business combination is approved. In order to obtain a physical stock certificate, a stockholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC and our transfer agent will need to act to facilitate this request. It is our understanding that stockholders should generally allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. However, because we do not have any control over this process or over the brokers or DTC, it may take significantly longer than two weeks to obtain a physical stock certificate. While we have been advised that it takes a short time to deliver shares through the DWAC System, we cannot assure you of this fact. Accordingly, if it takes longer than we anticipate for stockholders to deliver their shares, stockholders who wish to convert may be unable to meet the deadline for exercising their conversion rights and thus may be unable to convert their shares.
If we require public stockholders who wish to convert their shares in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for conversion, such converting stockholders may be unable to sell their securities when they wish to in the event that the proposed business combination is not approved.
If we require public stockholders who wish to convert their shares in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for conversion and such proposed business combination is not consummated, we will promptly return such certificates to the tendering public stockholders. Accordingly, investors who attempted to convert their shares in such a circumstance will be unable to sell their securities after the failed acquisition until we have returned their securities to them. The market price for our common stock may decline following such a failed acquisition and you may not be able to sell your securities when you wish to, even while other stockholders that did not seek conversion may be able to sell their securities.
If we do not conduct an adequate due diligence investigation of a target business with which we combine, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring, and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
We must conduct a due diligence investigation of the target businesses we intend to acquire. Intensive due diligence is time consuming and expensive due to the operations, accounting, finance and legal professionals who must be involved in the due diligence process. Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will reveal all material issues that may affect a particular target business, or that factors outside the control of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. If our diligence fails to identify issues specific to a target business, industry or the environment in which the target business operates, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our common stock. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing.
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A decline in interest rates could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete a business combination since we will depend on interest earned on the trust account to fund our search, to pay our tax obligations and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only $50,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to provide us with additional working capital which we will need to identify one or more target businesses and to complete our initial business combination, as well as to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. The funds held in the trust account will be invested only in Treasury Bills issued by the United States government having a maturity of 180 days or less. As of the date of this prospectus, interest rates on these types of investments range from % to %. While we are entitled to have released to us for such purposes certain interest earned on the funds in the trust account, a substantial decline in interest rates may result in our having insufficient funds available with which to structure, negotiate or close an initial business combination. In such event, we would need to borrow funds from our founders to operate or may be forced to seek stockholder approval to liquidate. Our founders are under no obligation to advance funds in such circumstances.
We have six months longer than most other blank check companies to effect a business combination and therefore, the proceeds of this offering may remain in trust for a longer period of time before they are released to you.
The period of time we have to complete an initial business combination is longer than blank check companies subject to Rule 419, which have 18 months to complete an initial business combination, or other special purpose acquisition companies, which typically have 18 or 24 months to complete a business combination. As a result, if we do complete an initial business combination, the proceeds of this offering will remain in trust for a longer period of time before they are released to you.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in trust could be reduced and the per-share liquidation price received by stockholders may be less than approximately $9.79 per share (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
Our placing of funds in trust may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors and service providers, including lenders for money borrowed, we engage and prospective target businesses we negotiate with, execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that, even if such entities execute such agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account. Nor is there any guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Furthermore, there could be claims from parties other than vendors and service providers, including lenders for money borrowed, or target businesses that would not be covered by the indemnity from Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris described below, such as stockholders and other claimants who are not parties in contract with us who file a claim for damages against us. There is also no guarantee that a court would uphold the validity of such agreements. Additionally, after the date of our liquidation, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent that they received distributions from us.
Accordingly, the proceeds held in trust could be subject to claims which could take priority over those of our public stockholders and, as a result, the per-share liquidation price could be less than $9.79 (or $9.77 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) due to claims of such creditors. If we liquidate before the completion of a business combination and distribute the proceeds held in trust to our public stockholders, Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris have agreed that they will be jointly and severally liable, by means of direct payment to the trust account, to ensure that the proceeds in the trust account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or claims of vendors or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us or lenders for money borrowed, but only if such a third party
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does not execute such a waiver. Accordingly, if a claim brought by a target business or vendor, lender or other entity did not exceed the amount of funds available to us outside of the trust account or available to be released to us from interest earned on the trust account balance, Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris would not have any personal obligation to indemnify such claims as they would be paid from such available funds. However, if a claim exceeded such amounts, the only exceptions to the obligations of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris to pay such claim would be (i) if the party executed a waiver agreement or (ii) as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, there could be claims from parties other than vendors, lenders or target businesses that would not be covered by the indemnity from Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris, such as stockholders and other claimants who are not parties in contract with us who file a claim for damages against us. Obtaining trust fund waivers from prospective target businesses and vendors, including lenders of money borrowed, and the contractual commitments we have received from Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris discussed above, are the only actions we will take to ensure that the funds in the trust account are not depleted by claims against the trust. Because we will seek to have all vendors, including lenders of money borrowed, and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the trust account, we believe the likelihood of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris having any such obligations is minimal, even considering the indemnification obligations of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky to other blank check companies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have questioned such individuals on their financial net worth and reviewed their financial information and believe they will be able to satisfy any indemnification obligations that may arise. However, we cannot assure you that they will be able to satisfy those obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the per-share distribution from the trust account, if we liquidate, will not be less than $9.79 (or $9.77 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), plus interest, due to such claims.
Additionally, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return to our public stockholders at least $9.79 per share (or $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
After the date of our liquidation, our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them.
We will seek stockholder approval to dissolve and liquidate if we do not complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus (or within 30 months from the date of this prospectus if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months from the date of this prospectus and the business combination relating thereto has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period). Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of certain unlawful distributions received by them in a dissolution conducted in accordance with the Delaware General Corporation Law. We do not intend to comply with the procedures set forth in Section 280 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prescribes various procedures by which stockholder liability may be limited. Because we will not be complying with Section 280, we will seek stockholder approval to comply with Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, requiring us to adopt a plan of dissolution that will reasonably provide for our payment, based on facts known to us at such time, of (i) all existing claims, including those that are contingent, (ii) all pending proceedings to which we are a party and (iii) all claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors that we engage after the consummation of this offering and potential target businesses. We intend to have all vendors, including lenders for money borrowed, that we engage after the consummation of this offering and prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account, although we have not received any such agreements to date. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, any liability of stockholders
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with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder. A plan of distribution in compliance with Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law does not bar stockholder liability for claims not brought in a proceeding before the third anniversary of the dissolution (or such longer period directed by the Delaware Court of Chancery). Accordingly, we cannot assure you that third parties will not seek to recover from our public stockholders amounts owed to them by us even after that date. Furthermore, although the indemnification provided by Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris would cover such claims, they may not be able to satisfy those obligations if they are required to do so.
An effective registration statement may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise his, her or its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.
No warrant held by public stockholders will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless, at the time a holder seeks to exercise a warrant, we have a registration statement under the Securities Act in effect covering the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to the shares of common stock. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to have a registration statement in effect covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants as of the date the warrants become exercisable and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. There may be periods of time that we are unable to keep a prospectus current, for instance, if we were involved in negotiations for a subsequent acquisition. We will not be required to net cash settle the warrants if we do not maintain a current prospectus. In such event, the warrants held by public stockholders may have no value, the market for such warrants may be limited, such warrants may expire worthless and, as a result, an investor may have paid the full unit price solely for the shares of common stock included in the units.
The holders of the sponsors’ warrants and founders’ warrants may be able to exercise such warrants at a time when public stockholders may not exercise their warrants.
The sponsors’ warrants and founders’ warrants may be exercisable for unregistered shares of common stock even if the prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not current. Accordingly, the holders of such warrants may be able to exercise their warrants at a time when public stockholders are not able to do so.
An investor will only be able to exercise a warrant if the issuance of common stock upon the exercise has been registered or qualified or is deemed exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants.
No warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless the shares of common stock issuable upon an exercise has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. At the time that the warrants become exercisable, we expect to continue to be listed on a national securities exchange, which would provide an exemption from registration in every state. Accordingly, we believe holders in every state will be able to exercise their warrants as long as our prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current. However, we cannot assure you of this fact. If the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, the warrants may be deprived of any value, the market for the warrants may be limited and they may expire worthless if they cannot be sold.
Since we have not yet selected any target business with which to complete a business combination, we are unable to currently ascertain the merits or risks of the business’ operations.
Because we have not yet identified a prospective target business, investors in this offering currently have no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business’ operations. To the extent we complete a business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its development stage, we may be
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affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of such entities. Although our management will evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that they will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a target business. Except for the limitation that a target business have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination and be in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, we will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate.
Your only opportunity to evaluate and affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to voting for or against the business combination submitted to our stockholders for approval.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Accordingly, your only opportunity to evaluate and affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to voting for or against the business combination submitted to our stockholders for approval. In addition, a proposal that you vote against could still be approved if a sufficient number of public stockholders vote for the proposed business combination. Alternatively, a proposal that you vote for could still be rejected if a sufficient number of public stockholders vote against the proposed business combination.
We will not be required to obtain a fairness opinion from an independent investment banking firm as to the fair market value of the target business unless our board of directors is unable to independently determine the fair market value.
The fair market value of a target business or businesses will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, the values of comparable businesses, earnings and cash flow, and/or book value). If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value to meet the threshold criterion, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, with respect to the satisfaction of such criterion. In all other circumstances, we will have no obligation to obtain or provide you with a fairness opinion.
We may issue shares of our capital stock or debt securities to complete an initial business combination. Issuance of our capital stock would reduce the equity interest of our stockholders and may cause a change in control of our ownership, while the issuance of debt securities may have a significant impact on our ability to utilize our available cash.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will be in effect at the time of consummation of this offering, authorizes the issuance of up to 250,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering and the purchase of the sponsors’ warrants (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeit of 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 937,500 founders’ warrants), there will be 151,250,000 authorized but unissued shares of common stock available for issuance (after appropriate reservation for the issuance of the shares upon full exercise of our outstanding warrants, including the sponsors’ warrants) and all of the 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock available for issuance. Although we have no commitment as of the date of this offering, we may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our common or preferred stock, or a combination of common and preferred stock, to complete a business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or any number of shares of our preferred stock:
| • | may significantly reduce your equity interest in this offering; |
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| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of shares of common stock if we issue preferred stock with rights senior to those afforded to our common stock; |
| • | may cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of our company; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; and |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding. |
The value of your investment in us may decline if any of these events occur.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.
It is anticipated that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting, and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents, and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If a decision is made not to complete a specific business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, even if an agreement is reached relating to a specific target business, we may fail to consummate the business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control, such as that 30% or more of our public stockholders vote against the business combination and opt to have us convert their stock for a pro rata share of the trust account even if a majority of our stockholders approve the business combination. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.
Our ability to successfully effect a business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel.
Our ability to successfully effect a business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, including Eric J. Watson, our chairman of the board and treasurer, and Jonathan J. Ledecky, our president and secretary. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of these individuals, at least until we have consummated a business combination. We cannot assure you that these individuals will remain with us for the immediate or foreseeable future. In addition, none of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have employment agreements with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us.
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Following a business combination, we will be totally dependent on the key personnel of the combined company.
The role of our key personnel in the target business cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following a business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
William Morris is not obligated to search for potential business combinations for us.
William Morris does not have any obligation, fiduciary, contractual, or otherwise, to actively seek out target businesses for us. While William Morris has entered into a right of first review agreement with us in which it has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, to present any suitable business opportunities to us prior to presenting them to other entities, it may not be presented with any such opportunities. In such event, William Morris would not present any business opportunities to us. Therefore, we cannot assure you that William Morris will be a resource for identifying potential target businesses.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following a business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel will be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business.
We may negotiate agreements with consultants or advisors which provide for payment of their fees only in connection with the consummation of a business combination. These agreements may cause them to have conflicts of interest in providing advice to us.
We may negotiate agreements with consultants or advisors which provide for payment of their fees only in connection with the consummation of a business combination. The financial interests of such consultants or advisors could influence their motivation in advising us to select a particular target business. As a result, they may advise us to proceed with a business combination that would not otherwise be in our best interests.
Our officers’ and directors’ interests in obtaining reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them may lead to a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for an initial business combination and in the public stockholders’ best interest.
Unless we consummate our initial business combination, our officers and directors will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and the amount of interest income from the trust account up to a maximum of $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, that may be released to us as working capital. Our officers and directors may, as part
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of any business combination, negotiate the repayment of some or all of any such excess expenses. We do not have a policy that prohibits our officers and directors from negotiating for the reimbursement of such expenses by a target business. If the owners of the target business do not agree to such repayment, this could cause our management to view such potential business combination unfavorably, thereby resulting in a conflict of interest. The financial interest of our officers or directors could influence our officers’ and directors’ motivation in selecting a target business and therefore there may be a conflict of interest when determining whether a particular business combination is in the stockholders’ best interest.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate a business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, which could create a conflict of interest when allocating their time between our operations and their other commitments. We presently expect each of Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky to devote at least 10 hours per week to our business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination. All of our executive officers and directors are engaged in several other business endeavors and are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to such affairs, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate a business combination. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. For a complete discussion of the applicable conflicts of interest, see the section titled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities, including other “blank check” companies, engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Each of Messrs. Watson, Ledecky, Hersov, Mathias, Gray and Solomon are officers and directors of Victory Acquisition Corp. and Triplecrown Acquisition Corp. and such individuals are required to offer all suitable business opportunities for a business combination to Victory Acquisition Corp. and Triplecrown Acquisition Corp. prior to presenting it to us. Furthermore, each of Messrs. Watson, Ledecky and Mathias is an officer and/or director of Grand Slam Acquisition Corp. and each of Messrs. Watson, Ledecky, Mathias and Hersov is an officer and/or director of Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. It is anticipated that our initial public offering will coincide with that of Grand Slam Acquisition Corp.’s and Endeavour International Acquisition Corp.’s, although this is not a requirement of any of these offerings. Additionally, each of our principals may become involved with subsequent blank check companies similar to our company. Additionally, our officers and directors may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe fiduciary duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity time should be allocated or a particular business opportunity should be presented. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. As a result, a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may miss out on a potential transaction.
All of our officers and directors own shares of common stock issued prior to this offering and some of them will own warrants following this offering. These shares and warrants will not participate in liquidation distributions and, therefore, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for a business combination.
All of our founders, including our officers and directors, own shares of founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants that were issued prior to this offering. Additionally, certain of our officers and directors are
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purchasing the sponsors’ warrants upon consummation of this offering. Such individuals have waived their right to receive distributions with respect to the founders’ common stock upon our liquidation if we are unable to consummate a business combination. Accordingly, the founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants, as well as the sponsors’ warrants, and any warrants purchased by our officers or directors in this offering or in the aftermarket will be worthless if we do not consummate a business combination. The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest.
The American Stock Exchange may delist our securities from quotation on its exchange which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We anticipate that our securities will be listed on the American Stock Exchange, a national securities exchange, upon consummation of this offering however we cannot assure you of this fact. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Sections 101(c) and 101(d) of the American Stock Exchange Company Guide, which generally requires us to maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (usually $4 million), market capitalization (between $50 million to $75 million), aggregate market value of publicly held shares (between $15 million and $20 million), a minimum number of public stockholders (usually 400 stockholders) and a minimum stock price (between $2.00 and $3.00), we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the American Stock Exchange in the future prior to a business combination. Once listed, we generally will need to maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (usually between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000) and a minimum number of public stockholders (usually 300 stockholders), as well as not having what is deemed to be a “low selling price” as determined by the American Stock Exchange to continue to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. Additionally, in connection with our business combination, it is likely that the American Stock Exchange will require us to file a new initial listing application and meet its initial listing requirements as opposed to its more lenient continued listing requirements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the American Stock Exchange delists our securities from trading on its exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity with respect to our securities; |
| • | a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our common stock; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for our company; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services.
Our business combination must be with one or more target businesses having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. However, we may not be able to acquire more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic,
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competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be solely dependent upon the performance of a single business.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire more than one business and such businesses are owned by different sellers, it may make it more difficult for us to complete such an initial business combination.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire more than one business and such businesses are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of the sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
The ability of our stockholders to exercise their conversion rights may not allow us to effectuate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
When we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder (but not our founders) the right to have his, her or its shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Such holder must both vote against such business combination and then exercise his, her or its conversion rights to receive a pro rata portion of the trust account. Accordingly, if our business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may either need to reserve part of the trust account for possible payment upon conversion, or we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of public stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing. Therefore, we may not be able to consummate a business combination that requires us to use all of the funds held in the trust account as part of the purchase price, or we may end up having a leverage ratio that is not optimal for our business combination. This may limit our ability to effectuate the most attractive business combination available to us.
Public stockholders, together with any affiliates of theirs or any other person with whom they are acting in concert or as a “group” with, will be restricted from seeking conversion rights with respect to more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering.
When we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder (but not our existing stockholders or their permitted transferees) the right to have his, her, or its shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” will be restricted from seeking conversion rights with respect to more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering. Accordingly, if you purchase more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering and a proposed business combination is approved, you will not be able to seek conversion rights with respect to the full amount of your shares and may be forced to hold such additional shares or sell them in the open market. We cannot assure you that the value of such additional shares will appreciate over time following a business combination or that the market price of the common stock will exceed the per-share conversion price.
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We may proceed with a business combination even if public stockholders owning up to approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. This threshold is above the threshold of approximately 19.99% employed by previous similarly structured blank check companies.
We may proceed with a business combination as long as public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. Accordingly, public stockholders holding up to approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering, or approximately 14,999,999 shares of common stock, may exercise their conversion rights and we could still consummate a proposed business combination. We have set the conversion percentage at 30% in order to reduce the likelihood that a small group of investors holding a block of our stock will be able to stop us from completing a business combination that is otherwise approved by a large majority of our public stockholders. While there are a several offerings similar to ours which include conversion provisions of between 20% and 30%, the 20% threshold had been customary and standard for offerings similar to ours. The higher threshold may make it more likely that we will consummate a business combination than if we were using the lower threshold.
Our business combination may require us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price. In such a case, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Additionally, even if our business combination does not require us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, if a significant number of stockholders exercise their conversion rights, we will have less cash available to use in furthering our business plans following a business combination and may need to arrange third party financing. We have not taken any steps to secure third party financing for either situation. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such third party financing on terms favorable to us or at all.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing, if required, to complete a business combination or to fund the operations and growth of the target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering, including the interest earned on the proceeds held in the trust account that may be available to us, will be sufficient to allow us to consummate a business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of the business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, or the obligation to convert into cash a significant number of shares from dissenting stockholders, we will be required to seek additional financing. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to consummate a particular business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Even if we do not need additional financing to consummate a business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after a business combination.
Our founders, including our officers and directors, control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a stockholder vote.
Upon consummation of this offering, our founders (including all of our officers and directors) will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming none of them purchase units in this offering). None of our founders, officers, directors or their affiliates has indicated any intention to purchase additional units or shares of common stock from persons in the aftermarket or in private transactions. Additional purchases of shares of common stock by such individuals would likely allow them to exert additional influence over the approval of our initial business combination. The factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. Another
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factor that would be taken into consideration would be that any such additional purchases would likely increase the chances that our initial business combination would be approved.
Because we do not anticipate holding an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of a business combination, our founders will continue to exert control over our actions at least until the consummation of an initial business combination.
Our board of directors is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. It is unlikely that there will be an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of a business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the consummation of the business combination. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise your voting rights under state law for up to 30 months. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our founders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our founders will continue to exert control at least until the consummation of an initial business combination.
Our founders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per unit, for the founders’ units and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our shares of common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock (allocating all of the purchase price for the founders’ units to the founders’ common stock and none to the founders’ warrants included in the founders’ units) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our founders acquired the founders’ common stock at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon consummation of this offering, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and 1,875,000 units, representing 1,875,000 shares of common stock and 937,500 warrants, are forfeited by our founding stockholders and assuming no value is ascribed to the founders’ warrants or to the warrants included in the units sold in this offering, you and the other new investors will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 32.1% or $3.21 per share (the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $6.79, and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit). This is because investors in this offering will be contributing approximately 99.99% of the total amount paid to us for our outstanding securities after this offering but will only own 80% of our outstanding securities. Accordingly, the per-share purchase price you will be paying substantially exceeds our per share net tangible book value.
We may redeem the warrants at a time that is not beneficial to public investors.
We may call the public warrants for redemption at any time after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied. If we call the public warrants for redemption, public stockholders may be forced to accept a nominal redemption price or sell or exercise the warrants when they may not wish to do so. Furthermore, the founders’ warrants and sponsors’ warrants are not redeemable by us so long as they are held by the initial holders or their permitted transferees and as a result, the holders of such founders’ warrants or sponsors’ warrants could realize a larger gain on their warrants than public stockholders are able to realize if we call the public warrants for redemption.
Our management’s ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer shares of common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their warrants for cash.
If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise
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his warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” and (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sales price of our common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants. If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of shares of common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company.
Our outstanding warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
We issued the founders’ warrants as part of the sale of the founders’ units to purchase 6,250,000 shares of common stock (or 7,187,500 shares of common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We will be issuing warrants to purchase 25,000,000 shares of common stock (or 28,750,000 shares of common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus. We will also sell the sponsors’ warrants to purchase 5,000,000 shares of common stock. The warrants included in the units being sold in this offering and the sponsors’ warrants will become exercisable on the later of (i) the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) one year from the date of this prospectus, provided in each case that we have an effective and current registration statement under the Securities Act covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The founders’ warrants will become exercisable after the consummation of our initial business combination if and when the last sales price of our ordinary shares exceeds $15.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period beginning 90 days after the initial business combination. To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effect a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of a sale, of the shares underlying the warrants could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these warrants are exercised, you may experience a substantial dilution of your holdings.
If our founders or the purchasers of the sponsors’ warrants exercise their registration rights with respect to their founders’ common stock, founders’ warrants or sponsors’ warrants and underlying securities, it may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
The founders are entitled to demand that we register the resale of the founders’ common stock and founders’ warrants and the underlying shares of common stock at any time commencing the earlier of (i) nine months after the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date they are released from escrow. Additionally, the purchasers of the sponsors’ warrants are entitled to demand that we register the resale of their warrants and underlying shares of common stock commencing 90 days after we consummate a business combination. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. Assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option and the founding stockholders forfeit the 1,875,000 units, if such individuals exercise their registration rights with respect to all of their securities, then there will be an additional 12,500,000 shares of common stock (or 14,375,000 shares of common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and 11,250,000 warrants (or 12,187,500 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), as well as 11,250,000 shares of common stock (or 12,187,500 shares of common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) underlying the warrants, eligible for trading in the public market. The
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presence of these additional securities trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business, as the stockholders of the target business may be discouraged from entering into a business combination with us or will request a higher price for their securities because of the potential negative effect the exercise of such rights may have on the trading market for our common stock.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry and therefore may not accurately reflect the value of your investment.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the representatives believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, price and terms of the units, including the shares of common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| • | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| • | our capital structure; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
However, although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results to compare them to. As a result, the offering price of our units may not accurately reflect the value of your investment in our securities.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States. If we did, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ home jurisdiction, including any of the following:
| • | rules and regulations or currency conversion or corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
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| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks and wars; and |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.
If we are deemed to be an investment company, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete a business combination.
A company that, among other things, is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, trading or holding certain types of securities would be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Since we will invest the proceeds held in the trust account, it is possible that we could be deemed an investment company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act of 1940. To this end, the proceeds held in trust may be invested by the trustee only in Treasury Bills issued by the United States government having a maturity of 180 days or less. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, we intend to meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
If we are nevertheless deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, we may be subject to certain restrictions that may make it more difficult for us to complete a business combination, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us certain burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
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| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy, compliance policies and procedures and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
Compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expense for which we have not allotted.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may not be able to complete a business combination with some prospective target businesses.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses with which we may combine.
Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will require substantial financial and management resources and may increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls and requires that we have such system of internal controls audited beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2009. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties and/or stockholder litigation. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports could harm our business. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also requires that our independent registered public accounting firm report on management’s evaluation of our system of internal controls. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. Furthermore, any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in the implementation of adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination and may not pay dividends in the future following the completion of a business combination.
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of dividends after completion of an initial business combination will depend on our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition after a business combination is completed and will be within the discretion of our then-board
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of directors. As a result, any gains on an investment in our securities will need to come through appreciation of the value of such securities.
Risks Related to the Entertainment, Media and/or Publishing Industry
Business combinations with companies with operations in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with a target business with operations in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, we will be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
The speculative nature of the media and entertainment industry may result in our inability to produce products or services that receive sufficient market acceptance for us to be successful.
Certain segments of the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry are highly speculative and historically have involved a substantial degree of risk. For example, the success of a particular film, video game, program or recreational attraction depends upon unpredictable and changing factors, including the success of promotional efforts, the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and leisure time activities, general economic conditions, public acceptance and other tangible and intangible factors, many of which are beyond our control. If we complete a business combination with a target business in such a segment, we may be unable to produce products or services that receive sufficient market acceptance for us to be successful.
Changes in technology may reduce the demand for the products or services we may offer following a business combination.
The entertainment, media and/or publishing industry is substantially affected by rapid and significant changes in technology. These changes may reduce the demand for certain existing services and technologies used in these industries or render them obsolete. We cannot assure you that the technologies used by or relied upon or produced by a target business with which we effect a business combination will not be subject to such occurrence. While we may attempt to adapt and apply the services provided by the target business to newer technologies, we cannot assure you that we will have sufficient resources to fund these changes or that these changes will ultimately prove successful.
If following a business combination, the products or services that we market or sell are not accepted by the public, our profits may decline.
Certain segments of the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry are dependent on developing and marketing new products and services that respond to technological and competitive developments and changing customer needs and tastes. We cannot assure you that the products and services of a target business with which we effect a business combination will gain market acceptance. Any significant delay or failure in developing new or enhanced technology, including new product and service offerings, could result in a loss of actual or potential market share and a decrease in revenues.
If we are unable to protect our patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights following a business combination, competitors may be able to use our technology or intellectual property rights, which could weaken our competitive position.
If we are successful in acquiring a target business and the target business is the owner of patents, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property, our success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and enforce intellectual property rights for those assets, both in the United States and in other countries. In those circumstances, we may file applications for patents, copyrights and trademarks as our management deems appropriate. We cannot assure you that these applications, if filed, will be approved, or that we will have the financial and other resources necessary to enforce our proprietary rights against infringement by others. Additionally, we cannot assure you that any patent, trademark or copyright obtained by us will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented.
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If we are alleged to have infringed on the intellectual property rights or other rights of third parties it could subject us to significant liability for damages and invalidation or our proprietary rights.
If, following a business combination, third parties allege that we have infringed on their intellectual property rights, privacy rights or publicity rights or have defamed them, we could become a party to litigation. These claims and any resulting lawsuits could subject us to significant liability for damages and invalidation of our proprietary rights and/or restrict our ability to publish and distribute the infringing or defaming content.
We may not be able to comply with government regulations that may be adopted with respect to the entertainment and media industries.
Certain segments of the entertainment and media industries, including broadcast networks, cable networks and radio stations, have historically been subject to substantial regulation at the Federal, state and local levels. In the past, the regulatory environment, particularly with respect to the television and radio industry, has been fairly rigid. We cannot assure you that regulations currently in effect or adopted in the future will not cause us to modify or cease any of the operations then being conducted by a target business that we acquire.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements contained in this prospectus 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’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 “anticipates,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predicts,” “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 prospectus may include, for example, statements about our:
| • | ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| • | potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete a business combination; |
| • | pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
| • | potential change in control if we acquire one or more target businesses for stock; |
| • | public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | listing or delisting of our securities from the American Stock Exchange or the ability to have our securities listed on the American Stock Exchange following our initial business combination; |
| • | use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | financial performance following this offering; or |
| • | regulatory and operational risks associated with acquiring a target business. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus 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.” 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.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus. We will update the information in this prospectus as and when required by federal securities laws and regulations.
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We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, in addition to the funds we will receive from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants (all of which will be deposited into the trust account), will be as set forth in the following table:
| Without Over- Allotment Option |
With Over- Allotment Option Exercised | |||||
| Offering gross proceeds |
$ | 500,000,000 | $ | 575,000,000 | ||
| Proceeds from sale of sponsors’ warrants |
5,000,000 | 5,000,000 | ||||
| Total gross proceeds |
$ | 505,000,000 | $ | 580,000,000 | ||
| Offering expenses(1)(2) |
||||||
| Underwriting discount (7% of offering gross proceeds) |
$ | 35,000,000 | $ | 40,250,000 | ||
| Legal fees and expenses |
305,000 | 305,000 | ||||
| Printing and engraving expenses |
125,000 | 125,000 | ||||
| Accounting fees and expenses |
60,000 | 60,000 | ||||
| SEC registration fee |
22,507 | 22,507 | ||||
| FINRA filing fee |
73,813 | 73,813 | ||||
| American Stock Exchange fees |
80,000 | 80,000 | ||||
| Miscellaneous expenses |
33,680 | 33,680 | ||||
| Total offering expenses |
$ | 35,700,000 | $ | 40,950,000 | ||
| Proceeds after offering expenses |
$ | 469,300,000 | $ | 539,050,000 | ||
| Net offering proceeds held in trust |
$ | 469,250,000 | $ | 539,000,000 | ||
| Deferred underwriting discounts and commissions held in trust |
$ | 20,000,000 | $ | 23,000,000 | ||
| Total held in trust |
$ | 489,250,000 | $ | 562,000,000 | ||
| Net offering proceeds not held in trust(3) |
$ | 50,000 | $ | 50,000 | ||
| Working capital-funded from net proceeds not held in trust and interest earned on monies held in trust(3)(4)(5) |
||||||
| Due diligence of prospective target businesses, including fees for market research or consultants used to perform due diligence, if any, and reimbursement of out-of-pocket due diligence expenses incurred by our management team |
$ | 1,500,000 | $ | 1,500,000 | ||
| Legal, accounting and other non-due diligence expenses, including structuring and negotiating a business combination |
1,500,000 | 1,500,000 | ||||
| Legal and accounting fees relating to SEC reporting obligations |
180,000 | 180,000 | ||||
| Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (potentially including deposits or down payments for a proposed business combination), director and officer liability insurance premiums, transfer agent, warrant agent and trustee fees and reserves |
1,870,000 | 2,620,000 | ||||
| Total |
$ | 5,050,000 | $ | 5,800,000 | ||
| (1) | A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from advances we received from Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky described below. These advances will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust upon consummation of this offering. |
| (2) | These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. |
| (3) | The amount of net proceeds from this offering not held in trust will remain constant at $50,000 even if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. In addition, $5,000,000, or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of interest income earned on the amounts |
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| held in the trust account will be available to us to pay for our working capital requirements. For purposes of presentation, the full amount available to us is shown as the total amount of net proceeds available to us immediately following the offering. |
| (4) | These are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of that business combination. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would be deducted from our excess working capital. |
| (5) | If the underwriters determine to increase or decrease the size of this offering, the amount of interest income earned on the trust fund that can be released to us to fund our working capital requirements would be proportionately adjusted. |
A total of approximately $489.3 million (or approximately $562.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the sponsors’ warrants described in this prospectus, including $20.0 million (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions will be placed in the trust account at JPMorgan Chase NY Bank with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. These funds will be invested only in Treasury Bills issued by the United States government having a maturity of 180 days or less. As of the date of this prospectus, interest rates on these types of investments range from % to %. Except for a portion of the interest income that may be released to us, the proceeds held in trust will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation. All amounts held in the trust account that are not paid to public stockholders who elect to exercise their conversion rights or released to us as interest income will be released on closing of our initial business combination with one or more target businesses which collectively have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination, subject to a majority of our public stockholders voting in favor of the business combination and less than 30% of the public stockholders electing their conversion rights and subject to such deferred underwriting discount and commission having been paid to the underwriters. On release of funds from the trust account and after payment of the conversion price to any public stockholders who exercise their conversion rights, the underwriters will receive their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, and the remaining funds will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial combination occurs. If the business combination is paid for using stock or debt securities, we may apply the cash released to us from the trust account to general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of acquired business or businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies, or for working capital.
We expect that due diligence of prospective target businesses will be performed by some or all of the members of our management team and may include engaging market research firms and/or third party consultants. Members of our management team, or their affiliates or associates, will not receive, earn or be paid or awarded any compensation for their due diligence of prospective target businesses, but would be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses (such as travel expenses) incurred in connection with such due diligence activities. Our audit committee will review and approve all expense reimbursements made to our founders, sponsors, officers, directors and their respective affiliates and any expense reimbursements payable to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval.
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We believe that amounts not held in the trust account as well as (i) the interest income earned on the trust account balance released to us to pay any tax obligations and (ii) interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time) will, in the aggregate, be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that in-depth due diligence will be undertaken only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. Although we do not know the rate of interest to be earned on the trust account and are unable to predict an exact amount of time it will take to complete any initial business combination, we anticipate that, even at an interest rate of 2% per annum, the interest that will accrue on the trust account during the time it will take to identify a target and complete an acquisition will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements. Given the limited amount of time it will take to generate $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of interest on the trust account, we anticipate receiving such interest income generally shortly after we incur working capital expenses. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or if interest payments are not available to fund expenses at the time we incur them, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently not ascertainable. In this event, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from members of our management team, but such members of our management team are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us. To the extent that our expenses exceed the amounts not held in the trust account and the interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, that may be released to us from the trust account, such out-of-pocket expenses could not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. Our officers and directors may, as part of any such combination, negotiate the repayment of some or all of the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them that have not been reimbursed by us prior to the closing of our initial business combination. If the owners of the target business do not agree to such repayment, this could cause our officers and directors to view such potential initial business combination unfavorably and result in a potential conflict of interest.
If we complete a business combination, the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by members of our management team prior to the business combination’s closing will become an obligation of the post-combination business, assuming these out- of-pocket expenses have not been reimbursed prior to the closing. These expenses would be a liability of the post-combination business and would be treated in a manner similar to any other account payable of the combined business. Members of our management team may, as part of any such combination, negotiate the repayment of some or all of any such expenses. If the target business’ owners do not agree to such repayment, this could cause our management team to view such potential business combination unfavorably and result in a conflict of interest.
To the extent that our capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a business combination, the proceeds held in the trust account as well as any other net proceeds not expended will be used to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’ operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products. Such funds could also be used to repay any operating expenses or finders’ fees which we had incurred prior to the completion of our business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust account were insufficient to cover such expenses.
If we determine to engage the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on a formal basis, we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. The amount of any finder’s fees is typically negotiated between the parties and the payment of such finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction. It is likely that such a fee in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million would exceed the
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funds allocated above. Accordingly, such a fee would need to be paid out of the funds held in the trust account upon consummation of the transaction.
As of the date of this prospectus, Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky have advanced to us an aggregate of $135,000 which was used to pay a portion of the expenses of this offering referenced in the line items above for the SEC registration fee, FINRA filing fee, the non-refundable portion of the American Stock Exchange fee and accounting and legal fees and expenses. These advances are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of November 20, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. The loans will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in the trust account.
The net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account and not immediately required for the purposes set forth above will be invested only in Treasury Bills issued by the United States government having a maturity of 180 days or less. Interest income earned on the trust account balance released to us to pay any tax obligations and, in addition, interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, earned on the trust account balance may be releasable to us from the trust account to fund a portion of our working capital requirements (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time).
No compensation of any kind (including finder’s and consulting fees) will be paid or awarded by us or a target business to or earned by members of our management team or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. However, members of our management team will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. To the extent that such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, that is released to us from the trust account (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time), such out-of-pocket expenses would not be reimbursed by us prior to our consummation of a business combination. In the event a business combination is consummated by us and irrespective of whether such persons remain associated with us, our audit committee and/or our board of directors may determine to reimburse such persons for such expenses. There is no limit on the amount of such expenses reimbursable by us to such persons. A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of our liquidation if we fail to complete a business combination within the allotted time or if the public stockholder seeks to convert such shares into cash in connection with a business combination that the public stockholder voted against and that we actually complete. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in or to funds in the trust account.
On completion of our initial business combination, the underwriters will receive the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions held in the trust account. If we do not complete an initial business combination and the trustee must therefore distribute the balance in the trust account, the underwriters have agreed (i) on our liquidation to forfeit any rights or claims to the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account, and (ii) that the trustee is authorized to distribute the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, together with any accrued interest thereon, net of income taxes payable on such interest, to the public stockholders on a pro rata basis.
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We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of dividends in the future will depend on our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition after a business combination is completed. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our then-board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain any earnings for use in our business operations and, accordingly, we do not anticipate our board declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future.
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The difference between the public offering price per share of common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and the founders’ warrants and sponsors’ warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the founders’ warrants and sponsors’ warrants. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of the shares of common stock which may be converted into cash), by the number of outstanding shares of common stock.
At November 30, 2007, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $13,492, or approximately $(0.00) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 50,000,000 shares of common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and 1,875,000 founders’ units, representing 1,875,000 shares of founders’ common stock and 937,500 founders’ warrants, are forfeited by the founders), and the deduction of underwriting discounts and estimated expenses of this offering, and the sale of the sponsors’ warrants, our pro forma net tangible book value at November 30, 2007 would have been $322,549,018 or $6.79 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $6.79 per share to the founders and an immediate dilution of $3.21 per share or 32.1% to new investors not exercising their conversion rights. For purposes of presentation, our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering is approximately $146,774,990 less than it otherwise would have been because if we effect a business combination, the conversion rights to the public stockholders (but not our founders) may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 29.99% of the aggregate number of shares sold in this offering, or 14,999,999 shares, at a per-share conversion price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination, inclusive of any interest, divided by the number of shares sold in this offering.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the new investors on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units and the sponsors’ warrants:
| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | |||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ | (0.00 | ) | ||||
| Increase attributable to new investors and sale of the sponsors’ warrants |
6.79 | ||||||
| Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering |
6.79 | ||||||
| Dilution to new investors |
$ | 3.21 | |||||
The following table sets forth information with respect to our founders and the new investors:
| Shares Purchased |
Total Consideration |
Average Price Per Share | |||||||||||||
| Number |
Percentage |
Amount |
Percentage |
||||||||||||
| Founders |
12,500,000 | (1) | 20.0 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.01 | % | $ | 0.002 | |||||
| New investors |
50,000,000 | 80.0 | % | 500,000,000 | 99.99 | % | 10.00 | ||||||||
| 62,500,000 | 100.0 | % | $ | 500,025,000 | 100.00 | % | $ | 8.00 | |||||||
| (1) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one half of one warrant to purchase one share of common stock, have been forfeited by our founding stockholders as a result thereof. |
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The pro forma net tangible book value after the offering is calculated as follows:
| Numerator: |
|||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
(13,492 | ) | |
| Net proceeds from this offering and sale of sponsors’ warrants |
469,300,000 | ||
| Offering costs excluded from net tangible book value before this offering |
37,500 | ||
| Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to conversion to cash(1) |
(146,774,990 | ) | |
| 322,549,018 | |||
| Denominator: |
|||
| Common stock outstanding prior to this offering(2) |
12,500,000 | ||
| Common stock included in the units offered |
50,000,000 | ||
| Less: Shares subject to conversion |
(14,999,999 | ) | |
| 47,500,001 | |||
| (1) | Does not include the deduction for the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (approximately $0.40 per share) which will be distributed to the underwriters on completion of our initial business combination. |
| (2) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one half of one warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of common stock, have been forfeited by our founding stockholders as a result thereof. |
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The following table sets forth our capitalization at November 30, 2007 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units the founders’ units, and the sponsors’ warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| November 30, 2007 |
||||||||
| Actual |
As Adjusted(1) |
|||||||
| Notes payable to stockholders(2) |
$ | 125,000 | $ | — | ||||
| Common stock, -0- and 14,999,999 shares of which are subject to possible conversion at conversion value(3) |
— | 146,774,990 | ||||||
| Stockholders’ equity: |
||||||||
| Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding |
— | — | ||||||
| Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 14,375,000 shares issued and outstanding; 47,500,001 shares(4) issued and outstanding (excluding 14,999,999 shares subject to possible conversion), as adjusted |
1,438 | 4,750 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
23,562 | 322,545,260 | ||||||
| Deficit accumulated during the development stage |
(992 | ) | (992 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ equity |
24,008 | 322,549,018 | ||||||
| Total capitalization |
149,008 | 469,324,008 | ||||||
| (1) | Includes the $5.0 million we will receive from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants. |
| (2) | Notes payable to affiliates are comprised of promissory notes issued in the aggregate amount of $125,000 to Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky. The notes are non-interest bearing and are payable on the earlier of November 20, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. |
| (3) | If we consummate our initial business combination, the conversion rights afforded to our public stockholders may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 29.99% of the aggregate number of shares sold in this offering, or 14,999,999 shares, at a per-share conversion price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (initially approximately $9.79 per share (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)), including the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and including accrued interest, net of any interest previously released to us, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of our initial business combination divided by the number of shares sold in this offering. |
| (4) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 1,875,000 founders’ units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one half of one warrant, two of which will purchase one share of common stock, have been forfeited by our founders as a result thereof. |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We were formed on October 24, 2007 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more operating businesses in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry. We do not have any specific business combination under current consideration, and neither we, nor any representative acting on our behalf, has had any contacts with any target businesses regarding an initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, contacted or been contacted by any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. We intend to effect a business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt. The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
| • | may significantly reduce the equity interest of our stockholders; |
| • | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry-forwards, if any, and may also result in the resignation or removal of one or more of the present members of our management team; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. |
Similarly, debt securities issued by us in a business combination may result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination were insufficient to pay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we have made all principal and interest payments when due if the debt security contained covenants requiring the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves and any such covenant was breached without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security was payable on demand; and |
| • | our inability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, if the debt security contained covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while such debt security was outstanding. |
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of a business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at November 30, 2007, we had $112,508 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $13,492. Further, we have incurred expenses of $37,500, in connection with this offering, and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed above. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate a business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
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Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering and the concurrent private sale of the sponsors’ warrants. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination, at the earliest. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering. Our primary liquidity requirements are listed in the third paragraph under the caption titled “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.
We were formed to effect a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more operating businesses in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry. Certain segments of the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry are highly speculative and historically have involved a substantial degree of risk. For example, the success of a particular film, video game, program or recreational attraction depends upon unpredictable and changing factors, including the success of promotional efforts, the availability of alternative forms of entertainment and leisure time activities, general economic conditions, public acceptance and other tangible and intangible factors, many of which are beyond our control. Furthermore, the recent strike by the Writers Guild of America and the slowdown of the U.S. economy has caused television and film companies to eliminate previously planned shows or movies in an effort to cut costs. These and other factors could affect our profitability and operations following a business combination.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied to date through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founders’ units, and advances from Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky in an aggregate amount of $135,000 that is more fully described below. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $700,000 and underwriting discounts and commissions of $35.0 million (or approximately $40.3 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (ii) the sale of the sponsors’ warrants for a purchase price of $5.0 million, will be approximately $469.3 million (or approximately $539.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Approximately $489.3 million (or approximately $562.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be held in the trust account, which includes $20.0 million (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. The remaining $50,000 will not be held in trust.
We will use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering to acquire one or more target businesses, including identifying and evaluating prospective target businesses, selecting one or more target businesses, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination. To the extent we use our capital stock in whole or in part as consideration for a business combination, the proceeds held in the trust account (less amounts paid to any public stockholders who exercise their conversion rights, deferred underwriting discounts and commissions paid to the underwriters and any interest income previously released to us) as well as any other net proceeds not expended prior to that time will be used to finance the operations of the target business or businesses. The working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’ operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products. The funds could also be used to repay any operating expenses or finders’ fees which we had incurred prior to the completion of our business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust account were insufficient to cover such expenses.
Following consummation of this offering, we believe the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with (i) the interest income earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us to pay any tax
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obligations and (ii) interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the balance of the trust account to be released to us for working capital requirements (so long as we have sufficient funds available to us to pay our tax obligations on such interest income or otherwise then due at that time), will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming a business combination is not completed during that time. We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $1,500,000 for expenses for the due diligence and investigation of a target business or businesses; approximately $1,500,000 for legal, accounting and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting an initial business combination; $180,000 for legal and accounting fees relating to our SEC reporting obligations; and approximately $1,870,000, or $2,620,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves, including additional expenses that may be incurred by us in connection with this offering over and above the amounts listed in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.” We anticipate that, even at an interest rate of 2% per annum, the interest that will accrue on the trust account during the time it will take to identify a target and complete an acquisition will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements. Given the limited amount of time it will take to generate $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of interest on the trust account, we anticipate receiving such interest income generally shortly after we incur working capital expenses. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or if interest payments are not available to fund the expenses at the time we incur them, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, we will rely on the funds available to us outside of the trust account and interest earned of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on the trust account to fund such expenditures. If our estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to consummate our initial business combination with a target business or businesses having a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination or because we become obligated to convert into cash a significant number of shares of public stockholders voting against our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no limitations on our ability to incur debt or issue securities in order to consummate a business combination regardless of whether or not we are acquiring a target business or businesses having a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
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Related Party Transaction
Effective October 2007, our founders purchased 14,375,000 founders’ units, with each founders’ unit consisting of one founders’ share and one half of one founders’ warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000.
As of the date of this prospectus, Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky have loaned us an aggregate of $135,000 for payment of offering expenses. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of November 20, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. The loans will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not placed in trust.
Eric J. Watson, Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris have committed to purchase 1,250,000, 1,250,000 and 2,500,000 sponsors’ warrants, respectively, for an aggregate of 5,000,000 sponsors’ warrants, at $1.00 per warrant (for a total purchase price of $5.0 million) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. If it is determined, at the time of the offering, that the fair value of the sponsors’ warrants exceeds the $1.00 purchase price, we would record compensation expense upon consummation of our initial business combination for the excess of the fair value of the warrants on the day of purchase over the $1.00 purchase price in accordance with SFAS 123(R).
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Introduction
We are a recently organized Delaware blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more operating businesses in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to this offering. We do not have any specific initial business combination under consideration. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction.
The entertainment, media and/or publishing industry encompasses those companies which create, produce, deliver, own, distribute and/or market entertainment and information content, products and services. These companies serve both domestic and international audiences. The media and entertainment industry represents a large and expanding segment of the United States economy. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, global media and entertainment industry spending reached $1.4 trillion in 2006 and is expected to increase to $2.0 trillion in 2011. The United States marketplace accounts for $582 billion, or 41%, of the $1.4 trillion in spending.
Growth in this industry has historically been driven by the introduction of new technologies and the expansion of domestic and international markets. The latter part of the 20th century witnessed the introduction and consumer acceptance of cable television, home video, video games and compact discs. The 1990s witnessed the emergence of additional products and improved delivery systems such as interactive multimedia entertainment software, simulator and virtual reality attractions and fiber optic cable. The beginning of the 21st century has witnessed even greater expansion as the emergence of next-generation technologies and the convergence of platforms have significantly strengthened growth opportunities for television distribution through direct broadcast satellite and digital cable, video games, Internet access and home video.
The market is also in transition as digital distribution is growing rapidly and now playing a more important role in the overall market but also creating a new medium. More than 40% of total media and entertainment growth during the next five years will be generated through online and wireless technologies facilitated by the expansion of these universes.
Among the areas of particular interest to the company are businesses engaged in:
| • | broadcast television; |
| • | cable, satellite and terrestrial television content delivery; |
| • | film, television and video content production and distribution; |
| • | newspaper, book, magazine, and specialty publishing; |
| • | motion picture production and motion picture studies; |
| • | motion picture exhibition and related services; |
| • | broadcast and satellite radio; |
| • | digital media content and production; |
| • | professional sports team and/or professional sports league; |
| • | sports marketing and entertainment marketing agencies; |
| • | video game production and distribution; |
| • | Internet and mobile media production and distribution; |
| • | advertising agencies and other advertising services, including direct marketing and directories; |
| • | educational and training media services; |
| • | theme parks and amusement parks; |
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| • | casino and other regulated gaming; |
| • | recorded music, music publishing and other audio content production and distribution; and |
| • | live event entertainment and venue management. |
Business Strategy
We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities. However, we may decide to enter into an initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
| • | Established Companies with Proven Track Records. We will seek to acquire established companies with a history of strong operating and financial results. |
| • | Companies with Strong Free Cash Flow Characteristics. We will seek to acquire companies that have a history of strong, stable free cash flow generation. We will focus on companies that have predictable, recurring revenue streams. |
| • | Strong Competitive Industry Position. We will seek to acquire businesses that operate within the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry that have strong fundamentals. The factors we will consider include growth prospects, competitive dynamics and need for capital investment. We will focus on companies that have a leading market position. We will seek to acquire businesses that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to protect their market position and profitability and deliver strong free cash flow. |
| • | Experienced Management Team. We will seek to acquire businesses that have strong, experienced management teams. We will focus on management teams with a proven track record of driving revenue growth, enhancing profitability and generating strong free cash flow. We believe that the operating expertise of our founding shareholders will complement, not replace, the target’s management team. While it is possible that one or more of our officers or directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. |
Competitive Advantages
We believe we have the following competitive advantages over other entities with business objectives similar to ours:
Status as a public company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to these types of target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock. We believe target businesses will find this method a cheaper, quicker and more certain process to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and additional means of incentivizing management consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
Financial position
With a trust account initially in the amount of approximately $489.3 million, we offer a target business a variety of options such as providing the owners of a target business with shares in a public company and a public
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means to sell such shares, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to consummate a business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, if our business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may either need to reserve part of the trust account for possible payment upon their conversion, or we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing. Accordingly, our flexibility in structuring a business combination will be subject to these contingencies.
Management Expertise
Eric J. Watson, our chairman of the board, and Jonathan J. Ledecky, our president, have substantial experience in identifying, acquiring and operating a wide variety of service businesses. Together, they have been personally involved in the formation of over 25 companies and such companies have made over 400 acquisitions. In all of these transactions, each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky was involved, either directly or in a supervisory capacity, in searching for targets, conducting due diligence, negotiating the terms of the acquisitions and consummating such transactions. Additionally, John M. Mass, one of our directors, is a senior executive at William Morris, one of our stockholders, which as one of the world’s largest and preeminent diversified talent and literary agency actively represents clients in the worldwide entertainment, media and publishing industries, and has broad relationships with industry participants and knowledge of potential acquisition opportunities.
We will seek to acquire a business whose operations can be improved and enhanced with our capital resources and where there are substantial opportunities for both organic and acquisition growth. We intend to focus our search on businesses in the media, entertainment and/or publishing industries.
Effecting an Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to utilize the cash proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the sponsors’ warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of the foregoing as the consideration to be paid in a business combination. While substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the sponsors’ warrants are allocated to completing a business combination, the proceeds are not otherwise designated for more specific purposes. Accordingly, prospective investors will at the time of their investment in us not be provided an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. If we engage in a business combination with a target business using our capital stock and/or debt financing as the consideration to fund the combination, proceeds from this offering and the private placement of the sponsors’ warrants will then be used to undertake additional acquisitions or to fund the operations of the target business on a post-combination basis. We may engage in an initial business combination with a company that does not require significant additional capital but is seeking a public trading market for its shares, and which wants to merge with an already public company to avoid the uncertainties associated with undertaking its own public offering. These uncertainties include time delays, compliance and governance issues, significant expense, a possible loss of voting control, and the risk that market conditions will not be favorable for an initial public offering at the time the offering is ready to be sold. We may seek to effect an initial business combination with more than one target business, although our limited resources may serve as a practical limitation on our ability to do so.
We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, contacted or been contacted by any potential target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. Additionally, we have not, nor have we engaged or
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retained any agent or other representative, to conduct any research or take any steps to identify, locate or contact any suitable acquisition candidate. We have also not contacted any of the prospective target businesses that Endeavor Acquisition Corp., Victory Acquisition Corp. or Triplecrown Acquisition Corp. contacted in connection with its search for a business combination and do not intend to do so unless the operations, profits or prospects of such target business improved significantly and we were made aware of such change. At this time, we do not anticipate this happening. We will also not consummate an initial business combination with any entity that our management has had discussions with regarding a possible business combination through their other business activities. We will also not enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or founding stockholders or their affiliates, including (i) an entity that is either a portfolio company of, or has otherwise received a material financial investment from, any private equity fund or investment company (or an affiliate thereof) that is affiliated with such individuals, (ii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently passive investors, (iii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently officers or directors, or (iv) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently invested through an investment vehicle controlled by them.
Prior to completion of an initial business combination, we will seek to have all vendors, including lenders for money borrowed, prospective target businesses or other entities, which we refer to as potential contracted parties or a potential contracted party, that we engage execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders. In the event that a potential contracted party was to refuse to execute such a waiver, we will execute an agreement with that entity only if our management first determines that we would be unable to obtain, on a reasonable basis, substantially similar services or opportunities from another entity willing to execute such a waiver. Examples of instances where we may engage a third party that refused to execute a waiver would be the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or a situation in which management does not believe it would be able to find a provider of required services willing to provide the waiver. If a potential contracted party does not execute such a waiver, then Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky and William Morris will be liable, by means of direct payment to the trust account, to cover the potential claims made by such party for services rendered and goods sold, in each case to us, but only if, and to the extent, that the claims would otherwise reduce the trust account proceeds payable to our public stockholders in the event of a liquidation. However, if a potential contracted party executes a waiver, then Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris will have no liability as to any claimed amounts owed to a contracted party. Obtaining trust fund waivers from prospective target businesses and vendors, and the contractual commitments we have received from Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris discussed above, are the only actions we will take to ensure that the funds in the trust account are not depleted by claims against the trust. There is no guarantee that vendors, including lenders for money borrowed, prospective target businesses or other entities will execute such waivers or, even if they execute such waivers, that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility and other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to seek recourse against our assets, including funds in the trust account. Further, we could be subject to claims from parties not in contract with us who have not executed a waiver, such as a third party claiming tortious interference as a result of our initial business combination. Based on representations made to us by Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris, we currently believe that each of them has substantial means and each is capable of funding a shortfall of at least $500,000 in our trust account to satisfy their foreseeable indemnification obligations, but we have not asked them for any security or funds for such an eventuality. Despite our belief, we cannot assure you Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris will be able to satisfy those obligations. The indemnification obligations may be substantially higher than they currently foresee or expect and/or their financial resources may deteriorate in the future. As a result, the steps outlined above may not effectively mitigate the risk of creditors’ claims reducing the amounts in the trust account.
Subject to the requirement that a target business or businesses have a collective fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of
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$20.0 million or approximately $23.0 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination and operate in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, we have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete a business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
Sources of target businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds and other members of the financial community. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses they think we may be interested in on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. We may pay a finder fee to such unaffiliated sources, in our discretion, whether or not we solicited them to bring target businesses to our attention. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. The underwriters in this offering may also introduce us to potential target businesses. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, including one or more of the underwriters, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to such entity to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. The amount of any finder’s fees is typically negotiated between the parties and the payment of such finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction. It is likely that such a fee in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million would exceed the funds available to us prior to the consummation of a business combination. Accordingly, such a fee would need to be paid out of the funds held in the trust account at the consummation of the transaction. Although it is possible that we may pay finder’s fees in the case of an uncompleted transaction, we consider this possibility to be extremely remote. In no event, however, will any of our existing officers, directors or stockholders, or any entity with which they are affiliated, earn or be paid or awarded by us or a target business any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is) by us or by a target business. We will not enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or founding stockholders or their affiliates, including (i) an entity that is either a portfolio company of, or has otherwise received a material financial investment from, any private equity fund or investment company (or an affiliate thereof) that is affiliated with such individuals, (ii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently passive investors, (iii) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently officers or directors, or (iv) an entity in which such individuals or their affiliates are currently invested through an investment vehicle controlled by them.
Selection of a target business and structuring of a business combination
Subject to the requirement that our initial business combination be with one or more target businesses with a collective fair market value that is at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination and operate in the entertainment, media and/or publishing industry, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective target business.
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We have not established any other specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. In evaluating a prospective target business, our management may consider a variety of factors, including one or more of the following:
| • | expected returns on investment relative to the aggregate consideration expected to be paid in a business combination; |
| • | financial condition and results of operations; |
| • | growth potential; |
| • | brand recognition and potential; |
| • | experience and skill of management and availability of additional personnel; |
| • | capital requirements; |
| • | stage of development of the business and its products or services; |
| • | degree of current or potential market acceptance of the products or services; |
| • | proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas; |
| • | impact of regulation on the business; |
| • | regulatory environment of the industry; and |
| • | costs associated with effecting the business combination. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on the above factors as well as other considerations deemed relevant by our management to our business objective. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as review of financial and other information which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete the business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which a business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. We will not, nor will a target business, pay or award any finders’ or consulting fees to nor will any be earned by members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with an initial business combination.
Fair market value of target business or businesses
The initial target business or businesses with which we combine must have a collective fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If we acquire less than 100% of one or more target businesses in our initial business combination, the aggregate fair market value of the portion or portions we acquire must equal at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions as described above) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. However, we will always acquire at least a controlling interest in a target business (typically meaning more than 50% of the voting securities of the target business). The fair market value of a portion of a target business will likely be calculated by multiplying the fair market value of the entire business by the percentage of the target we acquire. We may
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seek to consummate a business combination with an initial target business or businesses with a collective fair market value in excess of 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. In order to consummate such a business combination, we may issue a significant amount of our debt or equity securities to the sellers of such business and/or seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities. There are no limitations on our ability to incur debt or issue securities in order to consummate a business combination. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such arrangement to issue our debt or equity securities and have no current intention of doing so.
In contrast to many other companies with business plans similar to ours that must combine with one or more target businesses that have a fair market value equal to 80% or more of the acquirer’s net assets, we will not combine with a target business or businesses unless the fair market value of such entity or entities meets a minimum valuation threshold of 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We have used this criterion to provide investors and our management team with greater certainty as to the fair market value that a target business or businesses must have in order to qualify for a business combination with us. The determination of net assets requires an acquirer to have deducted all liabilities from total assets to arrive at the balance of net assets. Given the on-going nature of legal, accounting, stockholder meeting and other expenses that will be incurred immediately before and at the time of a business combination, the balance of an acquirer’s total liabilities may be difficult to ascertain at a particular point in time with a high degree of certainty. Accordingly, we have determined to use the valuation threshold of 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination for the fair market value of the target business or businesses with which we combine so that our management team will have greater certainty when selecting, and our investors will have greater certainty when voting to approve or disapprove a proposed combination with, a target business or businesses that will meet the minimum valuation criterion for our initial business combination.
The fair market value of a target business or businesses will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, the values of comparable businesses, earnings and cash flow and/or book value). If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value to meet the threshold criterion, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with respect to the satisfaction of such criterion. We expect that any such opinion would be included in our proxy soliciting materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a business combination, and that such independent investment banking firm will be a consenting expert. As the opinion will be addressed to our Board of Directors for their use in evaluating the transaction, we do not anticipate that our stockholders will be entitled to rely on such opinion, in which case we would provide support for such a determination in our proxy soliciting materials. However, as the opinion will be attached to, and thoroughly described in, our proxy soliciting materials, we believe investors will be provided with sufficient information in order to allow them to properly analyze the transaction because investors will still have the benefit of reading a copy of the opinion and all the supporting facts surrounding the conclusion set forth in the opinion. Accordingly, whether the independent investment banking firm allows stockholders to rely on their opinion will not be a factor in determining which firm to hire. We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an investment banking firm as to the fair market value of the business if our board of directors independently determines that the target business or businesses has sufficient fair market value to meet the threshold criterion.
Lack of business diversification
While we may seek to effect business combinations with more than one target business, our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses whose collective fair market value is at least equal to
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80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination, as discussed above. Consequently, we expect to complete only a single business combination, although this may entail a simultaneous combination with several operating businesses at the same time. At the time of our initial business combination, we may not be able to acquire more than one target business because of various factors, including complex accounting or financial reporting issues. For example, we may need to present pro forma financial statements reflecting the operations of several target businesses as if they had been combined historically.
A simultaneous combination with several target businesses also presents logistical issues such as the need to coordinate the timing of negotiations, proxy statement disclosure and closings. In addition, if conditions to closings with respect to one or more of the target businesses are not satisfied, the fair market value of the businesses, collectively, could fall below the required fair market value threshold of 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination.
Accordingly, while it is possible that we may attempt to effect our initial business combination with more than one target business, we are more likely to choose a single target business if all other factors appear equal. This means that for an indefinite period of time, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after a business combination.
If we complete a business combination structured as a merger in which the consideration is our stock, we would have a significant amount of cash available to make add-on acquisitions following our initial business combination.
Limited ability to evaluate the target business’ management
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting a business combination with that business, we cannot assure you that our assessment of the target business’ management will prove to be correct. In addition, we cannot assure you that the future management will have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Opportunity for stockholder approval of business combination
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, we will submit the transaction to our stockholders for approval, regardless of the type of transaction it is, even if the nature of the acquisition is such as would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law.
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In connection with seeking stockholder approval of a business combination, we will furnish our stockholders with proxy solicitation materials prepared in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which, among other matters, will include a description of the operations of the target business and audited historical financial statements of the business.
In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our founders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their founders’ common stock (i) in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders and (ii) in favor of our dissolution and liquidation in the event that we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months or 30 months from the date of this prospectus, as applicable. Our founders have also agreed that they will vote any shares they purchase in the open market in, or after, this offering (i) in favor of a business combination and (ii) in favor of our dissolution and liquidation in the event that we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months or 30 months from the date of this prospectus, as applicable. Thus, additional purchases of shares of common stock by our existing stockholders, including our officers or directors, would likely allow them to exert additional influence over the approval of our initial business combination. The factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. Another factor that would be taken into consideration would be that any such additional purchases would likely increase the chances that our initial business combination would be approved. We will proceed with the business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering both vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights. In addition, if within 90 days before the expiration of the 24- or 30-month period, as the case may be, we seek approval from our stockholders to consummate a business combination, we expect that the proxy statement related to such business combination will also seek stockholder approval for our board’s recommended dissolution and plan of distribution in the event our stockholders do not approve such business combination or if such business combination is not consummated for other reasons.
Conversion rights
At the time we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder the right to have their shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” will be restricted from seeking conversion rights with respect to more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering. Such a public stockholder would still be entitled to vote against a proposed business combination with respect to all shares owned by him or his affiliates. We believe this restriction will deter stockholders from accumulating large blocks of stock before the meeting held to approve a proposed business combination and threatening to exercise their conversion right as a means to force us or our management to purchase their stock at a significant premium to the then current market price. Absent this provision, a public stockholder who owns more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to vote against a proposed business combination and seek conversion of all of its shares, regardless of the merits of the transaction, if, for example, its shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then current market price. By eliminating a stockholder’s ability to convert more than 10% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will deter these stockholders from threatening to block a transaction which is favored by a majority of our other public stockholders.
Our founders will not have conversion rights with respect to any shares of common stock owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether included in the founders’ units or purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket. The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, before payment of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and including accrued interest, net of any interest income on the trust account balance previously released to us to pay our tax obligations and net of interest income of up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’
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over-allotment option is exercised in full, previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements (calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination), divided by the number of shares sold in this offering. The initial per-share conversion price would be approximately $9.79 (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.21 less than the per-unit offering price of $10.00 ($0.23 less if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full).
An eligible stockholder may request conversion at any time after the mailing to our stockholders of the proxy statement and prior to the vote taken with respect to a proposed business combination at a meeting held for that purpose, but the request will not be granted unless the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Additionally, we may require public stockholders, whether they are a record holder or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent at any time through the vote on the business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy solicitation materials that we will furnish to stockholders in connection with the vote for any proposed business combination will indicate whether we are requiring stockholders to satisfy such certification and delivery requirements. Accordingly, a stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy statement through the vote on the business combination to tender his shares if he wishes to seek to exercise his conversion rights. This time period varies depending on the specific facts of each transaction. However, as the delivery process can be accomplished by the stockholder, whether or not he is a record holder or his shares are held in “street name,” in a matter of hours by simply contacting the transfer agent or his broker and requesting delivery of his shares through the DWAC System, we believe this time period is sufficient for an average investor. However, because we do not have control over this process, it may take significantly longer than we anticipated. Accordingly, we will only require stockholders to deliver their certificate prior to the vote if we give stockholders at least two weeks between the mailing of the proxy solicitation materials and the meeting date. Traditionally, in order to perfect conversion rights in connection with a blank check company’s business combination, a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to convert. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the consummation of the business combination during which he could monitor the price of the stock in the market. If the price rose above the conversion price, he could sell his shares in the open market before actually delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. Thus, the conversion right, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become a continuing right surviving past the consummation of the business combination until the converting holder delivered his certificate for conversion. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting would be imposed to ensure that a converting holder’s election to convert is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
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 $35 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the converting holder. Accordingly, if a stockholder holds only a few shares of common stock, this fee may make seeking conversion less beneficial to such stockholder than selling his shares in the open market depending on the then current trading price of our common stock. The fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise conversion rights to tender their shares prior to the meeting—the need to deliver shares is a requirement of conversion regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated. However, if a proposed business combination is ultimately rejected and we are unable to complete another business combination, such fee would have been incurred unnecessarily.
If a stockholder votes against the business combination but fails to properly exercise its conversion rights, such stockholder will not have its shares of common stock converted to its pro rata distribution of the trust account. Any request for conversion, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date of the meeting. Furthermore, if a stockholder delivers his certificate for conversion and subsequently decides prior to the meeting
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not to elect conversion, he may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to stockholders entitled to convert their shares who elect conversion will be distributed promptly after completion of our initial business combination. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their pro rata share of the trust account will still have the right to exercise any warrants they still hold.
We will not complete our proposed initial business combination if public stockholders owning 30% or more of the shares included in the units sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. We will not increase or decrease the conversion threshold prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. We have set the conversion percentage at 30% in order to reduce the likelihood that a small group of investors holding a block of our stock will be able to stop us from completing a business combination that may otherwise be approved by a large majority of our public stockholders. The initial conversion price will be approximately $9.79 per share (or approximately $9.77 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). As this amount is lower than the $10.00 per unit offering price and it may be less than the market price of the common stock on the date of conversion, there may be a disincentive on the part of public stockholders to exercise their conversion rights.
If a vote on an initial business combination is held and the business combination is not approved, we may continue to try to consummate an initial business combination with a different target until 24 months from the consummation of this offering (or 30 months if the extension criteria described above is satisfied). If the initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then public stockholders voting against our initial business combination who exercised their conversion rights would not be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. In such case, if we have required public stockholders to tender their certificates prior to the meeting, we will promptly return such certificates to the tendering public stockholder. Public stockholders would be entitled to receive their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit in the trust account only in the event that the initial business combination they voted against was duly approved and subsequently completed, or in connection with our liquidation.
Liquidation if no business combination
If we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the date of this prospectus, or within 30 months if the extension criteria described below have been satisfied, we will seek stockholder approval to dissolve and as promptly as practicable liquidate all funds from our trust account only to our public stockholders, as part of our dissolution and plan of distribution and in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, including our obligations under the Delaware General Corporation Law to provide for claims of creditors. The liquidating distribution to public stockholders will consist of an aggregate sum equal to the amount in the trust fund, inclusive of any interest not previously released to us less the amount of taxes paid, if any, on interest earned and will be made in proportion to our public stockholders’ respective equity interests. In the event we seek stockholder approval for our dissolution and plan of distribution and do not obtain such approval, we will nonetheless continue to pursue stockholder approval for our dissolution. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is intended that our powers following the expiration of the permitted time periods for consummating a business combination will automatically thereafter be limited to acts and activities relating to dissolving and winding up our affairs, including liquidation. Pursuant to the trust agreement governing such funds, the funds held in our trust account may not be distributed except upon our dissolution and, unless and until such approval is obtained from our stockholders, the funds held in our trust account will not be released (other than in connection with the funding of working capital, a conversion or a business combination as described elsewhere in this prospectus). Consequently, holders of a majority of our outstanding stock must approve our dissolution in order to receive the funds held in our trust account and, other than in connection with a conversion or a business combination, the funds will not be available for any other corporate purpose. As promptly as practicable upon the later to occur of (i) the approval by our stockholders of our plan of distribution or (ii) the effective date of such approved plan of distribution, we will liquidate our trust account to our public stockholders. Concurrently, we shall pay, or reserve for payment, from interest released to
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us from the trust account if available, our liabilities and obligations. As more fully described below, each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris has agreed that, if we dissolve prior to the consummation of a business combination, they will be liable to ensure that the proceeds in the trust account are not reduced by such liabilities and obligations.
Each of our founders has agreed to waive its rights to participate in any liquidation of our trust account or other assets with respect to its founders’ common stock and to vote their founders’ common stock in favor of any dissolution and plan of distribution which we submit to a vote of stockholders. There will be no distribution from the trust account with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we are liquidated.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination and expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the initial per-share liquidation price would be $9.79, or $0.21 less than the per-unit offering price of $10.00 (or $9.77, or $0.23 less than the per-unit offering price of $10.00 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The per share liquidation price includes $20.0 million in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that would also be distributable to our public stockholders.
The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would be prior to the claims of our public stockholders. Although we will seek to have all vendors, including lenders for money borrowed, prospective target businesses or other entities we engage execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refused to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, we would perform an analysis of the alternatives available to us if we chose not to engage such third party and evaluate if such engagement would be in the best interest of our stockholders if such third party refused to waive such claims. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refused to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a provider of required services willing to provide the waiver. In any event, our management would perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and would only enter into an agreement with a third party that did not execute a waiver if management believed that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason.
Each of Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris has agreed that, if we dissolve prior to the consummation of a business combination, they will indemnify us, by means of direct payment to the trust account, for any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense which we may become subject to as a result of a claim by any vendor, prospective target business, lender or other entity that is owed money by us for services rendered or products sold but only to the extent necessary to ensure that such loss, liability, claim, damage or expense does not reduce the amount of funds held in the trust account. Furthermore, Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris will not have any liability as to any claimed amounts owed to a third party who executed a waiver. Based on representations made to us by Messrs. Watson and Ledecky and William Morris, we believe that they are each of substantial means and capable of funding their indemnity obligations, even though we have not asked them to reserve funds for such an eventuality. However, we cannot assure you that Messrs. Watson or Ledecky or William Morris will be able to satisfy those obligations. Our audit committee will not be periodically reviewing any evidence that such individual has sufficient net liquid assets to indemnify us.
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Accordingly, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to claims which could take priority over those of our public stockholders and, as a result, the per-share liquidation amount would be less than $9.79 due to such claims.
If we enter into either a definitive agreement to complete an initial business combination prior to the expiration of 24 months from the date of this prospectus, but are unable to complete the business combination within the 24-month period, then we will have an additional six months in which to complete the business combination contemplated by the definitive agreement. If we are unable to do so by the expiration of the 30-month period from the consummation of this offering, we will seek stockholder approval to dissolve and liquidate as described in the first paragraph of this subsection. Upon notice from us, the trustee of the trust account will commence liquidating the investments constituting the trust account and will distribute the funds to our public stockholders. Our instruction to the trustee will be given promptly after the later to occur of (i) the approval by our stockholders of our dissolution and plan of distribution or (ii) the effective date of such approved dissolution and plan of distribution.
Our public stockholders shall be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of our dissolution or if the stockholders seek to have us convert their respective shares for cash upon a business combination which the stockholder voted against and which is actually completed by us. In no other circumstances shall a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the Delaware General Corporation Law intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and we apply to the Court of Chancery for approval of such reasonable provisions of claims, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred if a proceeding with respect to such claim is not brought by the third anniversary of the dissolution (or such longer period directed by the Delaware Court of Chancery). Although we will seek stockholder approval for our dissolution and plan of distribution providing for the liquidation of the trust account to our public stockholders, we do not intend to comply with the procedures set forth in Section 280 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Because we will not be complying with Section 280, we will seek stockholder approval of a plan of distribution complying with Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law that will reasonably provide for our payment, based on facts known to us at such time, of (i) all existing claims, including those that are contingent, (ii) all pending proceedings to which we are a party and (iii) all claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors that we engage after the consummation of this offering or potential target businesses. As described above, we intend to have all vendors, including lenders for money borrowed, that we engage after the consummation of this offering, prospective target businesses and other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account.
Additionally, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which is not dismissed, the funds held in our trust account will be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our public stockholders. To the extent bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return to our public stockholders the liquidation amounts due them.
We expect that all costs associated with the implementation and completion of our dissolution and plan of distribution (currently estimated to be between $75,000 and $125,000 if not done in connection with a stockholder vote with respect to a potential business combination) as well as funds for payments to creditors, if any, will be funded by the interest earned on the trust account released to us, although we cannot give you assurances that there will be sufficient funds for such purposes.
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We currently believe that any dissolution and plan of distribution in connection with to the expiration of the 24- and 30-month deadlines would proceed in approximately the following manner:
| • | prior to such deadline, our board of directors will, consistent with its obligations described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law, consider a resolution for us to dissolve and consider a plan of distribution which it may then vote to recommend to our stockholders; at such time it will also cause to be prepared a preliminary proxy statement setting out such plan of distribution as well as the board’s recommendation of such plan; |
| • | upon such deadline, we would file our preliminary proxy statement with the SEC; |
| • | if the SEC does not review the preliminary proxy statement, then, 10 days following the passing of such deadline, we will mail a definitive proxy statement to our stockholders, and 30 days following the passing of such deadline we will convene a meeting of our stockholders, at which they will either approve or reject our dissolution and plan of distribution; and |
| • | if the SEC does review the preliminary proxy statement, we currently estimate that we will receive their comments 30 days following the passing of such deadline. We will mail a definitive proxy statement to our stockholders following the conclusion of the comment and review process (the length of which we cannot predict with any certainty, and which may be substantial) and we will convene a meeting of our stockholders at which they will either approve or reject our dissolution and plan of distribution. |
In the event we seek stockholder approval for a plan of distribution and do not obtain such approval, we will nonetheless continue to pursue stockholder approval for our dissolution. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, it is intended that our powers following the expiration of the permitted time periods for consummating a business combination will automatically thereafter be limited to acts and activities relating to dissolving and winding up our affairs, including liquidation. If no proxy statement seeking the approval of our stockholders for a business combination has been filed 60 days prior to the date which is 24 months from the consummation of this offering (or 60 days prior to the date which is 30 months from the consummation of this offering if a definitive agreement has been executed within 24 months after consummation of this offering and the business combination has not yet been consummated within such 24-month period), we expect that our board will, prior to such date, convene, adopt and recommend to our stockholders a plan of dissolution and distribution, and on such date file a proxy statement with the SEC seeking stockholder approval for such plan. Pursuant to the trust agreement governing such funds, the funds held in our trust account may not be distributed except upon our dissolution and, unless and until such approval is obtained from our stockholders, the funds held in our trust account will not be released (other than in connection with the funding of working capital, a redemption or a business combination as described elsewhere in this prospectus). Consequently, holders of a majority of our outstanding stock must approve our dissolution in order to receive the funds held in our trust account and the funds will not be available for any other corporate purpose other than with respect to redemption and a business combination.
Amended and restated certificate of incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation sets forth certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that apply to us until the consummation of a business combination and that may not be amended prior to the consummation of such a business consummation. Accordingly, there is no specific percentage of public stockholders that would allow for such provisions to be amended.
Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
| • | prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, we shall submit such business combination to our stockholders for approval regardless of the type of transaction it is, even if the nature of the acquisition is such as would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law; |
| • | we may consummate the business combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of common stock voted by our public stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting, and public stockholders |
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| owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering vote against the business combination exercise their conversion rights; |
| • | if a business combination is approved and consummated, public stockholders who voted against the business combination and exercised their conversion rights will receive their pro rata share of the trust account; |
| • | a business combination is not consummated or a definitive agreement is not signed within the time periods specified in this prospectus, then it is intended that our purpose and powers will be limited to dissolving, liquidating and winding up; provided, however, that we will reserve our rights under Section 278 of the Delaware General Corporation Law to bring or defend any action, suit or proceeding brought by or against us; |
| • | our management take all actions necessary to liquidate our trust account to our public stockholders as part of our plan of distribution if a business combination is not consummated or a definitive agreement is not signed within the time periods specified in this prospectus; |
| • | our stockholders’ rights to receive a portion of the trust fund are limited such that they may only receive a portion of the trust fund upon liquidation of our trust account to our public stockholders as part of our plan of distribution or upon the exercise of their conversion rights; and |
| • | these provisions relating to the initial business combination may not be amended prior to the consummation of the initial business combination. |
We view these provisions, which are contained in Article Sixth of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as obligations to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive these provisions.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for a business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore:
| • | our obligation to seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination or obtain necessary financial information may delay the completion of a transaction; |
| • | our obligation to convert into cash up to 30% of our shares of common stock held by our public stockholders who vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights may reduce the resources available to us for a business combination; |
| • | our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses; and |
| • | the requirement to acquire an operating business that has a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the trust account at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions of $20.0 million, or approximately $23.0 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) could require us to acquire the assets of several operating businesses at the same time, all of which sales would be contingent on the closings of the other sales, which could make it more difficult to consummate the business combination. |
Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
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Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 970 West Broadway, PMB 402, Jackson, Wyoming 83001. Jonathan J. Ledecky, our president and secretary, is providing this space to us at no charge. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters and intend to devote only as much time as they deem necessary to our affairs. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for the business combination and the stage of the business combination process the company is in. Accordingly, once management locates a suitable target business to acquire, they will spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time on our affairs) than they would prior to locating a suitable target business. We presently expect each of Eric J. Watson and Jonathan J. Ledecky to devote at least 10 hours per week to our business, the same number each has promised to devote to each of Victory Acquisition Corp., Triplecrown Acquisition Corp., Endeavour International Acquisition Corp. and Grand Slam Acquisition Corp., and John M. Mass to devote at least 10 hours per week to our business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, common stock and warrants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We may be required to have our internal control procedures audited for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
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Comparison of This Offering to Those Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Escrow of offering proceeds | Approximately $489.3 million of the net offering proceeds, including the $5.0 million net proceeds from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants and approximately $20.0 million in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, will be deposited into a trust account at JP Morgan Chase NY Bank maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. | Approximately $418.5 million of the offering proceeds would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | ||
| Investment of net proceeds | Approximately $489.3 million of the net offering proceeds, including the $5.0 million net proceeds from the sale of the sponsors’ warrants and approximately $20.0 million in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, held in trust will only be invested in Treasury Bill issued by the United States government with a maturity of 180 days or less. | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 or insecurities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | ||
| Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | Interest on proceeds from trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or due on the interest generated and then (ii) up to $5.0 million, or approximately $5.8 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, that can be used for working capital purposes. | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our consummation of a business combination. | ||
| Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | The initial target business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If we acquire less than 100% of one or more target businesses in our initial business combination, the aggregate fair market value of the portion or portions we acquire must equal at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | ||
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| Terms of Our Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||