As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2015

 

Registration No. 333-203500  

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549 

Amendment No. 2 to

FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT

 

Under

The Securities Act of 1933 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) 

 

Cayman Islands	6770	N/A
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

 

150 E. 52^nd Street, Suite 5003

New York, NY 10022

(212) 430-4340

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices) 

 

Antonio Bonchristiano

Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer

150 E. 52^nd Street, Suite 5003

New York, NY 10022

(212) 430-4340

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service) 

 

Copies to:

 

Gregg A. Noel, Esq. Michael J. Mies, Esq. Mathias von Bernuth, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 525 University Avenue - Suite 1400 Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 470-4500

Kieran Walsh, Esq. Michael Johns, Esq. Maples and Calder P.O. Box 309 Ugland House South Church Street Grand Cayman, KY1-1104 Cayman Islands 1 (345) 949-8066

Deanna L. Kirkpatrick, Esq. Manuel Garciadiaz, Esq. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017 (212) 450-4000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. o

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer o

Accelerated filer o

Non-accelerated filer x (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Smaller reporting company o

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered		Amount Being Registered		Proposed Maximum Offering Price per Security(1)				Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)				Amount of Registration Fee
Units, each consisting of one ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one warrant(2)		17,250,000 Units		$	10.00			$	172,500,000			$	20,044.50
Ordinary shares included as part of the units(3)		17,250,000 Shares			—				—				—	(4)
Warrants included as part of the units(3)		8,625,000 Warrants			—				—				—	(4)
Total								$	172,500,000			$	20,044.50

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee.

 

(2)

Includes 2,250,000 units, consisting of 2,250,000 ordinary shares and 1,125,000 warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

(3)

Pursuant to Rule 416(a), there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share splits, share dividends or similar transactions.

 

(4)

No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g).

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission acting pursuant to said Section 8(a) may determine.

 

 

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The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MAY 8, 2015

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

$150,000,000

 

GP Investments Acquisition Corp.

 

15,000,000 Units

 

 

GP Investments Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

 

This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Only whole warrants are exercisable. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,250,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

We will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares 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 described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein.

 

Our sponsor, GPIC, Ltd. (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), an affiliate of GP Investments, Ltd., has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,062,500 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5,500,000 in the aggregate, or $6,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants.

 

Currently, there is no public market for our units, ordinary shares or warrants. We have applied to list our units on the NASDAQ Capital Market, or NASDAQ, under the symbol “GPIAU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52^nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “GPIA” and “GPIAW,” respectively.

 

 

 

We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 22 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

No offer or invitation to subscribe for units may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.

 

		Per Unit				Total
Public offering price		$	10.00			$	150,000,000
Underwriting discounts and commissions and other fees(1)		$	0.60			$	9,000,000
Proceeds, before expenses, to GP Investments Acquisition Corp.		$	9.40			$	141,000,000

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $5,250,000 (or $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate to be placed in a trust account located in the United States payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. Such amount includes $0.05 per unit, or $750,000 (or $862,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate that may be granted to the underwriters at our sole discretion as determined at the time of this offering. These amounts will be released from the trust account only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See “Underwriting” on page 115.

 

Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $150.0 million or approximately $172.5 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit) will be deposited into a trust account in New York, New York with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $5.50 million (or approximately $6.06 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be used to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, if any, the proceeds from this offering will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of (a) the completion of our initial business combination or (b) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

 

The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about                , 2015.

 

 

Citigroup

 

 

I-Bankers Securities, Inc.

 

, 2015

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

SUMMARY	1
The Offering	6
Risks	20
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA	21
RISK FACTORS	22
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	49
USE OF PROCEEDS	50
DIVIDEND POLICY	53
DILUTION	54
CAPITALIZATION	56
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	57
PROPOSED BUSINESS	61
MANAGEMENT	79
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS	86
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS	88
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES	91
TAXATIOn	106
UNDERWRITING	115
LEGAL MATTERS	121
EXPERTS	121
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION	121
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS	F-1
PART II INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS	II-1

 

 

We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the cover of this prospectus.

 

 

CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS PROSPECTUS

 

Except where the context requires otherwise and for purposes of this prospectus only, references to:

 

·

“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to GP Investments Acquisition Corp.;

 

·

“founder shares” refer to ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering;

 

·

“initial shareholders” are to holders of founder shares prior to this offering;

 

·

“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;

 

·

“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;

 

·

“public shares” are to ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);

 

 

·

“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

 

·

“sponsor” are to GPIC, Ltd., a Bermuda limited liability company or its wholly-owned subsidiary, GPIAC, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (as context requires); and

 

·

“Companies Law” refers to the Companies Law (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time.

 

All references in this prospectus to shares of the Company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

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 prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. 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.

 

We are a newly formed development stage company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

 

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

 

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

 

As of January 20, 2015, we had $125,000 in cash and cash equivalents and a working capital deficiency of $231,321. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.

 

 

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

 

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable Cayman Islands law or the rules of NASDAQ or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the NASDAQ rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a shareholder meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction, whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

 

Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial shareholders will own 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial shareholders agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, 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 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 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 shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

 

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.

 

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

 

If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your 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 our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

 

 

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

 

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this 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.

 

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate the trust account, in which case our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

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

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares 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. Any such purchases may include an agreement with a selling shareholder that such shareholder, for so long as it remains the record holder of the shares in question, will not exercise its redemption rights with respect to the shares so purchased. In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder 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. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

 

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

 

If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

 

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

 

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

 

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those of our ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, and then only in connection with those of our ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

·

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

 

·

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

·

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

 

·

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

·

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

 

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, ordinary shares and warrants will be covered securities. 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, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

 

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

 

Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 20% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% of our ordinary shares.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our business combination. 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.

 

 

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

We may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Some of these competitors may possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

If the net proceeds of this offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, and we are unable to obtain additional capital, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

Of the net proceeds of this offering, only approximately $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months; 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 designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit 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 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. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain 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 business combination within the prescribed time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed to be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account or to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, even in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

 

 

Additionally, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which is not dismissed, or if we otherwise enter compulsory or court supervised liquidation, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we may not be able to return to our public shareholders $10.00 per share.

 

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 shareholders.

 

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced 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 may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

 

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.

 

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

 

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

 

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

 

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.

 

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

 

 

·

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

·

restrictions on the issuance of securities,

 

each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.

 

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

 

·

registration as an investment company;

 

·

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

·

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

 

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

 

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 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. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering; and (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares and liquidation. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination, our public shareholders may be forced to wait up to 24 months before redemption from our trust account.

 

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (less up to $100,000 of the net interest earned thereon to pay dissolution expenses), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our 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 shareholders, 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 24 months 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 ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

 

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

 

If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of $15,000 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

 

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

 

In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings or elect directors. Until we hold an annual meeting of shareholders, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management.

 

We are not registering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.

 

We are not registering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. 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 issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will 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, unless an exemption is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our ordinary shares are 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, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, 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 under blue sky laws. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities 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. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant 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 ordinary shares included in the units. 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 ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

 

 

The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders 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 ordinary shares.

 

Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the founder shares, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

 

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

 

We may seek to complete a business combination in any industry or sector, but we will not be permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. In addition, we have not initiated any substantive discussions with any specific target business with respect to a business combination. Accordingly, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the industry or sector in which the target business operates or in the operations of the particular target business Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

We may seek investment opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not 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 investment opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an investment outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value 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 tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

 

 

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 that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

 

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

 

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

 

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

 

We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking or accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

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

 

 

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

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will, upon the consummation of this offering, authorize the issuance of up to 400,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 20,000,000 preferred shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 368,250,000 (assuming that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued ordinary shares available for issuance including shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination, provided that, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we may not, prior to our initial business combination, issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary or preferred shares:

 

·

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account 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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

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

 

If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — General”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to certain adverse United States federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2015 may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). If we do not complete our initial business combination by the end of our current taxable year, and we have gross income for our current taxable year, we likely will be a PFIC for our current taxable year unless we complete our initial business combination in or prior to our taxable year ending December 31, 2016 and are not treated as a PFIC for either of our taxable years ending December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2017. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

 

 

We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.

 

We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.

 

After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

 

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

 

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel or the hiring of ineffective personnel after the business combination could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

 

Our ability to successfully effect our business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel with regard to our selection of a target company. 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 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 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.

 

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 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 the Company after the completion of our business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any 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, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.

 

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

 

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 presently expect each of our employees to devote such amount of time as he reasonably believes is necessary to our business. However, 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. In particular, our executive officers and directors are employed by GP Investments, which is the investment manager to various private investment funds and other types of investments. 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. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers.”

 

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

 

Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our executive officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business.

 

Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. 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.

 

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

 

 

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 shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Shareholder Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

 

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 and directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” 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 business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting our initial business combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm 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 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 shareholders 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 2, 2015, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or 6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of $5,500,000 (or $6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, which will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering. However, the holders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed 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.

 

 

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

 

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

 

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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 this offering and the private placement of warrants will provide us with $150.0 million (or $172.5 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our business combination (excluding up to an aggregate of approximately $5.3 million, or up to approximately $6.0 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions and other fees being held in the trust account).

 

 

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 result in numerous economic, competitive and regulatory consequences to us. 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 have a substantial adverse impact upon our operations and profitability.

 

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

 

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

 

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.

 

We may structure a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires 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 shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital 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 ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s 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. 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 do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold in connection with our initial business combination. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.

 

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

 

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

 

In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and changed industry focus. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination though amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law.

 

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

 

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this 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 shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of a majority of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, 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 ordinary shares. In all other instances, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may be amended by holders of a majority of at least two-thirds of our outstanding ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, subject to applicable provisions of the applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

 

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

 

Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

 

Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

 

Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders 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. One factor to be considered in making such additional purchases would be a consideration of the current trading price of our ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial shareholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.

 

Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.

 

The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 89.3% (or $8.93 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $1.07 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit.

 

 

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 our ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

 

Our warrants will be 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of our ordinary shares 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 last reported sales price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. 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 (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to 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 so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.

 

Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our business combination.

 

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 7,500,000 of our ordinary shares (or up to 8,625,000 ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or up to 6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional $1,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional ordinary shares 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 our issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the ordinary shares 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 this 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees 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 blank check companies.

 

Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Because, pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time. A holder of our public warrants will not be able to exercise any one-half of one warrant unless it is combined with another one-half of one warrant. 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 half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole 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.

 

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

 

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

 

·

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

 

·

prior offerings of those companies;

 

·

our prospects for acquiring an operating business;

 

·

a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;

 

·

our capital structure;

 

·

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

 

·

general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and

 

·

other factors as were deemed relevant.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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 acquisition.

 

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ending December 31, 2016. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

 

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

 

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

 

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

 

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

 

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

 

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

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make 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.

 

 

Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries

 

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 our initial 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:

 

·

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;

 

·

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 business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.

 

If you are a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — Certain United States Federal Income Tax— General”) of our ordinary shares, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually convert the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.

 

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

 

 

We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Certain statements in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. 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 prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

 

·

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

·

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

·

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

 

·

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

 

·

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 or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or

 

·

our financial performance following this offering.

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page 22. 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.

 

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We are offering 15,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.

 

		Without Over-Allotment Option				Over-Allotment Option Exercised
Gross proceeds
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1)		$	150,000,000			$	172,500,000
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement		$	5,500,000			$	6,062,500
Total gross proceeds		$	155,500,000			$	178,562,500
Offering expenses(2)
Underwriting commissions (2.5% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3)		$	3,750,000			$	4,312,500
Legal fees and expenses			275,000				275,000
Printing and engraving expenses			55,000				55,000
Accounting fees and expenses			50,000				50,000
SEC/FINRA expenses			46,420				46,420
Travel and road show			20,000				20,000
NASDAQ listing and filing fees			75,000				75,000
Director and Officer liability insurance premiums			100,000				100,000
Miscellaneous			128,580				128,580
Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions)		$	750,000			$	750,000
Proceeds after offering expenses		$	151,000,000			$	173,500,000
Held in trust account(3)		$	150,000,000			$	172,500,000
% of public offering size			100	%			100	%
Not held in trust account		$	1,000,000			$	1,000,000

 

The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.⁽⁴⁾

 

		Amount				% of Total
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, consulting and other expenses in connection with any business combination(5)		$	355,000				35.5	%
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations			150,000				15	%
Payment for office space, administrative and support services			240,000				24	%
Reserve for liquidation expenses			100,000				10	%
NASDAQ continued listing fees			55,000				5.5	%
Other miscellaneous expenses			100,000				10	%
Total		$	1,000,000				100	%

 

(1)

Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.

 

(2)

In addition, a portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $100,000 and $16,321 in advances made to us by our sponsor as described in this prospectus. These loans and advances will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses other than underwriting commissions. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses.

 

(3)

Deferred underwriting commissions and other fees equal to an aggregate of up to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering will be placed into the trust account at the closing of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, up to $5,250,000 (or $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters. The remaining funds will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

 

(4)

These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses.

 

(5)

Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.

 

Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, approximately $150,000,000 (or approximately $172,500,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including up to $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions and other fees, will be placed in a New York, New York based trust account at Citibank, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $30,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.02% per year. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, if any, the proceeds from this offering will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of (a) the completion of our initial business combination or (b) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our business combination. 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 business combination or used for redemptions of our ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination.

 

However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.

 

We will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

 

Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor loaned us $100,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2015 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.

 

 

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public 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.

 

We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

A public shareholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those of our ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, and then only in connection with those of our ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months following the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.

 

Our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements 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. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

 

 

DIVIDEND POLICY

 

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. However, if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

 

DILUTION

 

The difference between the public offering price per ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of our outstanding ordinary shares.

 

At March 2, 2015, our net tangible book value before this offering and excluding deferred offering costs was $(231,321), or approximately $(0.06) per ordinary share (excluding an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by our initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture). After giving effect to the sale of 15,000,000 ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions, other fees payable and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at March 2, 2015 would have been $5,000,009 or $1.07 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 14,076,567 ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $1.13 per share to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $8.93 per share or 89.3% to our public shareholders not exercising their redemption rights. The dilution to new investors if the underwriter exercises the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.06 per share or 90.6%.

 

The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:

 

Public offering price						$	10.00
Net tangible book value before this offering(1)		$	(0.06	)
Increase attributable to new investors			1.13
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants						$	1.07
Dilution to public shareholders						$	8.93

 

For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $140,765,670 because holders of up to approximately 93.8% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of ordinary shares sold in this offering).

 

The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option:

 

																		Average
		Shares Purchased								Total Consideration								Price Per
		Number				Percentage				Amount				Percentage				Share
Initial Shareholders(2)			3,750,000				20.0	%		$	25,000				0.02	%		$	0.007
Public Shareholders			15,000,000				80.0			$	150,000,000				99.98	%		$	10.000
			18,750,000				100.0	%		$	150,025,000				100.00	%

  

 

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:

 

Numerator:
Net tangible book value before this offering(1)		$	(231,321	)
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses			151,000,000
Offering costs excluded from net tangible book value before this offering			247,000
Less: deferred underwriting commissions and other fees payable			(5,250,000	)
Less: amount of ordinary shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001			(140,765,670	)
		$	5,000,009
Denominator:
Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering			4,312,500
Less: Shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised			(562,500	)
Ordinary shares included in the units offered			15,000,000
Less: shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001			(14,076,567	)
			4,673,433

  

	(1)	Net tangible book value before this offering is calculated as current assets excluding deferred offering costs less current liabilities as of March 2, 2015.

(2)

Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by our initial shareholder.

 

 

CAPITALIZATION

 

The following table sets forth our actual and “as adjusted” capitalization at March 2, 2015. The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of 15,000,000 units in this offering at $10.00 per unit for total gross proceeds of $150,000,000, the sale of 5,500,000 private placement warrants at $1.00 per warrant for total gross proceeds of $5,500,000, repayment of an aggregate of $100,000 in loans and $16,321 in advances made to us by our sponsor and the payment of the estimated expenses of this offering. The “as adjusted” information assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised.

 

		March 2, 2015
		Actual				As Adjusted(1)
Deferred underwriting commissions and other fees		$	—			$	5,250,000
Notes payable to affiliate			100,000				—
Ordinary shares subject to redemption; 0 shares (actual); 14,076,567 shares (as adjusted)(2)			—				140,765,670
Shareholders’ equity (deficit):
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding (actual and as adjusted)			—				—
Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 4,312,500 shares issued and outstanding (actual); 400,000,000 shares authorized 4,673,433 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 14,076,567 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted)			431				467
Additional paid-in capital			24,569				5,008,863	(3)
Accumulated deficit			(9,321	)			(9,321	)
Total shareholders’ equity			15,679				5,000,009
Total capitalization		$	115.679			$	151,015,679

 

	(1)	Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised, resulting in the forfeiture of an additional 562,500 founder shares held by our initial shareholders.

(2)

Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. The “as adjusted” ordinary shares subject to redemption is calculated as follows:

 

Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses		$	151,000,000
Net tangible book value before this offering, including deferred offering costs			15,679
Less: deferred underwriting commissions and other fees payable			(5,250,000	)
			145,765,679
Less: net tangible book value after this offering			5,000,009
Ordinary shares subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001		$	140,765,670

 

(3)

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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 (so that we are not 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 the per unit price in this offering is $10.00, the minimum net tangible book value required in order to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 is $5,000,009. The “as adjusted” additional paid-in capital amount is calculated as $5,000,009 less the par value of the corresponding ordinary shares adjusted for the deficit accumulated during the development stage.

 

Net tangible book value after this offering		$	5,000,009
Less: Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 400,000,000 shares authorized; 4,673,433 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 14,076,567 shares subject to redemption)			(467	)
Add back: Accumulated deficit			9,321
Additional paid-in capital		$	5,008,863

 

 

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Overview

 

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination.

 

The issuance of additional shares in a business combination:

 

·

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

 

·

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

 

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at March 2, 2015 we had $125,000 in cash and deferred offering costs of $247,000. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors among others raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

 

Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

 

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

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our liquidity needs have been satisfied to date through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor, loans to us of up to $100,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note and $16,321 in advances made to us by our sponsor. To date, we have incurred approximately $86,000 in expenses. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $750,000, underwriting commissions of $3,750,000 ($4,312,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions and other fees of up to an aggregate of $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $5,500,000 (or $6,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $151,000,000 (or $173,500,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Approximately $150.0 million (or $172.5 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes up to $5,250,000 (or up to $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions and other fees. The remaining approximately $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

 

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

 

Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.

 

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

 

We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $355,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, consulting and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $240,000 for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services; $100,000 reserved for liquidation expenses; $55,000 for NASDAQ continued listing fees; and approximately $100,000 that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.

 

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

 

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. 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 initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

 

Controls and Procedures

 

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.

 

Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:

 

·

staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;

 

·

reconciliation of accounts;

 

 

·

proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;

 

·

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

·

documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and

 

·

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

 

Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.

 

Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

 

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

 

As of March 2, 2015, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus, as we have conducted no operations to date.

 

JOBS Act

 

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

 

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

 

 

PROPOSED BUSINESS

 

Overview

 

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and 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, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.

 

We will seek to capitalize on the substantial deal sourcing, investing and operating expertise of our management that will be led by Mr. Fersen Lambranho, our Chairman, and Mr. Antonio Bonchristiano, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer). Mr. Lambranho and Mr. Bonchristiano have combined experience in the private equity industry of close to 40 years and have served on the board of over 50 companies in 15 different industry sectors, which we believe will benefit our ability to identify and acquire a target business. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to initially focus on those industries and sectors where our management team has had direct investing experience, such as consumer goods and services, retail and hospitality.

 

Our sponsor, GPIC, Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of GP Investments, Ltd. (“GP Investments”). GPIC, Ltd. is the vehicle through which GP Investments invests its proprietary capital in the funds it manages, directly or indirectly.

 

GP Investments is a leader in alternative investments in Latin America having affiliates with offices in Bermuda, São Paulo, New York, London and Zurich, currently managing more than $4.0 billion of assets as of September 30, 2014 on a consolidated basis (i.e., including assets managed by BRZ Investimentos and GP Advisors) with a focus on private equity, real estate,infrastructure and liquid investments, successfully investing third-party and proprietary capital for more than 20 years.

 

As a way to spread its valuable investment experience in other emerging markets, GP Investments has set up GP Advisors, which searches for private equity opportunities mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. GP Advisors has a team of 5 investment professionals, based in Switzerland, managing one listed investment vehicle.

 

GP Investment has also expanded into adjacent asset classes, based on its success in investing in real estate and infrastructure related companies over the past two decades. In real estate, GP Investments has seven professionals managing a development fund with 23 assets in the portfolio. In infrastructure, GP Investments is continuing its consistent approach to investments within its “buy-and-improve” strategy. The firm currently has six investment professionals fully dedicated to infrastructure and is in the process of raising its inaugural infrastructure fund.

 

Mr. Fersen Lambranho and Mr. Antonio Bonchristiano have alternated serving as Chairman and serving as CEO of GP Investments since 2003, when they and the senior management team acquired control of the firm from its founders. GP Investments currently has three active buyout funds in different phases of the investment cycle, managed by a team of 14 investment professionals. While GP Investments’ investment strategy is to focus on businesses that are based in emerging markets, with a focus on Brazil, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network of high profile international investors with whom we have partnered over the years has grown through the activities of our management team in sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, their reputation for integrity and fair dealing with sellers, financing sources and management teams and their experience in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. This global network has provided our management team with a flow of referrals that has resulted in numerous transactions which were proprietary or where limited parties were involved in the sale process.

 

GP Investments has built a solid track record of creating value for investors through an active management strategy, usually ensured by the acquisition of controlling stakes in the companies and assets in which it invests. GP Investments has invested more than $5.0 billion from investors worldwide in 53 companies across 15 different sectors, with 45 divestments or partial exits completed. Since its inception, and as of December 31, 2014, GP Investments has returned over $4.0 billion to investors. While GP Investments is actively managing existing investments, all but one of its six existing private equity funds are outside of their respective investment periods and are not currently making new investments.

 

 

GP Investments’ extensive experience in finding attractive deals from private and public sources and its leading capital markets position provides unique insight when sourcing new investment opportunities and creating value. The management team’s experience and proximity to real-time information position our sponsor to obtain differentiated deal flow, frequently in a non-competitive manner.

 

With respect to the foregoing examples, 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. Furthermore, in considering any past performance information contained herein, you should bear in mind that actual returns depend on, among other factors, future operating results, the value of the investments and market conditions at the time of disposition, any related transaction costs and the timing and manner of sale, all of which may differ from the assumptions on which the overall performance of any prior investments are based. In addition, our management team is currently involved in other businesses and is not required to devote any specific minimum amount of time to our business, 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. See “Management — Directors and Executive Officers.”

 

Business Strategy

 

Our strategy is to focus on potential acquisition targets in the United States and Europe in industries and sectors where our management team has had direct investing experience, such as consumer goods and services, retail and hospitality. We believe we would be a particularly attractive partner to businesses that have the expansion of their operations into the emerging markets as part of their overall growth strategy.

 

We believe that the extensive network of private equity sponsor relationships, as well as relationships with management teams of public and private companies and investment bankers developed by the management and its affiliates should provide us with significant acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, other private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest noncore assets or divisions. By virtue of being one of the most active private equity teams operating in Latin America over the last 20 years, our management has developed proved screening, sourcing and analysis processes that will allow us to access and evaluate compelling investment opportunities.

 

Investment Criteria

 

Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire a business or businesses that we believe have one or more of the following qualities:

 

·

are at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management expertise that our management team or GP Investments can provide, introducing new products or services, or entering new markets such as emerging markets;

 

·

are underperforming their potential in industries that are otherwise exhibiting stable or improving fundamentals where our operating expertise could be beneficial;

 

·

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics, such as observable competitive advantages, multiple pathways to growth that we believe have been mis-evaluated by the marketplace based on our company specific analysis and due diligence review; and/or

 

·

will offer risk-adjusted equity return on investment for our shareholders. Returns will be evaluated based on (i) the potential for organic growth in cash flows, (ii) the opportunity for follow-on acquisitions and (iii) the prospects for creating value through new initiatives. Potential upside from growth in the target business and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks.

 

 

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.

 

Initial Business Combination

 

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member FINRA, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.

 

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 shareholders 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 valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. 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 and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination in our proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our business combination.

 

Our Investment Process

 

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review that will include, as applicable, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.

 

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

Members of our management team and our independent directors will, directly or indirectly, own our ordinary shares and warrants to purchase our ordinary shares following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

 

 

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity of which they are officers or directors. To the extent they identify business opportunities which may be suitable for the entities to which they owe pre-existing fiduciary obligations, our officers and directors will honor those fiduciary obligations subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination because we are focused on identifying and completing a business combination with one or more businesses in the United States or Europe that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination, whereas the other entities controlled by GP Investments which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations to either (i) are not seeking transactions with businesses outside of emerging markets, or (ii) do not have the financial capacity or mandate to engage in a business combination transaction having the fair market value required for our initial business combination. To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed with GP Investments that, directly or indirectly through its affiliates, it will only pursue transactions in the United States or Europe that (i) focus on liquid minority stakes not representing more than five percent of the total outstanding shares of the any target company, therefore being treated as financial investments instead of a relevant equity investment or (ii) involve asset management firms, listed investment companies and insurance and reinsurance underwriters and brokers.

 

Our sponsor, executive officers and independent directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company unless we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required timeframe. Such restriction does not preclude our sponsor from pursuing limited partnership interests in asset management companies. Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our business transaction.

 

Our Management Team

 

Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

 

Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets

 

We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

 

We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team and our sponsor will provide us important sources of investment opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

 

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or making the acquisition 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 or accounting firm that is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

 

 

As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our executive officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. All of our executive officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

 

Status as a Public Company

 

We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

 

Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Financial Position

 

With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $144,750,000, after payment of up to $5,250,000 of deferred underwriting and other fees (or $166,462,500 after payment of up to $6,037,500 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

 

 

Effecting our Initial Business Combination

 

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, our shares, 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 business combination or used for redemptions of our ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

 

We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

 

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or debt in connection with our initial business combination, provided that, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we may not, prior to our initial business combination, issue any additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account or vote on our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.

 

 

Sources of Target Businesses

 

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources as a result of our management’s experience, execution history and ability to deploy capital. These sources include, but are not limited to, investment bankers, private investment funds and other members of our network of business relationships. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), except that we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services. Other than pursuant to these agreements, none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.

 

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination 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, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

 

Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination

 

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

 

In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 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. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. 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 and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination in our proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our business combination.

 

To the extent we effect our business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such companies or businesses. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

 

 

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review, which will include, as applicable, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.

 

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our 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 finders or consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our business combination.

 

Lack of Business Diversification

 

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

 

·

subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and

 

·

cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

 

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

 

Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

 

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

 

Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

 

Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination

 

We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.

 

 

Under NASDAQ’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

 

·

we issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then outstanding;

 

·

any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

 

·

the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

 

Permitted Purchases of our Securities

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Any such purchases may include an agreement with a selling shareholder that such shareholder, for so long as it remains the record holder of the shares in question, will not exercise its redemption rights with respect to the shares so purchased. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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.

 

The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

 

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination.

 

Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination

 

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 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 initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our business combination.

 

 

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

 

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval by law or a stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires shareholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a shareholder vote to approve the proposed business combination.

 

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

·

conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and

 

·

file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

 

Upon the public announcement of our business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

 

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not 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. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

 

If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

·

conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and

 

·

file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

 

In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

 

If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, provided that a public shareholder must in fact vote for or against a proposed business combination in order to have his, her or its ordinary shares redeemed. In addition, our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements 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 a business combination.

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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 (so that we are not 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. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

 

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Shareholder Approval

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 20% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our 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 shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

 

 

Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights

 

We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either (a) tender their certificates to our transfer agent or (b) deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, in each case prior to the expiration date set forth in the tender offer documents or the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements.

 

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $45.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

 

The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, we would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the shareholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.

 

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our business combination.

 

If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.

 

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

 

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 24-month time period.

 

 

Our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period. Such events might delay distribution of some or all of our assets to our public shareholders.

 

Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules).

 

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

 

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

 

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account or to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

 

 

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.

 

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

 

If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

 

 

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above.

 

Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with our Initial Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete our Business Combination.

 

The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

		Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination		Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by us or our Affiliates		Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination
Calculation of redemption price		Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.		If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions.		If we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares).
Impact to remaining shareholders		The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and franchise and income taxes payable.		If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.		The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions.

 

Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419

 

The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.

 

 

		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
Escrow of offering proceeds		Approximately $150,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a New York, New York based trust account at Citibank, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.		Approximately $126,900,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.
Investment of net proceeds		Approximately $150,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.		Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds		Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any franchise or income taxes paid or payable, and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation.		Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination.
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business		Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination.		The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.
Trading of securities issued		The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Form 8-K  will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over allotment option.		No trading of the units or the underlying ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.
Exercise of the warrants		The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering.		The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account.
Election to remain an investor		We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, provided that a public shareholder must in fact vote for or against a proposed business combination in order to have his, her or its ordinary shares redeemed.		A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued.

 

 

		Terms of Our Offering		Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
Business combination deadline		If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.		If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors.
Release of funds		Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations, if any, the proceeds from this offering held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination within the required time frame (subject to the requirements of applicable law).		The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time.

 

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, some of these competitors may 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 shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.

 

 

Facilities

 

Our executive offices are located at 150 E. 52nd Street, Suite 5003, New York, NY 10022, and our telephone number is (212) 430-4340. Our executive offices are provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor. We have entered into an agreement to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services commencing on the date our securities are first listed on NASDAQ. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services, that this amount is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

Employees

 

We currently have 2 executive officers. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

 

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

 

We will register our units, ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

 

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.  While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

 

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Directors and Executive Officers

 

We intend to have 5 directors. Our directors, executive officers and director nominees are as follows:

 

Name		Age		Position
Antonio Bonchristiano		47		Chief Executive Officer; Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer); Director
Fersen    Lamas Lambranho		53		Chairman
Jaime Szulc		52		Director
Christopher Brotchie		69		Director
Fernando d'Ornellas Silva		57		Director

 

Mr. Bonchristiano has been our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and director since March of 2015. Mr. Bonchristiano is also a member of the board and Chief Executive Officer of GP Investments. He joined GP Investments in 1993 and has been a Managing Director since 1995. Prior to joining GP Investments, Mr. Bonchristiano was a Partner at Johnston Associates Inc., a finance consultancy based in London, and worked for Salomon Brothers Inc. in London and New York. Currently, he serves as a member of the board of directors of AMBEV, GP Advisors, and SPICE. Mr. Bonchristiano is also on the board of several non-profit organizations, including: Fundação Bienal and Fundação Estudar in São Paulo, Brazil and John Carter Brown Library in Providence, RI, USA. Previously, he served as a member of the boards of directors of several companies including BHG, Estácio, BR Properties, ALL, CEMAR, Gafisa, Submarino, Equatorial, BR Malls, Tempo and Magnesita Refratários. He was also previously the Chief Financial Officer of SuperMar Supermercados and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Submarino. Mr. Bonchristiano holds a bachelor’s degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from the University of Oxford. Mr. Bonchristiano is well qualified to serve as a director due to his extensive experience in private equity, numerous directorship roles and financial expertise.

 

Mr. Lambranho has been the Chairman of our board of directors since March of 2015. He is also a member of the board and Chairman of GP Investments. He joined the firm in 1998 and became a Managing Director in 1999. Prior to joining GP, Mr. Lambranho was CEO of Lojas Americanas, where he worked for 12 years and was a board member from 1998 to 2003. Currently, he is Chairman of the Board of Magnesita. He has served as chairman of the boards of LBR, Oi, Contax, Gafisa and ABC Supermercados. Mr. Lambranho serves on the boards of Centauro, BRZ Investimentos and GP Advisors. He previously served on the board of several companies, including BRMalls, San Antonio, Estácio, Tele Norte Leste Participações, São Carlos Empreendimentos e Participações, Farmasa, BR Properties and Americanas.com. He is a board member of several non-profit entities, such as Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and COPPEAD-UFRJ. Mr. Lambranho holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and a Msc degree in business administration from COPPEAD-UFRJ. He also completed the Owner President Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Lambranho’s education, investment experience and experience serving on boards make him an ideal candidate to be the Chairman of our board of directors.

 

Mr. Szulc will join our board of directors prior to the consummation of this offering. He is the global Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives for Goodyear, appointed in November, 2014. Previously, he was President of Goodyear Latin America since joining the company in September 2010. Jaime joined Goodyear from Levi Strauss & Co., where he was a Senior Vice President and the Global Chief Marketing Officer for the Levi's brand. Prior to Levi´s, Mr. Szulc was the Worldwide Chief Operating Officer for Eastman Kodak Company’s consumer business. His 10-year career encompassed a broad spectrum of top P&L leadership assignments, such as General Manager for Consumer Imaging in Latin America, General Manager for the Digital & Film Imaging Systems in the Americas and Chairman of the company's Europe, Africa & the Middle East region. Before Kodak, Mr. Szulc spent four-and-a-half years at SC Johnson Latin America and four at Procter & Gamble Brazil. Mr. Szulc’s experience spanned from classical brand management to geographic and category portfolio analysis, which involved brand acquisition and divestiture. In Brazil, Mr. Szulc also worked for two years as a consultant for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He led a variety of projects in the areas of manufacturing productivity and systems improvement. Jaime earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Escola Politecnica da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1986. In light of Mr. Szulc’s directorship experience, business expertise and financial acumen, we believe that he is well qualified to serve as a director on our board of directors.

 

Mr. Brotchie will join our board of directors prior to the consummation of this offering. He serves as a Director on the Boards of Baring Private Equity International Ltd, Baring Private Equity Group Ltd, SWICORP Ltd (Riyadh), Firmdale Hotel Holdings Ltd (London) and Bolero International Ltd (London). He is a member of the Investment Committees of Baring Vostok Capital Partners (Moscow), ICentis Capital (Warsaw) and Intaj II (MENA) private equity funds. He is a member of the Advisory Council’s of Baring Private Equity Partners Asia (Hong Kong), GP Investments Ltd, ICentis Capital (Warsaw), Triton Capital Partners (Frankfurt & Stockholm) and the Pacific Pensions Institute (San Francisco). Mr. Brotchie’s private equity career started in 1986 when he joined Baring Private Equity Partners in Germany. As a Senior Partner, he was responsible for starting Baring Private Equity's businesses first in Germany (1986 to 1995) and Asia (1995 to 2000) based in Singapore. After 18 years with the firm, he retired in March 2004 as Chief Executive Officer of the Baring Private Equity Partners Group and Member of the Management Council of the ING Group. He holds a Bachelor of Technology degree, with honours from Brunel University and is a Chartered Engineer. He is a winner of the Society of British Aerospace Companies John de Havilland Award and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In light of Mr. Brotchie’s expansive career in private equity, business contacts and financial acumen, we believe that he is well qualified to serve as a director on our board of directors.

 

Mr. Fernando d’Ornellas Silva will join our board of directors prior to the consummation of this offering. He currently serves as a Director on the Boards of Meliá Hotels International SA and Dinamia Capital Privado SCR SA, and on the Supervisory Board of Willis Iberia. Mr. d´Ornellas is an advisor for Spain and Latam of Mitsubishi Corporation and a senior advisor of Spain and Latam for Lazard. Mr. d'Ornellas Silva was previously employed as Chairman by Berge Automoción, he was also the Managing Director of Bergé Group until 2012. He has also held the positions of Deputy Financial Manager of Johnson & Johnson Spain, Financial Director of Toyota Spain and Managing Director of Chrysler Spain. Mr. d’Ornellas was also Vice Chairman for  Skberge Latinoamérica and of Mitsubishi Motors Chile, and Chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Peru, KIA Argentina, Peru and Portugal, Chrysler Colombia and Chry Portugal. He has also served on the boards of Endesa S.A. and Endesa Chile.  Mr. d´Ornellas was a Vice Chairman of the Spanish Import Automobile Association, and a member of the Business Councils Spain-China, Spain-Japan. He is also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Hispanic Society of America. Mr. d’Ornellas graduated in Law and Economics from Madrid’s Universidad Pontificia Comillas (ICADE E-3) and holds an MBA from IESE (International Section). In light of Mr. d’Ornellas’ leadership experience, financial expertise and his extensive business acumen, we believe he is well qualified to serve as a director on our board of directors.

 

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

 

We intend to have five directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. d’Ornellas Silva, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Szulc and Mr. Brotchie, will expire at the second annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. Bonchristiano and Mr. Lambranho, will expire at the third annual meeting of shareholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.

 

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

 

 

Director Independence

 

NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Jaime Szulc, Christopher Brotchie and Fernando d'Ornellas Silva are “independent directors,” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

 

Executive Officer and Director Compensation

 

None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash (or non-cash) compensation for services rendered to us. We have entered into an agreement to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services commencing on the date our securities are first listed on NASDAQ. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Other than these described payments, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.

 

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

 

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

 

Committees of the Board of Directors

 

Our board of directors will have 2 standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of NASDAQ and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee and compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Although, we do not believe a compensation committee is necessary prior to our initial business combination as there will be no salary, fees, or other compensation being paid to our officers or directors prior to our initial business combination other than as disclosed in this prospectus, we will establish one in order to comply with NASDAQ listing standards.

 

 

Audit Committee

 

Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish an audit committee of our board of directors. Jaime Szulc, Christopher Brotchie and Fernando d'Ornellas Silva will serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Jaime Szulc, Christopher Brotchie and Fernando d'Ornellas Silva are independent.

 

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

 

Responsibilities of the audit committee include:

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

Compensation Committee

 

Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Jaime Szulc, Christopher Brotchie and Fernando d'Ornellas Silva. Jaime Szulc will serve as chairman of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail 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 based on such evaluation;

 

·

reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive 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 executive 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.

 

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

 

Director Nominations

 

We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the NASDAQ Rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who shall participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Jaime Szulc, Christopher Brotchie and Fernando d'Ornellas Silva. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the NASDAQ Rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.

 

The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in Article 19 of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

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

 

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

 

None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.

 

Code of Ethics

 

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

 

Conflicts of Interest

 

Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:

 

(i)      duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;

 

 

(ii)     duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;

 

(iii)    directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;

 

(iv)    duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;

 

(v)     duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and

 

(vi)    duty to exercise independent judgment.

 

In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience which that director has.

 

As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.

 

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise when our board evaluates a particular business opportunity with respect to the above-listed criteria. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Furthermore, each of our officers and directors has pre-existing fiduciary obligations to other businesses of which they are officers or directors. To the extent they identify business opportunities which may be suitable for the entities to which they owe pre-existing fiduciary obligations, our officers and directors will honor those fiduciary obligations, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.

 

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

 

·

Each of our officers and directors has agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company unless we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required timeframe. Such restriction does not preclude our sponsor from pursuing limited partnership interests in asset management companies.

 

·

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

 

·

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

 

·

Our sponsor purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus. Our sponsor will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its founder shares and public shares in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. On the date of this prospectus, the founder shares will be placed into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions, these shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold until released from escrow on the date that is one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Accordingly, our officers and directors who directly or indirectly own founder shares or private placement warrants may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.

 

 

·

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

 

The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor, after application of applicable law.

 

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:

 

Name of Individual		Entity Name		Entity’s Business		Affiliation
Antonio Bonchristiano		GP Investments, including all affiliates and its portfolio companies		Investment Firm		CEO, Director
		GP Advisors		Investment Manager		Director
		SPICE		Private Equity and Venture Capital Firm		Director
		AMBEV		Brewing Company		Director
Fersen Lamas Lambranho		GP Investments, including all affiliates and its portfolio companies		Investment Firm		Director, Chairman
		Centauro		Sporting Goods Retailer		Director
		BRZ Investimentos		Asset Management		Director
		GP Advisors		Investment Manager		Director
		Magnesita		Mining and Production of Refractory Materials		Director, Chairman
Jaime Szulc		Goodyear		Tire and Rubber		Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives
Christopher Brotchie		BPEP International Ltd.		Private Equity and Venture Capital Firm		Director
		Baring Private Equity Group Ltd.		Private Equity and Venture Capital Firm		Director
		SWICORP Company		Private Equity and Asset Management		Director
		Firmdale Holdings Ltd.		Hotel Group		Director
		Bolero International Ltd.		Cloud-based Financial Software		Director
		Bolero Net Ltd		Financial Software		Director
		Laurel House Advisors Ltd.		Strategic Advisory Services		Director
		Hollybau GmbH		Strategic Advisory Services		Director
		GP Investments Ltd., Bermuda		Advisory Board Chairman		Private Equity
Fernando D'Ornellas Silva		Melia Hotels International		Hotel Group		Director
		Dinamia		Private Equity Investment Firm		Director
		Lazard		Asset Management		Senior Advisor, Spain and Latam
		Mitsubishi Corporation		Automobile Manufacturer		Advisor for Spain and Latam
		Willis Iberia		Risk Advisors and Insurance Consultants		Member of Supervisory Board

 

A “portfolio company” of GP Investments is a company in which GP is invested, directly or indirectly, through its investment company or by a fund managed by GP Investments. The portfolio companies noted above include SPICE, Magnesita and Centauro. SPICE is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in fund of funds and direct investments. Magnesita is a Brazilian company devoted to mining, production and marketing of a broad range of refractory materials. Centauro is the largest chain of sporting goods retailers in Latin America.  The other entities are affiliates of GP Investments. GP Advisors is an investment manager which searches for private equity opportunities mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. BRZ Investimentos is one of the largest independent asset management firms for institutional investors in Brazil and is focused primarily on investments in Brazil.

 

 

We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination because we are focused on identifying and completing a business combination with one or more businesses in the United States or Europe that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination, whereas the other entities controlled by GP Investments which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations to either (i) are not seeking transactions with businesses outside of emerging markets, or (ii) do not have the financial capacity or mandate to engage in a business combination transaction having the fair market value required for our initial business combination. To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed with GP Investments that, directly or indirectly through its affiliates, it will only pursue transactions in the United States or Europe that (i) focus on liquid minority stakes not representing more than five percent of the total outstanding shares of the any target company, therefore being treated as financial investments instead of a relevant equity investment or (ii) involve asset management firms, listed investment companies and insurance and reinsurance underwriters and brokers.

 

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

 

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

 

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

 

 

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

 

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:

 

·

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares;

 

·

each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees that beneficially owns our ordinary shares; and

 

·

all our executive officers and directors as a group.

 

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

 

On March 2, 2015, our sponsor purchased 4,312,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price. The following table presents the number of shares and percentage of our ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders before and after this offering. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our initial shareholders forfeit 562,500 founder shares on a pro rata basis, and that there are 18,750,000 of our ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.

  

		Before Offering								After Offering
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)		Number of Shares Beneficially Owned				Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares				Number of Shares Beneficially Owned				Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares
GPIAC, LLC(2)			4,252,500	(3)			98.6	%			3,697,827				19.7	%
Antonio Bonchristiano			—				—				—				—
Fersen Lambranho			—				—				—				—
Christopher Brotchie			20,000	(4)			*				17,391				*
Fernando d’Ornellas Silva			20,000	(4)			*				17,391				*
Jaime Cohen Szulc			20,000	(4)			*				17,391				*
All directors, director nominees and executive officers as a group (5 individuals)			60,000				1.4	%			52,173				*
Total			4,312,500				100	%			3,750,000				20	%

 

*

Less than one percent.

 

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o 150 E. 52nd Street, Suite 5003, New York, NY 10022.

 

(2)

The sole member of GPIAC, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“GPIAC”) is GPIC, Ltd., our sponsor. Alvaro Lopes da Silva Neto is an officer of GPIAC and has sole voting and investment power over the shares held by GPIAC. Our sponsor is controlled by GP Investments. Accordingly, they may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of such shares.

 

(3)

These shares represent 100% of the founder shares. Includes up to 554,673 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

 

(4)	Includes up to 2,609 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.

 

Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own up to 20% of the then-issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share dividend or another share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of our initial business combination.

 

If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of the over-allotment option, our initial shareholders will have to forfeit up to an aggregate of 562,500 founder shares. Our initial shareholders will be required to have repurchased by us only a number of shares necessary to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our ordinary shares (excluding the private units) after giving effect to the offering and the exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

 

Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.

 

Escrow of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants and Transfer Restrictions

 

On the date of this prospectus, the founder shares and private placement warrants will be placed into a segregated escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as escrow agent pursuant to an escrow agreement between us, our sponsor and the holders of the founder shares and private placement warrants, and the escrow agent. While in escrow, such securities may not be sold, transferred or disposed of during the escrow period applicable to such securities. The applicable escrow period for the founder shares is the earlier of (x) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, 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 (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

 

The applicable escrow period for the private placement warrants is 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination.

 

Additionally, in the event of (i) our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, the escrow period shall terminate. However, such securities may be transferred within the escrow to certain permitted transferees. Permitted transfers include: (a) transfers to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor or their affiliates, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, transfers by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, transfers by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, transfers pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) transfers by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) transfers by virtue of the laws of Bermuda or our sponsor’s limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; (g) transfers in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of an initial business combination; and (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.

 

 

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

On March 2, 2015, we issued an aggregate of 4,312,500 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash, or approximately $0.006 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent director nominees at their original purchase price (adjusted to give effect to the share dividends). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share repurchase or a share capitalization, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

 

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or 6,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at between $5,500,000 and $6,062,500, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one ordinary share. We determined the purchase price for the private placement warrants by analyzing warrant trading prices of several comparable blank check companies that have not yet announced a business combination, all of which were substantially lower than $1.00 per warrant. We decided to sell the private placement warrants for $1.00 per warrant in order to cause fewer warrants to be issued than if the private placement warrants were issued for less than $1.00 per warrant, thereby resulting in less potential dilution. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

 

We have entered into an agreement to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services commencing on the date our securities are first listed on NASDAQ. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

 

Other than as described above, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.

 

Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor loaned us $100,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2015 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the estimated $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan. Our sponsor has also made $16,321 in advances to us.

 

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

 

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.

 

We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.”

 

Related Party Policy

 

We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.

 

Prior to the consummation of our initial public offering, we will adopt a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the Company. A form of the code of ethics that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of our initial public offering is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

·

Repayment of an aggregate of $100,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

·

Repayment of an advance of $16,321 to our sponsor;

 

·

Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services;

 

·

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

 

 

·

Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto.

 

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

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

 

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company (company number 295988) and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 400,000,000 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 20,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.

 

Units

 

Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number the company’s shares. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrantholder. For example, if a warrantholder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase one of the company’s ordinary shares, such warrant shall not be exercisable. If a warrantholder holds two halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one of the company’s ordinary shares. A holder of our public warrants will not be able to exercise any one-half of one warrant unless it is combined with another one-half of one warrant. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52^nd day following the closing of this offering unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component pieces. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.

 

In no event will the ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

Ordinary shares

 

Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 4,312,500 ordinary shares outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders, so that our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our sponsor does not purchase any units in this offering). Upon the closing of this offering, 18,750,000 ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 562,500 founder shares by our initial shareholders). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share repurchase or share capitalization, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.

 

Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in the Companies Law, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by the applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our common shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.

 

 

Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of up to 400,000,000 ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of ordinary shares that we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination.

 

In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or general meetings or elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 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 initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements 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 business combination.

 

Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

 

 

If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, provided that a public shareholder must in fact vote for or against a proposed business combination in order to have his, her or its ordinary shares redeemed.

 

Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time period.

 

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, upon completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

Founder Shares

 

The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, and (ii) our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our business combination and (B) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within such time period. If we submit our business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.

 

On the date of this prospectus, the founder shares will be placed into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions, these shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold until released from escrow on the date that is one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Our initial shareholders (or their permitted transferees) will forfeit up to 562,500 founder shares on a pro rata basis depending on the exercise of the over-allotment option in order to maintain ownership of 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering. The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering. However, the holders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.

 

 

 

Register of Members

 

Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there shall be entered therein:

 

·

the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member;

 

·

the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and

 

·

the date on which any person ceased to be a member.

 

Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members shall be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members shall be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members shall be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.

 

Preferred Shares

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that preferred shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preferred shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred shares are being issued or registered in this offering.

 

Warrants

 

Public Shareholders’ Warrants

 

Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s ordinary shares. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrantholder. For example, if a warrantholder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase one of the company’s ordinary shares, such warrant shall not be exercisable. If a warrantholder holds two halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one of the company’s ordinary shares. A holder of our public warrants will not be able to exercise any one-half of one warrant unless it is combined with another one-half of one warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the date on which they first became exercisable, at 5:00 p.m., New York time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

 

 

We will not be obligated to deliver any ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless ordinary shares 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. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the ordinary share underlying such unit.

 

We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our 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. Notwithstanding the above, if our ordinary shares are 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, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, 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 under blue sky laws.

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):

 

·

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 (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and

 

·

if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

 

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.

 

We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

 

 

If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.

 

A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

 

If the number of outstanding ordinary shares is increased by a share dividend payable in ordinary shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for ordinary shares) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per ordinary share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of ordinary shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.

 

In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of ordinary shares on account of such ordinary shares (or other shares into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, or (d) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each ordinary share in respect of such event.

 

If the number of outstanding ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding ordinary shares.

 

Whenever the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

 

 

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement.

 

The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. 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.

 

The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to the us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive ordinary shares. After the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.

 

No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. 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 ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.

 

Private Placement Warrants

 

The private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will be placed into an escrow account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and, while in escrow, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Escrow of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants and Transfer Restrictions,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. These warrants will be released from escrow 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.

 

 

If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our initial shareholders and permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into 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.

 

Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any of these warrants) until the date that is 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Escrow of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants and Transfer Restrictions” made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.

 

Dividends

 

We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we will effect a share dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

 

The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.

 

Certain Differences in Corporate Law

 

Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Law. The Companies Law is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

 

 

Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Law allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).

 

Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of 66 2/3 % in value) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. A shareholder has the right to vote on a merger or consolidation regardless of whether the shares that he holds otherwise give him voting rights. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Law (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.

 

Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.

 

Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.

 

Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Law provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not be available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.

 

 

Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedure of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:

 

·

we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;

 

·

the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;

 

·

the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and

 

·

the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”

 

If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.

 

Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.

 

Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.

 

Shareholders’ Suits. Our Cayman Islands counsel is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:

 

 

·

a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;

 

·

the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or

 

·

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

 

A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.

 

Enforcement of civil liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.

 

We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

 

Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the Company, for liabilities of the Company over and above the amount paid for their shares) under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:

 

·

annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Law;

 

·

an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;

 

·

an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

·

an exempted company may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value;

 

·

an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

 

·

an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

 

·

an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and

 

·

an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.

 

Memorandum and Articles of Association

 

Article 48 of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.

 

Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own up to 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

·

If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;

 

·

Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination;

 

·

Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking or accounting firm that is a member of FINRA that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;

 

·

If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;

 

·

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;

 

 

·

If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and

 

·

We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

 

In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001.

 

The Companies Law permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s outstanding ordinary shares. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.

 

Anti-Money Laundering – Cayman Islands

 

In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.

 

We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Money Laundering Regulations (2013 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”). Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:

 

(a)

the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution; or

(b)

the subscriber is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or

(c)

the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors.

 

For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.

 

In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.

 

 

We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.

 

If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or is involved with terrorism or terrorist property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (2014 Revision) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Law (2011 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

 

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association

 

Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.

 

Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preferred shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preferred shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Securities Eligible for Future Sale

 

Immediately after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) we will have 18,750,000 (or 21,562,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the 15,000,000 (or 17,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 3,750,000 (or 4,312,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares and all 5,500,000 (or 6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.

 

Rule 144

 

Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted our ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.

 

Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:

 

·

1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 187,500 shares immediately after this offering (or 215,625 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or

 

 

·

the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.

 

Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

 

Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies

 

Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:

 

·

the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;

 

·

the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;

 

·

the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and

 

·

at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

 

As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrant and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (a) in the case of the founder shares, one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; and (b) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

Listing of Securities

 

We have applied to have our units, ordinary shares and warrants listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “GPIAU,” “GPIA” and “GPIAW,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date our ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that our ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on NASDAQ. We cannot guarantee that our securities will continue to meet the eligibility requirements for listing on NASDAQ.

  

 

TAXATIOn

 

The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and United States Federal income tax consequences of an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.

 

Cayman Islands Taxation

 

The Government of the Cayman Islands will not, under existing legislation, impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax upon the company or its shareholders. The Cayman Islands are not party to a double taxation treaty with any country that is applicable to any payment made to or by us.

 

We have applied for and on February 16, 2015 received an undertaking from the Governor-in-Cabinet of the Cayman Islands that, in accordance with section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2011 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (i) on or in respect of shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by the company to its members or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of the company.

 

Certain United States Federal Income Tax Considerations

 

General

 

The following discussion summarizes certain United States federal income tax considerations associated with the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units, ordinary shares and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities, purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for United States federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying ordinary share and warrant components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below of the United States federal income tax consequences with respect to actual holders of ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying ordinary shares and warrants that comprise the units).

 

This discussion is limited to certain United States federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold each component of a unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary for general information only and does not consider all aspects of United States federal income taxation that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:

 

·

financial institutions or financial services entities;

 

·

broker-dealers;

 

·

taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules under Section 475 of the Code;

 

·

tax-exempt entities;

 

·

governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;

 

·

insurance companies;

 

 

·

regulated investment companies;

 

·

real estate investment trusts;

 

·

expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;

 

·

persons that actually or constructively own 5 percent or more of our voting shares;

 

·

persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;

 

·

persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated transaction; or

 

·

U.S. Holders whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.

 

Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in United States federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.

 

We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any United States federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the descriptions herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.

 

As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our securities that is for United States federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person. As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our securities (other than an entity that is treated as a partnership or as a disregarded entity for United States federal income tax purposes) that is not a U.S. Holder.

 

This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity classified as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our securities, we urge you to consult your own tax advisor.

 

THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS.

 

 

Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit

 

No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for United States federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our ordinary shares and one-half of one warrant to acquire one share of our ordinary shares. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for tax purposes. For United States federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each ordinary share and the warrant should be the shareholder’s tax basis in such share or warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the ordinary share and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the ordinary share and warrant based on their respective relative fair market values. The separation of the ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for United States federal income tax purposes.

 

The foregoing treatment of the ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the U.S. federal, state, local and any foreign tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for United States federal income tax purposes.

 

U.S. Holders

 

Taxation of Distributions

 

Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any cash distribution paid on our ordinary shares. A cash distribution on such shares generally will be treated as a dividend for United States federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under United States federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares.

 

With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax laws currently in effect, dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary shares and Warrants” below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.

 

Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants

 

Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of ordinary shares or warrants as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, and subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the ordinary shares or warrants. See “— Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in the ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant.

 

 

Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or warrant so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the ordinary shares described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. Generally, a U.S. Holder will recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the ordinary shares or warrant is held as part of a unit at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the ordinary shares or warrant based upon the then fair market values of the ordinary shares and the warrant included in the unit) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrant so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of ordinary shares or warrant) less any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder generally will be subject to a maximum rate of 20%. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.

 

Redemption of Ordinary Shares

 

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for United States federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions”. Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the ordinary shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.

 

In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80 percent of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. Holder’s conversion results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.

 

If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares constructively owned by it.

 

 

U.S. Holders who actually or constructively own five percent (or, if our ordinary shares are not then publicly traded, one percent) or more of our shares (by vote or value) may be subject to special reporting requirements with respect to a redemption of ordinary shares, and such holders should consult with their own tax advisors with respect to their reporting requirements.

 

Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant

 

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of an ordinary share on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in an ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— General”) and the exercise price. The U.S. Holder’s holding period for an ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant will begin on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrants and will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.

 

The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for United States federal income tax purposes. In either tax-free situation, a U.S. Holder’s basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a gain realization event, a U.S. Holder’s holding period in the ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrant. It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants equal to the number of ordinary shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the ordinary shares received represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the fair market value of the ordinary shares represented by the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised. A U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would commence on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant.

 

Due to the absence of authority on the United States federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.

 

Possible Constructive Distributions

 

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the U.S. Holders of such ordinary shares as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.

 

 

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

 

A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.

 

Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2015. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income, if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year ending December 31, 2015. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2015. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2015 or any future taxable year.

 

If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, as described below, such holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to: (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its ordinary shares or warrants; and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares).

 

Under these rules:

 

·

the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or warrants;

 

·

the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;

 

·

the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and

 

·

the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.

 

In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder will avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our ordinary shares by making a timely QEF election to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.

 

 

A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants), any gain recognized generally will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above, if we were a PFIC at any time during the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares, but the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. The purging election creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. The gain recognized by the purging election will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. Holder will have a new basis and holding period in the ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants for purposes of the PFIC rules.

 

The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed United States federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.

 

In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.

 

If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed. As discussed above, U.S. Holders of a QEF are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. Holders. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. Similar basis adjustments apply to property if by reason of holding such property the U.S. Holder is treated under the applicable attribution rules as owning shares in a QEF.

 

Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any taxable year of us that ends within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.

 

 

Alternatively, if a U.S. Holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable stock, the U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its ordinary shares. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income each year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.

 

The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including NASDAQ Capital Market (on which we intend to list the ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.

 

If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.

 

A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621(whether or not a QEF or market-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.

 

The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our ordinary shares and warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our ordinary shares and warrants under their particular circumstances.

 

Tax Reporting

 

Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return of a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and to the extent provided in future Treasury regulations, certain entities, will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938, subject to certain exceptions. An interest in the Company constitutes a specified foreign financial asset for these purposes. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties. Potential Investors are urged to consult with their own tax advisers regarding the foreign financial asset reporting obligations and their application to an investment in ordinary shares and warrants. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult with its own tax advisor regarding this reporting obligation.

 

 

Non-U.S. Holders

 

Dividends (including constructive dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect to our ordinary shares generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States) or the Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate).

 

Dividends and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to United States federal income tax (but not the Medicare contribution tax) at the same regular United States federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.

 

The United States federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder, generally will correspond to the United States federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “U.S. Holders — Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant,” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holders gain on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares and warrants.

 

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

 

Dividend payments with respect to our ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.

 

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.

 

 

UNDERWRITING

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering and as representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to that underwriter, the number of shares set forth opposite the underwriter’s name.

 

Underwriter		Number of Units
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
I-Bankers Securities, Inc.
Total			15,000,000

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units.

 

Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount from the initial public offering price not to exceed $ per unit. If all of the units are not sold at the initial offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The representative has advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.

 

If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.

 

We, our sponsor and our officers and directors, have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets Inc., offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares, subject to certain exceptions. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice, other than in the case of the officers and directors, which shall be with notice. Our sponsor, officers and directors are also subject to separate transfer restrictions on their founder shares and private placement warrants pursuant to the insider letters as described herein.

 

On the date of this prospectus, the founder shares and private placement warrants will be placed into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions, these shares and warrants will not be transferred, assigned or sold until released from escrow on the date that is one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our business combination, (i) the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (ii) we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the representative. Among the factors considered in determining initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.

 

 

We have applied to have our units listed on NASDAQ under the symbol “GPIAU.” We have applied to list our ordinary shares and warrants under the symbols “GPIA” and “GPIAW,” respectively, and expect they will be listed once separate trading for our ordinary shares and warrants begins.

 

The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering, and certain other fees payable upon completion of our initial business combination. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

		Paid by GP Investments Acquisition Corp.
		No Exercise				Full Exercise
Per Unit(1)		$	0.60			$	0.60
Total(1)		$	9,000,000			$	10,350,000

 

(1)

Includes $0.35 per unit, or $5,250,000 (or $6,037,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate to be placed in a trust account located in the United States payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. Such amount includes $0.05 per unit, or $750,000 (or $862,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate that may be granted to the underwriters at our sole discretion as determined at the time of this offering. These amounts will be released from the trust account to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus.

 

If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account, and (ii) that the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes to the public shareholders.

 

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option and stabilizing purchases, in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

·

Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than they are required to purchase in the offering.

 

·

“Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

·

“Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

·

Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

·

To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option.

 

 

·

Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

 

Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.

 

We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $750,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for expenses related to clearance of this offering with FINRA in the amount of up to $30,000.

 

The underwriters are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and their respective affiliates have in the past performed commercial banking, investment banking and advisory services for us or our affiliates from time to time for which they have received customary fees and reimbursement of expenses and may, from time to time, engage in transactions with and perform services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they may receive customary fees and reimbursement of expenses. In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (which may include bank loans and/or credit default swaps) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

 

We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and we have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provides services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.

 

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area

 

In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “relevant member state”), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the “relevant implementation date”), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:

 

·

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

 

·

to fewer than 100, or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or

 

·

in any other circumstances that do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

provided that no such offer of units referred to in (a) through (c) above shall require us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.

 

For the purpose of this provision, the expression an “offer of units to the public” in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive to the extent implemented by the relevant member state) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state. The expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.

 

We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of units through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriters.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom

 

This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (each such person being referred to as a “relevant person”). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in France

 

Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or by the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units has been or will be:

 

·

released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or

 

·

used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the units to the public in France.

 

 

Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:

 

·

to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, articles L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier;

 

·

to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or

 

·

in a transaction that, in accordance with article L.411-2-II-1°-or-2°-or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à l’épargne).

 

The units may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong

 

The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore

 

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.

 

Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is

 

·

a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or

 

·

a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor,

 

shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:

 

·

to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than $200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA;

 

 

·

where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or

 

·

where the transfer is by operation of law.

 

Cayman Islands

 

No offer or invitation to subscribe for shares or units may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.

 

 

LEGAL MATTERS

 

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, California, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.

 

EXPERTS

 

The financial statements of GP Investments Acquisition Corp. as of March 2, 2015 and for the period January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015, appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of GP Investments Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given the authority of such firm as an expert in accounting and auditing.

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333- ) under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.

 

Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facility at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

 

You may also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP. 

 

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

	Page
Audited Financial Statements of GP Investments Acquisition Corp.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm	F-2
Balance Sheet as of March 2, 2015	F-3
Statement of Operations for the Period from January 28, 2015 (Inception) to March 2, 2015	F-4
Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity for the Period from January 28, 2015 (Inception) to March 2, 2015	F-5
Statement of Cash Flows for the Period from January 28, 2015 (Inception) to March 2, 2015	F-6
Notes to Financial Statements	F-7

 

 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

 

 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholder

of GP Investments Acquisition Corp.

 

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of GP Investments Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of March 2, 2015 and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity, and cash flows for the period from January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, 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. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of GP Investments Acquisition Corp. as of March 2, 2015, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has no present revenue, its business plan is dependent on the completion of a financing and the Company’s cash and working capital as of March 2, 2015 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities for the upcoming year. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

/s/ Marcum LLP

 

Marcum LLP

New York, NY

March 13, 2015

 

 

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

Balance Sheet

As of March 2, 2015

 

 

ASSETS
Current asset - cash and cash equivalents		$	125,000
Deferred offering costs			247,000
Total Assets		$	372,000
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Accrued offering costs		$	232,000
Accrued expenses			8,000
Advance from related party			16,321
Promissory note - related party			100,000
Total Liabilities			356,321
Commitments and Contingencies
Shareholder's Equity
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and
outstanding			-
Ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 4,312,500 shares issued
and outstanding (1)			431
Additional paid in capital			24,569
Accumulated deficit			(9,321	)
Total Shareholder's Equity			15,679
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY		$	372,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

 

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

Statement of Operations

For the period from January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015

 

 

 

Formation and operational costs		$	9,321
Net Loss		$	(9,321	)
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted (1)		$	3,750,000
Basic and diluted net loss per common share		$	(0.00	)

 

 

 

 

1)

Excludes an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity

For the period from January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015

 

 

 

										Additional								Total
		Ordinary Shares								Paid in				Accumulated				Shareholder's
		Shares				Amount				Capital				Deficit				Equity
Balance – January 28, 2015 (Inception)			-			$	-			$	-			$	-			$	-
Ordinary shares issued to initial shareholder (1)			4,312,500				431				24,569				-				25,000
Net loss			-				-				-				(9,321	)			(9,321	)
Balance – March 2, 2015			4,312,500			$	431			$	24,569			$	(9,321	)		$	15,679

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes an aggregate of 562,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

Statement of Cash Flows

For the period from January 28, 2015 (inception) through March 2, 2015

 

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net loss		$	(9,321	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accrued expenses			8,000
Net cash used in operating activities			(1,321	)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares to initial shareholder			25,000
Proceeds from advances from related party			1,321
Proceeds from promissory notes - related parties			100,000
Net cash provided by financing activities			126,321
Net Change in Cash and Cash Equivalents			125,000
Cash and Cash Equivalents – Beginning			-
Cash and Cash Equivalents – Ending		$	125,000
Non-cash investing and financing activities:
Offering costs included in accrued offering costs		$	232,000
Payment of offering costs through advance from related party		$	15,000

 

 

 

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

 

GP Investments Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a newly organized blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on January 28, 2015. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses that the Company has not yet identified (“Business Combination”).

 

At March 2, 2015, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity through March 2, 2015 related to the Company’s formation and its Proposed Offering, which is described below. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

 

The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 15,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 17,250,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Units”), which is discussed in Note 3 (the “Proposed Offering”) and the sale of 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,062,500 warrants, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement to the Company’s sponsor, GPIC, Ltd, a Bermuda company (“Sponsor”), that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Offering. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of its Proposed Offering and 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 successfully effect a Business Combination. Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering, including the proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3) and (c)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the 1940 Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

 

The Company will provide its shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares included in the Units sold in the Proposed Offering (the “Public Shares”) upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The per-share price of the Public Shares to be redeemed, payable in cash, will be equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its income and franchise tax obligations, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per share. The per-share amount to be distributed to shareholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The ordinary shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” However, in no event will the Company redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. The Company’s initial shareholder has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its founder shares (as defined in Note 5) and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal 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 shareholder approval, it will complete a Business Combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholder has agreed to vote its founder shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Offering in favor of a Business Combination. Additionally, each shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

If the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions in connection with a Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the 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% of the shares sold in the Proposed Offering (“Excess Shares”). However, the Company would not be restricting the shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against a Business Combination.

 

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its income and franchise 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 shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of the laws of the Cayman Islands and 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 with the Combination Period.

 

The initial shareholder has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to its founder shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination during the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholder acquires Public Shares in or after the Proposed Offering, it will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. 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 vendor 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. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of the Proposed 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.

 

Going Concern Consideration

 

At March 2, 2015, the Company had $125,000 in cash and a working capital deficit of $231,321. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital will be successful. On March 2, 2015, the Sponsor loaned the Company $100,000 to be used, in part, for transaction costs incurred in connection with the Proposed Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of December 31, 2015 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of presentation

 

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars 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

 

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. 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.

 

Use of estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

 

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

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of March 2, 2015.

 

Deferred offering costs

 

Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to shareholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering. Should the Proposed Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.

 

Income taxes

 

The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

 

ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of March 2, 2015, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. 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.

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The Company may be subject to potential examination by U.S. federal, U.S. states or foreign jurisdiction authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with U.S. federal, U.S. state and foreign tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

 

Net loss per share

 

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the initial shareholder. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 562,500 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 7). At March 2, 2015, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods presented.

 

Concentration of credit risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. At March 2, 2015, the Company had not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

 

Fair value of financial instruments

 

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

 

Recently issued accounting standards

 

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, “Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern” (“ASU 2014-15”). ASU 2014-15 provides guidance on management’s responsibility in evaluating whether there is substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern and about related footnote disclosures. For each reporting period, management will be required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date the financial statements are issued. The amendments in ASU 2014-15 are effective for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. The Company will adopt the methodologies prescribed by ASU 2014-15 by the date required, and does not anticipate that the adoption of ASU 2014-15 will have a material effect on its financial position or results of operations.

 

Subsequent events

 

The Company evaluates subsequent events and transactions that occur after the balance sheet date up to March 13, 2015, the date that the financial statements were issued. Any material events that occur between the balance sheet date and the date that the financial statements were available for issuance are disclosed as subsequent events, while the financial statements are adjusted to reflect any conditions that existed at the balance sheet date. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any recognized or non-recognized subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 3. PROPOSED OFFERING

 

Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 15,000,000 Units (or 17,250,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one ordinary share and one-half of one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share (see Note 7).

 

NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT

 

The Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 6,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant ($5,500,000 in the aggregate, or $6,062,500 in the aggregate if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the consummation of the Proposed Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share. The purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Private Placement Warrants.

 

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

Founders Shares

 

On March 2, 2015, the Company issued 4,312,500 ordinary shares to GPIAC, LLC, a company whose sole member is the Sponsor (the “founder shares”), for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. The founder shares are identical to the Public Shares included in the Units being sold in the Proposed Offering, except that (1) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, and (2) the initial shareholder has agreed (i) to waive its redemption rights with respect to its founder shares and Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Offering in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to its founder shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. Up to 562,500 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by the initial shareholder (or its permitted transferees) on a pro rata basis depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment is exercised.

 

The founder shares may not be transferred, assigned or sold until one year after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier if, subsequent to a Business Combination, (i) the last sale price of the Company’s ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination or (ii) the Company consummates a subsequent liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Lock-Up Period”).

 

Related Party Advances

 

As of March 2, 2015, the Sponsor advanced an aggregate of $16,321 directly to management and a Company’s vendor for costs associated with the Proposed Offering. The advances are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand.

 

Promissory Note – Related Party

 

On March 2, 2015, the Sponsor loaned the Company $100,000, a portion of which is to be used for the payment of costs associated with the Proposed Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of December 31, 2015 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. The Company intends to repay the loan from the proceeds of the Proposed Offering not being placed in the Trust Account.

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS & CONTINGENCIES

 

Related Party Loans

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors 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 held in 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 the working capital 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. Up to $1,000,000 of Working Capital Loans may be convertible into 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. The terms of such Working Capital Loans by the officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to the Working Capital Loans.

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Offering. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not 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.

 

Underwriters Agreement

 

The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional Units to cover the over-allotment at the Proposed Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

The underwriter will be entitled to an underwriting discount of 6.0%, of which two and one-half percent (2.5%) will be paid in cash at the closing of the Proposed Offering, including any amounts raised pursuant to the over-allotment option, and up to three and one-half percent (3.5%) will be deferred. The deferred fee includes 0.5% that may be granted to the underwriter at the Company’s sole discretion, as determined at the time of the Proposed Offering. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

 

Administrative Service Fee

 

The Company, commencing on the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Proposed Public Offering, has agreed to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for general and administrative services.

 

NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

 

Preferred Shares – The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 preferred shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share in one or more series. The Company’s board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. At March 2, 2015, there are no preferred shares designated, issued or outstanding.

 

Ordinary Shares – The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At March 2, 2015, there were 4,312,500 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which 562,500 shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full so that the Company’s initial shareholder will own 20% of the issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering (assuming the initial shareholder does not purchaser any Public Shares in the Proposed Offering).

 

 

GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.

 

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Warrants – Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of ordinary shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public 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 Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a Public 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 a “cashless basis” and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

 

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Proposed Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or such purchasers’ permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or such purchasers’ 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.

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

 

·

in whole and not in part;

·

at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

·

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and

·

if, and only if, the last sale price of the Company’s ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on a the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

 

The Company will not redeem the Public Warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the Public Warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it 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, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering their Public Warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares underlying the Public Warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the Public Warrants and the “fair market value” by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Public Warrants.

 

The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless. 

 

 

 

 

 

15,000,000 Units

 

GP Investments Acquisition Corp.

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

, 2015

 

 

Citigroup

I-Bankers Securities, Inc.

 

Until        , 2015 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

 

PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

 

The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:

 

SEC expenses			20,045
FINRA expenses			26,375
Accounting fees and expenses			50,000
Printing and engraving expenses			55,000
Travel and road show expenses			20,000
Directors & Officers liability insurance premiums (1)			100,000
Legal fees and expenses			275,000
NASDAQ listing and filing fees			75,000
Miscellaneous			100,000
Total			721,420

 

 

(1) This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes a business combination.

 

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

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

 

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

 

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

 

On March 2, 2015, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,312,500 ordinary shares, for an aggregate offering price of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share. The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail in this prospectus, and (ii) our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

 

Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D under the Securities Act.

 

In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or 6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $5,500,000 (or $6,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. These issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

 

 

No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.

 

Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

 

(a)

The Exhibits Index appearing after the signature page is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Item 17. Undertakings.

 

(a)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1)    To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i)    To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

 

(iii)  To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

 

(2)    That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3)    To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4)    That for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933 in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i)    Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii)   Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

(iii)  The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv)   Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

(5)    That for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

 

 

(b)

The undersigned hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

 

(c)

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

(d)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

(1)

For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

(2)

For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, New York on the 8th of May, 2015

 

	GP INVESTMENTS ACQUISITION CORP.
	By:	/s/ Antonio Bonchristiano
		Antonio Bonchristiano
		Chief Executive Officer; Chief Financial Officer
		(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

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

 

Name		Position		Date
/s/ Antonio Bonchristiano
Antonio Bonchristiano		Chief Executive Officer; Chief Financial Officer		May 8, 2015
		(Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer); Director
*
Fersen Lambranho		Chairman		May 8, 2015

 

* Executed by Antonio Bonchristiano, as attorney-in-fact

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

  

Exhibit No.		Description
1.1		Form of Underwriting Agreement.
3.2		Form of Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.**
4.1		Specimen Unit Certificate.**
4.2		Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate.**
4.3		Specimen Warrant Certificate.**
4.4		Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company  and the Registrant.
5.1		Form of Opinion of Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands Counsel to the Registrant.**
5.2		Form of Opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.**
10.1		Securities Subscription Agreement, dated March 2, 2015, between the Registrant and GPIAC, LLC.**
10.2		Promissory Note, dated March 2, 2015 issued to GPIC, Ltd.**
10.3		Form of Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and GPIC, Ltd.**
10.4		Form of Insider Letter among the Registrant, and our officers, directors and GPIC, Ltd.**
10.5		Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.**
10.6		Form of Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant and certain security holders.**
10.7		Form of Administrative Services Agreement by and between the Registrant and an affiliate of GPIC, Ltd.**
10.8		Form of Securities Escrow Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.**
14		Form of Code of Ethics.**
23.1		Consent of Marcum LLP.
23.2		Consent of Maples and Calder (included in Exhibit 5.1).**
23.3		Consent of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (included in Exhibit 5.2).**
24		Power of Attorney (included on Signature Page).**
99.1		Consent of Fernando d’Ornellas Silva**
99.2		Consent of Christopher Brotchie**
99,3		Consent of Jaime Szulc**
99.4		Form of Audit Committee Charter.**
99.5		Form of Compensation Committee Charter.**

 

	*	To be filed by amendment.
	**	Previously filed.