UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM __________ TO ________
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 001-39346
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 85-0849243 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor | ||
New York, New York | 10065 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 763-0169
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant | FUSE.U | The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share | FUSE | The New York Stock Exchange | ||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, each at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | FUSE WS | The New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer ☐ | Accelerated filer ☐ | Non-accelerated filer ☒ | Smaller reporting company ☒ |
Emerging growth company ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, computed as of June 30, 2020 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), computed by reference to the closing price for the Class A common stock on such date, as reported on the New York Stock Exchange was approximately $355,600,000.
As of March 25, 2021, the Registrant had 35,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and 8,750,000 shares of its Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i |
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements contained in this report that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Our forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward- looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward- looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination with MoneyLion Inc., or any other initial business combination; |
● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the Trust Account (as described herein) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
● | the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
● | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. 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” in this Annual Report. 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.
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PART I
References in this report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Fusion Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Fusion Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on March 6, 2020 as a Delaware corporation formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
On June 30, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (the “Public Offering”) of 35,000,000 units, including the issuance of 4,500,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of $350,000,000. Prior to the consummation of the Public Offering, in March 2020, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or $0.0043 per share. On May 28, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.25 stock split with respect to the Founder Shares, on June 24, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.20 stock split with respect to the Founder Shares and on June 25, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.01666 stock split with respect to the Founder Shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750 Founder Shares. The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the Public Offering would be a maximum of 35,075,000 units and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock under the Public Offering. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option prior to the closing of the Public Offering, on June 30, 2020, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 18,750 Founder Shares to us for no consideration, resulting in the Sponsor holding 8,750,000 Founder Shares.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the Public Offering, we consummated the private sale of an aggregate of 8,100,000 warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, to the Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per warrant, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of approximately $8,100,000 (the “Private Placement”). The warrants sold in the Private Placement, or the private placement warrants, are identical to the warrants included in the units sold in the Public Offering, except that, so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the Company completes its initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Upon the closing of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, $350,000,000 was placed in a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”). Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the funds held in the Trust Account will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of 100% of the public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by December 31, 2021. The proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of its public stockholders.
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After the payment of underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion of $13,150,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions, which amount will be payable upon consummation of our initial business combination if consummated) and approximately $2 million in expenses relating to the Public Offering, approximately $1,250,000 of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and Private Placement was not deposited into the Trust Account and was retained by us for working capital purposes. The net proceeds deposited into the Trust Account remain on deposit in the Trust Account earning interest. As of December 31, 2020, there was approximately $350,000,000 in investments and cash held in the Trust Account and approximately $950,000 of cash held outside the Trust Account available for working capital purposes.
On February 11, 2021, we entered into an agreement and plan of merger by and among the Company, ML Merger Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), and MoneyLion (as it may be amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), which provides for Merger Sub to merge with and into MoneyLion with MoneyLion surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Business Combination”). In addition, in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company will be renamed as determined by MoneyLion and is referred to herein as “New MoneyLion” as of the time following such change of name.
The Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants by the parties thereto and the closing is subject to certain conditions as further described in the Merger Agreement.
Other than as specifically discussed, this report does not assume the closing of the Business Combination.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash held in the Trust Account, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the Trust Account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our shares of Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the Trust Account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
Selection of Target Businesses
While we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, we intend to concentrate our efforts identifying businesses in the financial services industry with an enterprise value of approximately $750 million to $3 billion, with particular emphasis on businesses that are providing or changing technology for traditional financial services (“FinTech”), or those in the wealth, financial advice, investment, and asset management sectors. In addition, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify, acquire, and manage a business in the financial services industry that can benefit from their experience and differentiated global network.
NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects.
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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm stating that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. We will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Redemption Rights for Holders of Public Shares Upon Consummation of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
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Conduct of Redemptions Pursuant to Tender Offer Rules
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will (a) conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and (b) file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination, which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Submission of Our Initial Business Combination to a Stockholder Vote
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their Founder Shares and any public shares purchased during or after the Public Offering in favor of our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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Limitation on Redemption Rights Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the Public Offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our Sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the shares sold in the Public Offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 20% of the shares sold in the Public Offering) for or against our initial business combination.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (our “Charter”) provides that we will have until December 31, 2021 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements (subject to an annual limit of $250,000) (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than 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 pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
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Employees
We currently have two executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Available Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, the Company will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York, 10065 or by telephone at (212) 763-0169.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the prospectus associated with our initial public offering, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination.
We are a recently formed blank check 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 blank check company established under the laws of the State of Delaware with no operating history. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination if the business combination would not require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we complete.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
You will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our Sponsor owned 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of the Public Offering. Our Sponsor and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the stockholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, including the Founder Shares. As a result, in addition to our Sponsor’s Founder Shares, we would need 13,125,000, or 37.5%, of the 35,000,000 public shares sold in the Public Offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our Sponsor and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive an ordinary resolution, being the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our Merger Agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial Merger Agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic, including the efforts to mitigate its impact, has and may continue to have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, as well as any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination.
The COVID-19 pandemic, including efforts to combat it, has and may continue to adversely affect our search for a business combination. In addition, the outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide. As such, the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected.
In response to the pandemic, public health authorities and local, national and international governments have implemented measures that may directly or indirectly impact our ability to search for and acquire any target business, including measures such as voluntary or mandatory quarantines, restrictions on travel and orders to limit the activities of non-essential workforce personnel. We may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner.
In addition, countries or supranational organizations in our target markets may develop and implement legislation that makes it more difficult or impossible for entities outside such countries or target markets to acquire or otherwise invest in companies or businesses deemed essential or otherwise vital. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our search for and ability to consummate a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and the actions to contain it or treat its impact. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 pandemic continue for an extended period of time and result in protectionist sentiments and legislation in our target markets, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the Public Offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months of the Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements (subject to an annual limit of $250,000) (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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If a public stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their stock certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote, we intend to require a public stockholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means that we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the Public Offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would have prohibited the release of any interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account to us unless and until the funds in the Trust Account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 20% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Charter provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in the Public Offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of the Public Offering not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate until December 31, 2021, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the Trust Account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until December 31, 2021, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We cannot assure you that we will have enough funds available to us outside of the Trust Account to allow us to operate until at least December 31, 2021; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our Sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our Sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the Trust Account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or Merger Agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, in each case less taxes payable, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying public stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
● | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are not subject to. | |
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In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earlier to occur of either: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; or (ii) absent a business combination by December 31, 2021 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, our return of the funds held in the Trust Account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months of the Public Offering, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months before redemption from our Trust Account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months of the Public Offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the Trust Account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the Trust Account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 18 months of the Public Offering before the redemption proceeds of our Trust Account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our Trust Account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
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Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following December 31, 2021 in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we do not comply with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations are limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our Trust Account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings to elect directors. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public stockholders will not have the right to vote on the election of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
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Although we identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Our Sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our Sponsor owns 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our Charter. If our Sponsor purchases any additional shares of Class A common stock, this would increase their control. Neither our Sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for terms of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our Sponsor, because of its ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our Sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by our Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination, and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which we consummate our business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Market Value, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the Market Value. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination with a target business.
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Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2020. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
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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 our initial 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 may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the Public Offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We, and our officers, have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from the Public Offering and the Private Placement will provide us with $336,850,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (excluding the $13,150,000, deferred underwriting commissions being held in the Trust Account).
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We may effectuate our business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders or warrant holders do not agree.
Our Charter does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ commissions (such that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares in connection with such initial business combination, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our Charter or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our Charter will require the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our Charter requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our Charter to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination by December 31, 2021. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our Charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our Charter that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our Charter to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our Charter provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the Public Offering and the private placement of warrants into the Trust Account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our Charter may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our Sponsor, who beneficially owns approximately 20% of our common stock, may participate in any vote to amend our Charter and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner it chooses. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our Charter which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our Charter.
Our Sponsor, executive officers, directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our Charter to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements (subject to an annual limit of $250,000) and/or to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any specific target business, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment has made it especially difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only an estimated $10.00 per share on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial 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 our initial business combination.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and to not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team’s or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
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We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate.
Our executive 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 complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full-time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our Charter provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our Sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On March 10, 2020, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On May 28, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.25 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, on June 24, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.20 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock and on June 25, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.01666 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750 Founder Shares. On June 30, 2020, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 18,750 Founder Shares to us for no consideration, in connection with the election by the underwriters to exercise their over-allotment option in part and not in full, resulting in an aggregate of 8,750,000 Founder Shares outstanding held by our Sponsor. The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,100,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $8,100,000, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 18-month anniversary of the closing of the Public Offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our Charter to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2021 or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by December 31, 2021, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by December 31, 2021 is not completed for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our Trust Account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond December 31, 2021 before they receive funds from our Trust Account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
● | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on NYSE, and, as a result, qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A common stock or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units.
We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to file a registration statement covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the shares of Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our shares of Class A common stock (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the shares of Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
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The grant of registration rights to our Sponsor and holders of our private placement warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our shares of Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the Public Offering, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the shares of Class A common stock into which Founder Shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the Founder Shares and the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the shares of common stock owned by our Sponsor, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Founder Shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our Charter. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our Charter authorizes the issuance of up to 380,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 345,000,000 and 11,250,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B common stock. The Class B common stock is automatically convertible into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. However, our Charter provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the Trust Account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our Charter to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond December 31, 2021 or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. These provisions of our Charter, like all provisions of our Charter, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Public Offering; |
● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of Class A common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. | |
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Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our Sponsor will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A common stock by public stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. This is different than some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies in which the Sponsor will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to our initial business combination.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us for cash so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
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In addition, we may redeem your warrants after they become exercisable for a number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 17,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units sold in the Public Offering, and, simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 8,100,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors makes any working capital loans, such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue common stock to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the Public Offering except that, so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants were issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units can trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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General Risk Factors
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30th before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31st. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Provisions in our Charter and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our shares of Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our Charter contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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Provisions in our Charter and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our Charter requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our Charter or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our Charter provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
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If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’s home jurisdiction, including any of the following:
● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
● | 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; |
● | rates of inflation; |
● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
● | corruption; |
● | protection of intellectual property; |
● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
● | terrorist attacks and wars; and |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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ITEM IB. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.
None.
We currently sub-lease executive offices at 667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York, 10065 from our Sponsor. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
As of December 31, 2020, to the knowledge of our management, there was no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on the NYSE under the symbols “FUSE.U,” “FUSE” and “FUSE WS”, respectively.
Holders
As of March 19, 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock, one holder of record of our Class B common stock and one holder of record of our warrants. The number of holders of record does not include a substantially greater number of “street name” holders or beneficial holders whose units, Class A common stock and warrants are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On June 30, 2020, we consummated the Public Offering of 35,000,000 units. The units sold in the Public Offering were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $350,000,000. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. acted as sole book-running manager of the Public Offering. The securities in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-239023). The Securities and Exchange Commission declared the registration statement effective on June 25, 2020.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the Public Offering, the Sponsor consummated the Private Placement of an aggregate of 8,100,000 warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating total proceeds of $8,100,000. The issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants underlying the units sold in the Public Offering, except that the private placement warrants are not transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Of the gross proceeds received from the Public Offering and the private placement warrants, $350,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account.
We paid a total of $6,100,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $584,039 for other costs and expenses related to the Public Offering. In addition, the Company has agreed to pay the underwriters up to an additional $13,150,000 for certain services provided by the underwriters in connection with the Initial Business Combination; provided, however, that the underwriters will not be paid such additional fees in the Company does not complete the Initial Business Combination.
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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on March 6, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
Recent Developments
On February 11, 2021, the Company entered into a Merger Agreement, by and among the Company, Merger Sub and MoneyLion, which provides for Merger Sub to merge with and into MoneyLion with MoneyLion surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Business Combination”). In addition, in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company will be renamed as determined by MoneyLion and is referred to herein as “New MoneyLion” as of the time following such change of name.
Under the Merger Agreement, we have agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of MoneyLion for $2,200,000,000 in aggregate consideration. MoneyLion stockholders will receive shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion (valued at $10.00 per share), and, if elected by MoneyLion, cash consideration up to the lower of (A) the amount (which may be zero) by which the Parent Closing Cash (as defined in the Merger Agreement) exceeds $260,000,000 and (B) $100,000,000, together with a contingent right to receive a pro rata portion of up to 17,500,000 shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion (the “Earn Out Shares”).
The Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants by the parties thereto and the closing is subject to certain conditions as further described in the Merger Agreement.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations (other than searching for a Business Combination after our Initial Public Offering) nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target for our Business Combination, and activities in connection with the proposed acquisition of MoneyLion. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after the Initial Public Offering. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $408,237, which consists of operating costs of $616,065 and a provision of income taxes of $11,509, offset by interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $219,337.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Until the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, our only source of liquidity was an initial purchase of common stock by the Sponsor and loans from our Sponsor.
On June 30, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 35,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, which includes the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,500,000, generating gross proceeds of $350,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 8,100,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to our stockholders, generating gross proceeds of $8,100,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option by the underwriters’ and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $350,000,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $19,834,039 in transaction costs, including $6,100,000 of underwriting fees, $13,150,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $584,039 of other offering costs.
For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $490,424. Net loss of $408,237 was affected by interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $219,337. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $137,150 of cash.
As of December 31, 2020, we had marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $350,219,336. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2020, we had $950,537 of cash held outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to us. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
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Going Concern
We have until December 31, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after December 31, 2021.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, secretarial and administrative support to the Company. We began incurring these fees on June 25, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of (i) 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the initial 30,500,000 Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, or $10,675,000, and (ii) 5.5% of the gross proceeds from the Units sold pursuant to the over-allotment option, or $2,475,000. Up to 10% of the deferred commission relating to the base offering may be paid at the sole discretion of the Company to third parties not participating in the Initial Public Offering (but who are members of FINRA) that assist us in consummating the Business Combination. The deferred fee will be forfeited by the underwriters solely in the event that we fail to complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Our board of directors approved payments of up to $15,000 per month to our Chief Financial Officer for services rendered to the Company commencing on June 25, 2020 and continuing through the earlier of consummation of a Business Combination or our liquidation.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A Common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Net Loss Per Common Share
We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class A redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable taxes, by the weighted average number of shares of Class A redeemable common stock outstanding for the period. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing net loss less income attributable to Class A redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of shares of Class B non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
As of December 31, 2020, we were not subject to any market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, including amounts in the Trust Account, have been invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in U.S. treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
None.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Directors and Executive Officers
Our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Position | ||
Jim Ross | 55 | Non-Executive Chairman | ||
John James | 42 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Jeffrey Gary | 58 | Chief Financial Officer and Director | ||
Kelly Driscoll | 61 | Director | ||
Ben Buettell | 58 | Director |
Jim Ross, 55, has been Fusion’s Non-Executive Chairman since April 2020, a senior adviser to State Street since May 2020, and the Non-Executive Chairman of Fusion Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE; FSNB), since February 2021. He was most recently an executive vice president of SSGA (from December 2013 to March 2020) and chairman of the Global SPDR ETF business (“SPDR business”) (from May 2016 to March 2020). Prior to becoming chairman, Mr. Ross was global head of the SPDR business (from February 2012 to May 2016), responsible for all aspects of the SPDR business including Profit and loss management, product innovation, sales and marketing. Throughout his 27-year career, Mr. Ross served in numerous executive positions, such as director and chairman of the board for State Street Global Advisors Funds Management, Inc. and SSGA’s registered investment advisor from February 2012 to March 2020, as director of State Street Global Markets, LLC, State Street’s registered broker dealer, from May 2013 to April 2017 and as chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC, SSGA’s registered broker dealer, from May 2017 to March 2020. He was a member of SSGA’s executive management group as well as SSGA’s global product committee from July 2015 to March 2020 and from October 2009 to March 2020, respectively. In these roles, Mr. Ross was responsible for leading SSGA’s engagement with ETF stakeholders, including regulators, mutual fund and ETF boards of directors, industry associations, key clients, partners, and the media. Mr. Ross served as the trustee of various SSGA mutual funds from February 2007 and continues to serve as a trustee of Select Sector SPDR Trust ETFs and as a trustee of SPDR Series Trust ETFs since November 2005. In addition, Mr. Ross has served as a board member of various Irish self-managed investment companies from November 2016 to March 2020. Mr. Ross also served on the Board of Governors of the Investment Company Institute (“ICI”) from May 2011 to March 2020 and was chairman of ICI’s Exchange Traded Funds Committee from June 2010 to January 2020. Prior to joining State Street Bank & Trust Company in 1992, he worked as a senior accountant for Ernst & Young, responsible for auditing investment companies and insurance companies. Mr. Ross received a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Bentley College in 1988. We believe Mr. Ross’s deep asset management industry background, coupled with broad operational and transactional experience, make him well qualified to serve as Non-Executive Chairman of our board of directors.
John James, 42, has served as Fusion’s Chief Executive Officer and as a director since March 2020. Mr. James has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Fusion Acquisition Corp. II since January 2021. Mr. James has 20 years’ experience as a successful institutional investor, asset manager, and founder and operator of multiple technology businesses. Since November 2015, Mr. James has served as chairman and chief executive officer of BetaSmartz Global Pty Ltd (“BetaSmartz”), a global financial technology business serving financial services organizations. Mr. James has also served as a director of Strawberry Hill Consulting Pty Ltd since July 2012. Prior to founding BetaSmartz, Mr. James co-founded Boka Group (“Boka”) in October 2005, an emerging market fund management and sovereign advisory company, where he oversaw Boka’s investments and fund administration until the term of Boka’s closed-ended funds came to an end in 2010. In 2010, Mr. James relocated to Australia where he began structuring new financial products, including a first home buyer mortgage product for La Trobe Financial Services, which is now a subsidiary of Blackstone Group, and a real estate ETF. After serving as a reserve officer in the U.K. Royal Naval Reserve, Mr. James began his career at London-based Anglo-Suisse Capital in February 2002 where he managed equities portfolios and advised on M&A transactions until starting Boka. Mr. James received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford with further studies in Law at the University of London and Managerial Accounting and Digital Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — College of Business. He is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (F Fin) and a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (Chartered MCSI). We believe Mr. James’s entrepreneurial experience and deep financial services background, make him well qualified to serve as a director.
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Jeffrey Gary, 58, has served as Fusion’s Chief Financial Officer and as a director since March 2020. Mr. Gary has also served as Chief Financial Officer of Fusion Acquisition Corp. II since January 2021. Mr. Gary has a 30-year track record in the investment and financial services industry, including significant merger and acquisition (“M&A”) experience. He is an experienced board member and investor, having worked on numerous transactions with SPACs and public and private equity companies and has directly led audit, fiduciary, and corporate governance committees of these companies. He currently sits on the boards of directors of National Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: NHLD) (since February 2019), where he also serves as chair of the audit committee, and Arca US Treasury Mutual Fund (since December 2019). Mr. Gary also sits on the advisory boards for Monroe Capital (since January 2020) and two FinTech companies, DealBox (since May 2019) and Total Network Service/Digital Names (since May 2019). From October 2018 to March 2020, Mr. Gary served on the board of directors of the Axonic Alternative Income Mutual Fund. Previously, Mr. Gary was a senior portfolio manager and led investment teams at Avenue Capital Group (from January 2012 to July 2018), Third Avenue (from May 2009 to December 2010), BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) (“BlackRock”) (from September 2003 to December 2008), AIG/American General (NYSE: AIG) (from May 1998 to September 2003), and Koch Industries (from September 1996 to April 1998) where he invested across all asset classes with a focus on the high-yield, bank loan and distressed markets. During this time, he operated in a variety of roles, which included presenting each quarter on regulatory, compliance, shareholder, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) matters to the Board. His role also included making investments and negotiating capital structures for numerous corporate buyout and acquisition transactions. He also successfully launched and managed ten new investment businesses between 1996 and 2018, and was an angel investor/advisor for a start-up healthcare company. For over 15 years, Mr. Gary was the portfolio manager for numerous NYSE-listed funds. Mr. Gary also sat as an investment committee member at BlackRockKelso Capital BDC (Nasdaq: BKCC) (“BKCC”) from February 2005 to December 2008, where he was involved with the review and approval of all private equity and credit investments, and was a team member in the launch and initial public offering of BKCC. Additionally, Mr. Gary was employed at Avenue Capital from January 2012 to July 2018, where he worked closely with the SPAC investment team on their two completed SPAC transactions in 2015 and in 2017. He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior auditor from September 1984 to June 1987 and later as a senior analyst at Citigroup (NYSE: C) from July 1987 to July 1988. From August 1988 to December 2002, Mr. Gary was an investment banker at Mesirow Financial. From January 1993 to August 1996, he was a senior distressed analyst at Cargill, Inc. Mr. Gary earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Penn State University in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and International Business from Northwestern University (Kellogg) in 1991. Mr. Gary is a Certified Public Accountant.
Kelly Driscoll, 61, has served on Fusion’s board of directors since March 2020, and on the board of directors of Fusion Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE; FSNB) since February 2021. Ms. Driscoll has over 30 years’ experience as an asset management and financial services executive with international board experience, fiduciary expertise, and a proven track record of driving business growth. In May 2020, she became a principal of Fiduciary Resolutions Inc., an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) advisory and consulting firm specializing in fiduciary responsibilities and best practices. Previously, she held a number of leadership roles at State Street and SSGA, including senior vice president in global services (from July 2017 to December 2018) and office of regulatory initiatives (from June 2014 to July 2017), senior managing director of SSGA as head of public policy and governance from 2012 to 2014, where she developed and implemented SSGA’s first public policy platform, and senior managing director as head of SSGA Asia ex-Japan, located in Hong Kong, from 2008 to 2012, where she led the investment management business across that region and grew the assets under management of that group. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Ms. Driscoll built and led SSGA’s fiduciary business negotiating numerous leveraged employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) and ERISA transactions as an independent fiduciary and managing company stock portfolios for corporate clients. Ms. Driscoll earned a Master of Laws degree in banking law from the Boston University School of Law in 1991, a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1987, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Catholic University in 1981. Ms. Driscoll is a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We believe that Ms. Driscoll’s extensive executive and legal expertise make her well qualified to serve as a director.
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Ben Buettell, 58, has served on Fusion’s board of directors since March 2020, and on the board of directors of Fusion Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE; FSNB) since February 2021. Mr. Buettell is a mergers and acquisitions professional who brings strategic, financial and transactional experience to the team, having spent 24 years (from August 1988 to September 2012) with Houlihan Lokey (NYSE: HLI), where he was instrumental in its growth from a boutique firm into a global investment bank. While at Houlihan Lokey, he led numerous corporate engagements, including mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, equity reorganizations, and strategic alternative assessments to start-ups, public and private companies, boards of directors, and independent fiduciaries. He also served in numerous senior management positions, including serving as co-head of Houlihan Lokey’s Fairness and Solvency Opinion Practices, co-chair of the Fairness Engagement Committee, and was a senior member of the Financial Advisory Services Management Committee. Mr. Buettell co-founded Chicago-based R7 Partners, an early-stage technology venture capital firm, in May 2013 and is a former partner. He has sat on the board of directors of 6fusion USA, Inc., Airy3D, Inc. and Tanvas, Inc. since 2016, 2017 and 2015, respectively, and as a board observer at AEye, Inc., Carrot, Inc. and More Labs, Inc. since 2017, 2017 and 2018, respectively. In addition, since December 2020, Mr. Buettell has also served on the board of directors of Trulite, Inc. (OTC: TRUL). Mr. Buettell received a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1988. We believe that Mr. Buettell’s deep financial services background make him well qualified to serve as a director.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of five members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, Fusion is not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after its first fiscal year end following its listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Buettell, will expire at Fusion’s first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Ross and Ms. Driscoll, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. James and Mr. Gary, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to the current Charter.
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of Fusion’s board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, stockholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Fusion’s board of directors has determined that Mr. Jim Ross, Ms. Kelly Driscoll and Mr. Ben Buettell are “independent directors” as defined in the rules of the NYSE and applicable SEC rules. Fusion’s independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Board Committees
Audit Committee
We have an audit committee comprised of Mr. Ross, Ms. Driscoll and Mr. Buettell, each of whom are independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
Mr. Ross serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ross qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
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The audit committee is responsible for:
● | meeting with our independent accountants regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
● | monitoring the independence of the independent auditor; |
● | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
● | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
● | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
● | appointing or replacing the independent auditor; |
● | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
● | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
● | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of the Public Offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of the Public Offering; and |
● | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing holders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made 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. |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have a nominating and corporate governance committee comprised of Mr. Ross, Ms. Driscoll and Mr. Buettell, and Ms. Driscoll serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. All members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our Sponsor and our underwriters.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of shareholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
● | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the Company; and |
● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. | |
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The charter provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee
Our board of directors has established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Mr. Ross, Ms. Driscoll and Mr. Buettell serve as the members of the compensation committee, and Mr. Buettell chairs the compensation committee. All members of our compensation committee are independent of and unaffiliated with our Sponsor and our underwriters.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives, and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer’s compensation based on such evaluation; |
● | reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment of customary fees we may elect to make to members of our board of directors for director service and payment to an affiliate of our Sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination.
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The charter provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NYSE and the SEC.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics; Committee Charters
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed copies of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee charters as exhibits to our registration statement in connection with the Public Offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us in writing at 667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10065 or by telephone at (212) 763-0169. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our code of ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered. However, payments of up to $15,000 per month may be made, at the Board’s discretion, to members of our management team for services rendered to us through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation. We will reimburse our Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per month in the event such space and/or services are utilized and we do not pay directly for such services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease making these payments. In addition, the Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to the Sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to the Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
It is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements with the post-transaction company after our initial business combination. Any such arrangements will be disclosed in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination, to the extent they are known at such time.
The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, but we do not believe that such arrangements will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.
We have no compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 19, 2021, by:
● | each person known by us to be a beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock of, on an as-converted basis; |
● | each of our officers and directors; and |
● | all of our officers and directors as a group. | |
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The following table is based on 50,000,000 shares of common stock of outstanding at March 11, 2020, of which 35,000,000 were shares of Class A common stock and 10,000,000 were shares of Class B common stock. Unless otherwise indicated, it is believed that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares | Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock | ||||||
Fusion Sponsor LLC (the Sponsor)(3) | 7,187,500 | 20.0 | ||||||
John James(3) | 7,187,500 | 20.0 | ||||||
Jeffrey Gary | -- | -- | ||||||
Kelly Driscoll | -- | -- | ||||||
Ben Buettell | -- | -- | ||||||
Jim Ross | -- | -- | ||||||
All executive officers and directors as a group (5 individuals) | 7,187,500 | 20.0 |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10065. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B common stock. Such shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described elsewhere herein. |
(3) | Fusion Sponsor LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Each of our officers and directors are among the members of Fusion Sponsor LLC. John James is the sole managing member of Fusion Sponsor LLC. Mr. James has voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by Fusion Sponsor LLC. Each of our officers and directors other than Mr. James disclaims any beneficial ownership of any shares held by Fusion Sponsor LLC. |
(4) | Includes up to 937,500 founder shares, that will be forfeited depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised |
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.
Founder Shares
On March 10, 2020, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 Founder Shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On May 28, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.25 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, on June 24, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.20 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock and on June 25, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.01666 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750 Founder Shares. On June 30, 2020, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 18,750 Founder Shares to us for no consideration, in connection with the election by the underwriters to exercise their over-allotment option in part and not in full, resulting in an aggregate of 8,750,000 Founder Shares outstanding held by our Sponsor.
The Founder Shares are identical to the public shares except that the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below.
The Sponsor previously agreed pursuant to a letter agreement, dated as of June 25, 2020, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the date that is one year after the completion of our initial business combination, or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, (i) the closing price of our shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Subsequently, in connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Sponsor entered into a support agreement (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”) with the Company, MoneyLion and the Company’s directors and officers (the “Insiders”), pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed, among other things, to vote all shares of Subject Securities (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement), and take certain other actions in support of the Business Combination. In addition, the Company, the Sponsor and the Insiders agreed to amend that certain letter agreement, dated as of June 25, 2020, so that the Lock-Up Period (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement) applicable to the Subject Securities (other than any Private Placement Warrants (as defined in the Merger Agreement)) held by the Sponsor will end on the earlier of (a) 180 days after the effective date of the Merger Agreement (the “Effective Date”) and (b) the date on which the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion is equal to or greater than $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period; provided that, for purposes of this clause (b), the measurement period for determining the closing price of the share of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion shall commence no earlier than 60 days following the Effective Date.
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Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor purchased from the Company 8,100,000 warrants in the aggregate at a price of $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $8,100,000) in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the completion of the Company’s initial public offering (the “private placement warrants”). Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The purchase price of the private placement warrants was added to the proceeds from the Public Offering held in the Trust Account. The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination, and they will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the public warrants. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants and have no net cash settlement provisions.
If the Company does not complete a business combination, then the proceeds will be part of the liquidating distribution to the public stockholders and the private placement warrants will expire worthless.
Registration Rights
The Sponsor and certain other holders signatory to the registration rights agreement signed on June 25, 2020, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to such registration rights agreement. The Sponsor such holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Administrative Services
The Company reimburses the Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the Company’s management team in an amount of approximately $10,000 per month for office space and/or services that are utilized and the Company does not pay a third party directly for such services. Upon completion of a business combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $127,205, for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and the audit of our December 31, 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
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Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: |
(1) | Financial Statements: |
(2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
(3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
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FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 |
Financial Statements: | |
Balance Sheet | F-3 |
Statement of Operations | F-4 |
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity | F-5 |
Statement of Cash Flows | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 to F-18 |
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Fusion Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Fusion Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by December 31, 2021 then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
March 22, 2021
F-2
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2020
ASSETS | ||||
Current assets | ||||
Cash | $ | 950,537 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 113,562 | |||
Total Current Assets | 1,064,099 | |||
Security deposit | 329 | |||
Marketable securities held in trust account | 350,219,336 | |||
Total Assets | $ | 351,283,764 | ||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
Current liabilities | ||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | 239,531 | ||
Income tax payable | 11,509 | |||
Total Current Liabilities | 251,040 | |||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | 13,150,000 | |||
Total Liabilities | 13,401,040 | |||
Commitments and contingencies | ||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, 33,288,272 shares at $10.00 per share redemption value | 332,882,720 | |||
Stockholders’ Equity | ||||
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding | — | |||
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 380,000,000 shares authorized; 1,711,728 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 33,288,272 shares subject to possible redemption) | 171 | |||
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 8,750,000 shares issued and outstanding | 875 | |||
Additional paid-in capital | 5,407,195 | |||
Accumulated deficit | (408,237 | ) | ||
Total Stockholders’ Equity | 5,000,004 | |||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | $ | 351,283,764 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
Formation and operating costs | $ | 616,065 | ||
Loss from operations | (616,065 | ) | ||
Other income: | ||||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | 219,337 | |||
Loss before provision for income taxes | (396,728 | ) | ||
Provision for income taxes | (11,509 | ) | ||
Net loss | $ | (408,237 | ) | |
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable common stock | 35,000,000 | |||
Basic and diluted income per share, Class A redeemable common stock | $ | 0.00 | ||
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B non-redeemable common stock | 8,750,000 | |||
Basic and diluted net loss per share, Class B non-redeemable common stock | $ | (0.05 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
Class A Common Stock | Class B Common Stock | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Stockholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – March 6, 2020 (Inception) | — | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | — | — | 8,768,750 | 877 | 24,123 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of 35,000,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts | 35,000,000 | 3,500 | — | — | 330,162,461 | — | 330,165,961 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of 8,100,000 Private Placement Warrants | — | — | — | — | 8,100,000 | — | 8,100,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Forfeiture of Founder Shares | — | — | (18,750 | ) | (2 | ) | 2 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | (33,288,272 | ) | (3,329 | ) | — | — | (332,879,391 | ) | — | (332,882,720 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | — | (408,237 | ) | (408,237 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance – December 31, 2020 | 1,711,728 | $ | 171 | 8,750,000 | $ | 875 | $ | 5,407,195 | $ | (408,237 | ) | $ | 5,000,004 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 6, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
Net loss | $ | (408,237 | ) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | (219,337 | ) | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
Prepaid expenses | (113,562 | ) | ||
Security deposit | (329 | ) | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 239,532 | |||
Income taxes payable | 11,509 | |||
Net cash used in operating activities | (490,424 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
Investment of cash into Trust Account | (350,000,000 | ) | ||
Net cash used in investing activities | (350,000,000 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 343,900,000 | |||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 8,100,000 | |||
Proceeds from promissory note – related party | 32,378 | |||
Repayment of promissory note – related party | (186,165 | ) | ||
Payment of offering costs | (405,252 | ) | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 351,440,961 | |||
Net Change in Cash | 950,537 | |||
Cash – Beginning of period | — | |||
Cash – End of period | $ | 950,537 | ||
Non-Cash financing activities: | ||||
Initial classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | 333,288,890 | ||
Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | $ | (406,170 | ) | |
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 13,150,000 | ||
Offering costs paid directly by Sponsor in consideration for the issuance of Class B common stock | $ | 25,000 | ||
Offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | $ | 153,787 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Fusion Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on March 6, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, however, the Company intends to concentrate its efforts identifying businesses in the financial services industry, with particular emphasis on businesses in the wealth, financial advice, investment, and asset management sectors or those that are providing or changing technology for traditional financial services.
The Company has one subsidiary, ML Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company incorporated in Delaware on February 9, 2021 (“Merger Sub”).
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, identifying a target company for a Business Combination, and activities in connection with the proposed acquisition of MoneyLion Inc. (“MoneyLion”) (see Note 10). The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on June 25, 2020. On June 30, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 35,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), which includes the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $350,000,000, which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 8,100,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Fusion Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $8,100,000, which is described in Note 4.
Transaction costs amounted to $19,834,039, consisting of $6,100,000 of underwriting fees, $13,150,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $584,039 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on June 30, 2020, an amount of $350,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) located in the United States and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete a Business Combination with one or more operating businesses or assets that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions) at the time of the Company’s signing a definitive agreement in connection with its initial Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target business or assets sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
F-7
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
The Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all.
Notwithstanding the above, if the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The Company will have until December 31, 2021 to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
F-8
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (1) $10.00 per Public Share and (2) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs as well as complete a Business Combination by December 31, 2021, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after December 31, 2021.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statement with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-9
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the 33,286,067 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2020 is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor, if any. The Company has not considered the effect of warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and private placement to purchase 25,600,000 shares of common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
F-10
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted, for Class A redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of shares of Class A redeemable common stock outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per share, basic and diluted, for Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for net income attributable to Class A redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of shares of Class B non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period. Class B non-redeemable common stock includes the Founder Shares as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per common share (in dollars, except per share amounts):
For the Period From March 6, 2020 (inception) Through December 31, | ||||
2020 | ||||
Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Numerator: Earnings allocable to Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Interest Income | $ | 219,337 | ||
Income and Franchise Tax | (176,040 | ) | ||
Net Earnings | $ | 43,297 | ||
Denominator: Weighted Average Redeemable Class A Common Stock | ||||
Redeemable Class A Common Stock, Basic and Diluted | 35,000,000 | |||
Earnings/Basic and Diluted Redeemable Class A Common Stock | $ | 0.00 | ||
Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | ||||
Numerator: Net Loss minus Redeemable Net Earnings | ||||
Net Loss | $ | (408,237 | ) | |
Redeemable Net Earnings | (43,297 | ) | ||
Non-Redeemable Net Loss | $ | (451,534 | ) | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | ||||
Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock, Basic and Diluted | 8,750,000 | |||
Loss/Basic and Diluted Non-Redeemable Class B Common Stock | $ | (0.05 | ) |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
F-11
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 35,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, which includes the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,500,000 Units. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 8,100,000 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,100,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
In March 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration of 5,750,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). On May 28, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.25 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, on June 24, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.20 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock and on June 25, 2020, the Company effected a 1:1.01666 stock split with respect to the Class B common stock, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750 Founder Shares. All share and per-share amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the stock splits. The Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 1,143,750 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares would collectively represent approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option and the forfeiture of the remaining over-allotment option, 18,750 Founder Shares were forfeited and 1,125,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. As a result, there are 8,750,000 Founder Shares outstanding as of December 31, 2020.
The Sponsor previously agreed pursuant to a letter agreement, dated as of June 25, 2020, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Subsequently, in connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Sponsor entered into a support agreement (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”) with the Company, MoneyLion and the Company’s directors and officers (the “Insiders”), pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed, among other things, to vote all shares of Subject Securities (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement), and take certain other actions in support of the Business Combination. In addition, the Company, the Sponsor and the Insiders agreed to amend that certain letter agreement, dated as of June 25, 2020, so that the Lock-Up Period (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement) applicable to the Subject Securities (other than any Private Placement Warrants (as defined in the Merger Agreement)) held by the Sponsor will end on the earlier of (a) 180 days after the effective date of the Merger Agreement (the “Effective Date”) and (b) the date on which the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion is equal to or greater than $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period; provided that, for purposes of this clause (b), the measurement period for determining the closing price of the share of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion shall commence no earlier than 60 days following the Effective Date.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on June 25, 2020 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial, and administrative services. For period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $60,000 in fees for these services, which are included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet.
F-12
Management Fee
On July 7, 2020, the Company’s board of directors approved payments of $15,000 per month to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer for services rendered to the Company commencing on June 25, 2020 and continuing through the earlier of consummation of a Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred and paid $90,000 in fees for these services.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On March 10, 2020, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $200,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Promissory Note of $186,165 was repaid on June 30, 2020.
Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of December 31, 2020, no Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on June 25, 2020, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 4,575,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. In connection with the closing of the Initial Public Offering on June 30, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit and forfeited the option to exercise the remaining 75,000 Units.
F-13
The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $6,100,000 in the aggregate. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of (i) 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the initial 30,500,000 Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, or $10,675,000, and (ii) 5.5% of the gross proceeds from the Units sold pursuant to the over-allotment option, or $2,475,000. Up to 10% of the deferred commission relating to the base offering may be paid at the sole discretion of the Company to third parties not participating in the Initial Public Offering (but who are members of FINRA) that assist the Company in consummating the Business Combination. The deferred fee will be forfeited by the underwriters solely in the event that the Company fails to complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 380,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2020, there were 1,713,933 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding, excluding 33,286,067 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2020, there were 8,750,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of shares of Class A common stock by public stockholders), including the total number of shares of Class A common stock issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of a Business Combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities or rights exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination and any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering and (b) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
F-14
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its best efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use its best efforts to qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants for cash. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption:
● | in whole and not in part; | |
● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; | |
● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and | |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination as described elsewhere in this prospectus) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption for cash, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (the “Newly Issued Price”) (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
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The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions, and will be entitled to certain registration rights (see Note 6). Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 8. INCOME TAX
The Company’s net deferred tax asset is as follows:
December 31, | ||||
2020 | ||||
Deferred tax asset | ||||
Organizational costs/Startup expenses | $ | 94,822 | ||
Total deferred tax asset | 94,822 | |||
Valuation allowance | (94,822 | ) | ||
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | $ | — |
The income tax provision consists of the following:
December 31, | ||||
2020 | ||||
Federal | ||||
Current | $ | 11,509 | ||
Deferred | (94,822 | ) | ||
State | ||||
Current | $ | — | ||
Deferred | — | |||
Change in valuation allowance | 94,822 | |||
Income tax provision | $ | 11,509 |
As of December 31, 2020, the Company did not have any U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from March 6, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $94,822.
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A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
December 31, | ||||
2020 | ||||
Statutory federal income tax rate | 21.0 | % | ||
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | 0.0 | % | ||
Change in valuation allowance | (24.0 | )% | ||
Income tax provision | (3.0 | )% |
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
The Company classifies its U.S. Treasury and equivalent securities as held-to-maturity in accordance with ASC Topic 320 “Investments - Debt and Equity Securities.” Held-to-maturity securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. Held-to-maturity treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost on the accompanying balance sheet and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
At December 31, 2020, assets held in the Trust Account were comprised of $642 in cash and $350,218,694 in U.S. Treasury securities. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value. The gross holding gains and fair value of held-to-maturity securities at December 31, 2020 are as follows:
Held-To-Maturity | Level | Amortized Cost | Gross Holding Loss | Fair Value | ||||||||||||||
December 31, 2020 | U.S. Treasury Securities (Mature on 4/1/2021) | 1 | $ | 350,218,694 | $ | (4,298 | ) | $ | 350,214,396 |
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NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On February 11, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, Merger Sub and MoneyLion, which provides for Merger Sub to merge with and into MoneyLion with MoneyLion surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Business Combination”). In addition, in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company will be renamed as determined by MoneyLion and is referred to herein as “New MoneyLion” as of the time following such change of name.
Under the Merger Agreement, the Company has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of MoneyLion for $2,200,000,000 in aggregate consideration. MoneyLion stockholders will receive shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion (valued at $10.00 per share), and, if elected by MoneyLion, cash consideration up to the lower of (A) the amount (which may be zero) by which the Parent Closing Cash (as defined in the Merger Agreement) exceeds $260,000,000 and (B) $100,000,000, together with a contingent right to receive a pro rata portion of up to 17,500,000 shares of Class A common stock of New MoneyLion (the “Earn Out Shares”).
The Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants by the parties thereto and the closing is subject to certain conditions as further described in the Merger Agreement.
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† Schedules to this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The registrant hereby agrees to furnish a copy of any omitted schedules to the SEC upon request.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
FUSION ACQUISITION CORP. | |||
By: | /s/ John James | ||
Name: | John James | ||
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
Dated: March 25, 2021
The undersigned directors and officers of Fusion Acquisition Corp. hereby constitute and appoint each of John James and Jeffrey Gary, with the power to act without the others and with full power of substitution and resubstitution, our hue and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent with full power to execute in our name and behalf in the capacities indicated below any and all amendments to this report and to file the same, with all exhibits and other documents relating thereto and hereby ratify and confirm all that such attorney-in-fact, or such attorney-in-fact’s substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated below.
Name | Title | Date | ||
/s/ John James | Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 25, 2021 | ||
John James | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Jeffrey Gary | Chief Financial Officer | March 25, 2021 | ||
Jeffrey Gary | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Jim Ross | Non-Executive Chairman | March 25, 2021 | ||
Jim Ross | ||||
/s/ Kelly Driscoll | Director | March 25, 2021 | ||
Kelly Driscoll | ||||
/s/ Ben Buettell | Director | March 25, 2021 | ||
Ben Buettell |
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