Overview
We are a blank check company
incorporated as a Delaware corporation 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. We have generated no operating revenues
to date, and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination.
We have concentrated our
efforts in identifying businesses which provide technological services to the financial services industry, with particular emphasis
on businesses that provide data processing, storage and transmission services, data bases and payment processing services. We have
sought to acquire established businesses that we believe are fundamentally sound but potentially in need of financial, operational,
strategic or managerial redirection to maximize value. We do not intend to acquire start-up companies, companies with speculative
business plans or companies that are excessively leveraged.
At December 31, 2020,
we had not yet commenced operations. All activity through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and its initial
public offering, and identifying a target company for our initial business combination.
The registration statement
for our initial public offering was declared effective on December 3, 2020. On December 8, 2020, we consummated the initial public
offering of 25,000,000 units generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000.
Simultaneously with the
closing of the initial public offering, we consummated the sale of 640,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private
placement to our sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $6,400,000.
Following the closing
of the initial public offering on December 8, 2020, an amount of $250,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale
of the units in the initial public offering and the placement units was placed in a 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 “Investment
Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under
the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until
the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares in connection with a stockholder
vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem
100% of our public shares if we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the consummation of the initial public
offering; or (iii) the distribution of the trust account, if we are unable to complete a business combination within the combination
period or upon any earlier liquidation of us.
The Merger Agreement
On March 16, 2021, the
Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) among eToro Group Ltd., a company organized
under the laws of the British Virgin Islands (“eToro”), Buttonwood Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and a direct,
wholly-owned subsidiary of eToro (“Merger Sub”), and the Company, which provides for, among other things, the merger
of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
eToro (the “Business Combination”). At the closing of the Business Combination and the effective time of the Merger
(the “Effective Time”), the stockholders of the Company will receive certain of the common shares, no par value, of
eToro (“eToro Common Shares”), and eToro will list as a publicly traded company on Nasdaq and will continue to conduct
the social trading platform business conducted by eToro prior to the Business Combination.
The Business Combination
contemplates an implied enterprise valuation of eToro of approximately $9.6 billion at the time of the signing of the Merger Agreement.
Except with respect to the Price Adjustment Rights (as defined below), no purchase price adjustments will be made in connection
with the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Assuming no public shares are redeemed in connection
with the Business Combination, immediately following the Effective Time, the Company’s public stockholders will own approximately
2.4% of the eToro Common Shares; our sponsor will own approximately 0.8% of the eToro Common Shares; the shareholders of eToro
as of immediately prior to the Business Combination (the “Legacy eToro Shareholders”) will own approximately 91% of
the eToro Common Shares; and the PIPE Investors (as defined below) will own approximately 6.2% of the eToro Common Shares. The
pro forma ownership percentages described in the foregoing sentence exclude the Company’s public warrants and the eToro Common
Shares underlying the Price Adjustment Rights. As further described under “Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement”
and “Lock-Up Agreement” below, all of the eToro Common Shares to be issued to our sponsor in the Business Combination
will be subject to contractual restrictions on transfer and only released upon the occurrence of certain time-based, stock-price
performance or other events.
Immediately prior to the
Effective Time, subject to the receipt of applicable approvals of eToro shareholders, (i) each outstanding preferred share of eToro
(“eToro Preferred Shares”) will be converted into eToro Common Shares in accordance with, and based on the applicable
conversion ratio set forth in, the memorandum and articles of association of eToro (the “Conversion”), (ii) immediately
following the Conversion, all outstanding eToro Common Shares, and all eToro Common Shares underlying vested options to acquire
eToro Common Shares (“Vested Options”), will be reclassified into (together, the “Reclassification”) (x)
eToro Common Shares and (y) certain rights to receive, without any further action required by the holders of such rights, in the
aggregate, up to an additional 40,000,000 eToro Common Shares, 50% of which will automatically vest and be exercised if, at any
time on or prior to the last day of the 30th month following the Closing Date (as defined below), the stock price of the eToro
Common Shares is greater than or equal to $15.00 over any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period, and 50% which will
automatically vest and be exercised if, at any time on or prior to the last day of the 60th month following the Closing Date, the
stock price of the eToro Common Shares is greater than or equal to $17.50 over any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period,
subject in either case to the earlier automatic vesting and exercise immediately prior to the occurrence of a liquidation, merger,
capital stock exchange, or other similar transaction that results in all of eToro’s shareholders having the right to exchange
their eToro Common Shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Price Adjustment Rights”), and (iii) immediately
following the Reclassification, eToro will effect a stock split of each then-outstanding eToro Common Share and each eToro Common
Share underlying any outstanding options to acquire eToro Common Shares, whether vested or unvested (“eToro Options”),
into such number of eToro Common Shares determined by multiplying such eToro Common Shares by a “Split Factor” that
is equal to the result of (A) $9,301,000,000 divided by (B) the total number of issued and outstanding eToro Common Shares, plus
the total number of eToro Common Shares underlying any outstanding eToro options to acquire eToro Common Shares, with the result
of such calculation divided by (C) $10.00, all as further described in and as calculated in accordance with the Merger Agreement
(the “Stock Split” and, together with the Conversion and the Reclassification, the “Capital Restructuring”).
As part of the Business Combination and on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, eToro may
in its discretion elect to commence a self-tender offer (“Self-Tender Offer”) to purchase up to $300,000,000 in eToro
Common Shares from the Legacy eToro Shareholders, such purchase in such Self-Tender Offer to be consummated, if elected, immediately
prior to the closing of the Business Combination.
At the Effective Time,
(i) each share of Company Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (after giving effect
to any redemptions by the Company’s public stockholders), by virtue of the Merger and upon the terms and subject to the conditions
set forth in the Merger Agreement, will be converted into and will for all purposes represent only the right to receive one eToro
Common Share (the “Per Share Merger Consideration”), (ii) after giving effect to the Sponsor Forfeiture (as defined
below), each share of Company Class B common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, by virtue of
the Merger and upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Agreement, will be converted into and will for all
purposes represent only the right to receive the Per Share Merger Consideration (the aggregate number of eToro Common Shares into
which shares of Company Class A common stock and Company Class B common stock are converted into pursuant to the Merger Agreement,
the “Merger Consideration”) and (iii) all of the shares of Company Class A common stock and Company Class B common
stock converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration will no longer be outstanding and will cease to exist, and each
holder of any shares of Company Class A common stock or Company Class B common stock will thereafter cease to have any rights with
respect to such securities, except the right to receive the applicable portion of the Merger Consideration. The Merger Consideration
does not include any, or any rights to receive any consideration in respect of, the Price Adjustment Rights.
After giving effect to
the Sponsor Forfeiture, the Company’s outstanding warrants to purchase one share of Company Class A common stock shall be
converted into the right to receive an equal number of warrants to purchase one eToro Common Share (“eToro Warrants”).
The Merger Agreement provides
that in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, eToro will adopt a 2021 Share Incentive Plan (the “Plan”),
pursuant to which service providers will be provided incentive equity opportunities in support of eToro’s business following
the closing of the Business Combination. The number of eToro Common Shares to be reserved for issuance under the Plan will be equal
to (i) 3% of the total outstanding number of eToro Common Share as of immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination,
calculated on a fully-diluted basis including all equity awards, warrants and other convertible securities outstanding as of such
time, and the aggregate maximum number of eToro Common Shares underlying outstanding Price Adjustment Rights, plus (ii) an annual
increase equal to the lesser of 3% of the aggregate number of eToro Common Shares outstanding and the number of eToro Common Shares
determined for such purpose by the board of directors of eToro.
Consummation of the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement is subject to customary mutual conditions of the respective parties. The Merger Agreement
may be terminated at any time prior to the consummation of the Business Combination by mutual written consent of the Company and
eToro and in certain other limited circumstances, including if the closing of the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement
has not occurred by December 31, 2021. The Merger Agreement has been approved by the Company’s board of directors, and the
board has recommended that the Company’s stockholders adopt the Merger Agreement and approve the Business Combination.
Sponsor Commitment Letter
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor and Cohen Sponsor Interests
V, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (together, the “Sponsor Group”), entered into and delivered to eToro a
letter agreement (the “Sponsor Commitment Letter”) by which (i) the Sponsor Group and eToro acknowledge that the Sponsor
Group may, directly or through affiliates, make open market purchases of Company Class A common stock prior to the Effective Time
in an amount of up to $27,500,000, and (ii) the Sponsor Group will, directly or through affiliates, and contingent upon the satisfaction
of the conditions precedent to the Business Combination set forth in the Merger Agreement, purchase, or cause the purchase of,
eToro Common Shares at $10.00 per share and at an aggregate cash purchase price equal to the amount paid, or required to be paid,
by the Company to redeem any Company Class A common stock in excess of 1,250,000 shares of Company Class A common stock, with such
purchases to occur at the time of the closing of the Business Combination (after the Capital Restructuring) (the “Sponsor
Commitment”); provided that the amount paid by the Sponsor Group to acquire eToro Common Shares under the
transaction described in clause (ii) shall be reduced by the aggregate amount of documented open market purchases of Company Class
A common stock prior to the Effective Time effected by Sponsor Group directly or through affiliates.
Voting Agreements
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor (each, a “Voting Party”
and together, the “Voting Parties”) entered into a Voting Agreement with eToro (the “FTV Voting Agreement”),
pursuant to which each Voting Party agreed to (i) (whether at a special meeting of the Company’s stockholders or by action
by written consent), among other things, vote all of their shares of Company common stock beneficially owned or held by such Voting
Party (together, the “Voting Shares”) in favor of the Merger Agreement, the Merger and related transactions, and (ii)
vote against any action or proposal (a) concerning any other business combination involving the Company (other than by eToro or
its affiliates), (b) that could reasonably be expected to result in a breach of any covenant or obligation of the Company in the
Merger Agreement or in any representation or warranty of the Company set forth therein becoming inaccurate, and (c) that could
reasonably be expected to impede, interfere with, delay, discourage, adversely affect or inhibit the timely consummation of the
Merger or the fulfillment of the Company’s conditions under the Merger Agreement or change in any manner the voting rights
of any class of the Company’s shares. In addition, the FTV Voting Agreement requires each Voting Party to refrain from taking
actions that would adversely affect such Voting Party’s ability to perform its obligations under such agreement, and provides
a proxy to certain officers of the Company to vote such Voting Party’s Voting Shares (or act by written consent in respect
of such shares) accordingly. The FTV Voting Agreement also requires the Voting Parties to (i) take such actions as are necessary
to terminate that certain Registration Rights Agreement dated as of December 3, 2020, by and among the Company and the Voting Parties,
(ii) waive any dissenters’ or appraisal rights, (iii) not participate in any claim against the Company relating in any manner
to the Merger Agreement or the Merger, and (iv) refrain from exercising any redemption rights in respect of the Voting Shares or
making any public statements with the intent to encourage any Company stockholder to exercise any such rights. In addition, each
of the Voting Parties agreed not to transfer, directly or indirectly, any of their Voting Shares until the earlier of the Effective
Time and the date on which the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms, subject to certain exceptions described
in the FTV Voting Agreement.
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, certain directors and officers and all 5% shareholders of eToro (each, an “eToro
Voting Party” and together, the “eToro Voting Parties”) entered into a voting agreement with the Company (the
“eToro Voting Agreement”). Under the eToro Voting Agreement, each eToro Voting Party agreed to (i) (whether at a special
meeting of eToro’s shareholders or by action by written consent), among other things, vote all of their shares of eToro capital
stock beneficially owned or held by such eToro Voting Party (as applicable, and together, the “eToro Voting Shares”)
in favor of the Merger Agreement, the Merger and related transactions (including the Capital Restructuring and the Self-Tender
Offer), and (ii) vote against any action or proposal (a) concerning any other business combination involving eToro (other than
by the Company or its affiliates), (b) that could reasonably be expected to result in a breach of any covenant or obligation of
eToro in the Merger Agreement or in any representation or warranty of eToro set forth therein becoming inaccurate, and (c) that
could reasonably be expected to impede, interfere with, delay, discourage, adversely affect or inhibit the timely consummation
of the Merger or the fulfillment of eToro’s conditions under the Merger Agreement or change in any manner the voting rights
of any class of eToro’s shares. In addition, the eToro Voting Agreement requires each eToro Voting Party to refrain from
taking actions that would adversely affect such eToro Voting Party’s ability to perform its obligations under such agreement,
and provides a proxy to certain officers of eToro to vote such eToro Voting Party’s eToro Voting Shares (or act by written
consent in respect of such shares) accordingly. The eToro Voting Agreement also requires the eToro Voting Parties to (i) waive
any dissenters’ or appraisal rights, (ii) not participate in any claim against eToro relating in any manner to the Merger
Agreement, the Merger, the Capital Restructuring or Self-Tender Offer and (iii) refrain from exercising any registration or other
rights in respect of the eToro Voting Shares. In addition, each of the eToro Voting Parties agreed not to transfer, directly or
indirectly, any of their eToro Voting Shares until the earlier of the Effective Time and the date on which the Merger Agreement
is terminated in accordance with its terms, subject to certain exceptions described in the eToro Voting Agreement.
Lock-Up Agreement
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, eToro, certain of the officers and directors
of eToro (the “eToro Management Holders”), and our sponsor entered into and delivered a Lock-Up Agreement (the “Lock-Up
Agreement”), pursuant to which (i) the eToro Management Holders have agreed not to transfer any eToro Common Shares held
by them (“Management Holders Lock-Up Shares”) until 180 days following the Closing Date, subject to early release
if the stock price of the eToro Common Shares exceeds $12.50 for any 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading day period,
and (ii) our sponsor has agreed not to transfer any eToro Common Shares acquired by it as Merger Consideration (“Sponsor
Lock-Up Shares”, and together with the Management Holders Lock-Up Shares, the “Lock-Up Shares”) until the date
of the first to occur of one (1) year following the Closing Date, subject to early release if the stock price of the eToro Common
Shares exceeds $12.50 for any 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading day period (as further described therein, but
in any event not prior to the date that is one hundred and eighty (180) days after the Closing Date), in each case subject to
certain permitted transfers (provided that such permitted transferees agree to be bound by the same transfer restrictions set
forth in the Lock-Up Agreement). The foregoing restrictions on transfer of the Lock-up Shares will terminate and no longer be
applicable on the first to occur of (x) the five (5) year anniversary of the Closing Date, (y) the date on which eToro completes
a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, or other similar transaction that results in all of eToro’s shareholders
having the right to exchange their eToro Common Shares for cash, securities or other property, and (z) the date all of the Lock-Up
Shares are no longer subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in the Lock-Up Agreement. On or prior to (A) December 1, 2021,
if the Closing Date occurs on or prior to November 30, 2021, (B) the close of the Trading Day on the Closing Date, if the Closing
Date occurs during the month of December 2021 and (C) June 30, 2022, if the Closing Date occurs after December 31, 2021, the Sponsor
may cause a portion of the Sponsor Lock-Up Shares be released from foregoing restrictions on transfer of the Sponsor’s Lock-up
Shares (such portion, the “Early Release Shares”) by delivering to eToro a written notice requesting such release
for a legitimate business purpose in connection with the Merger in respect of such release.
The eToro Common Shares
held by all other significant eToro stockholders that are not a party to the Lock-Up Agreement will be subject to the same transfer
restrictions applicable to the Management Holders Lock-Up Shares pursuant to amendments to existing stockholder agreements to
which those stockholders are a party that were executed concurrently with the Merger Agreement and a formal resolution by the
eToro board of directors interpreting the terms of eToro’s 2007 employee stock ownership plan.
Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, in support of the Business Combination, our sponsor, the Company, eToro and the
other persons party to that certain letter agreement dated December 3, 2020, with the Company (the “Insider Letter”),
have entered into and delivered a Sponsor Share Surrender and Share Restriction Agreement (the “Sponsor Surrender and Restriction
Agreement”), which provides that (i) our sponsor will upon the Effective Time, immediately prior to the consummation of the
Business Combination, surrender to the Company, for no consideration, (a) 15% of the shares of Company Class B common stock held
by our sponsor (the “Surrendered Shares”) and (b) 100% of the private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of
213,333 shares of our common stock held by our sponsor (the “Surrendered Warrants”), and such Surrendered Shares and
Surrendered Warrants shall be canceled and no longer outstanding (the “Sponsor Forfeiture”), (ii) if more than 20%
of the Company Class A common stock (the “Redemption Floor”) is submitted for redemption, then our sponsor will upon
the Effective Time, immediately prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, surrender to the Company, for no consideration,
a number of shares of Company Class B common stock as is equal to one percent (1%) of the number of shares of Company Class B common
stock outstanding on the date of signing of the Merger Agreement for every additional one percent (1%) of the number of shares
of Company Class A common stock being redeemed in excess of the Redemption Floor, and (iii) 75% of the number of eToro Common Shares
held by our sponsor immediately after giving effect to the Business Combination will be subject to transfer restrictions (in addition,
and subject, to those provided by the Lock-Up Agreement) based on certain closing share price thresholds of the eToro Common Shares
for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days, subject to certain permitted transfers (provided that such permitted transferees
agree to be bound by the same transfer restrictions set forth in the Sponsor Surrender and Restriction Agreement) and early release
of the Early Release Shares, in each case as described therein.
Registration Rights Agreement
The Merger Agreement contemplates
that, at the Effective Time, eToro, the Company, our sponsor and certain Legacy eToro Shareholders will enter into a Registration
Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which eToro will agree to file a shelf registration
statement, by no later than (i) ten (10) business days following the Closing Date, if the Closing Date occurs on or before September
30, 2021 or (ii) five (5) business days following the Closing Date, if the Closing date occurs after September 30, 2021, to register
the resale of the eToro Common Shares and eToro Warrants held by our sponsor and the Legacy eToro Shareholders party thereto as
of the Closing Date. The Registration Rights Agreement also provides our sponsor with one (1) demand right to conduct an underwritten
offering of the Early Release Shares, subject to certain limitations set forth in the Registration Rights Agreement. From time
to time, the Company may admit additional parties to the Registration Rights Agreement and register their securities on a shelf
registration statement. In addition, in connection with the execution of the Registration Rights Agreement, the existing registration
rights agreement of the Company, dated December 3, 2020 will automatically terminate and be of no further force and effect. The
Registration Rights Agreement also provides that eToro will pay certain expenses relating to such registrations and indemnify the
securityholders party thereto against certain liabilities.
PIPE Subscription Agreements
Concurrently with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, eToro entered into subscription agreements (the “PIPE Subscription Agreements”)
with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”), including an affiliate of our sponsor, pursuant to which the PIPE Investors
have committed to subscribe for and purchase up to 65,000,000 shares of eToro Common Shares at a purchase price per share of $10.00,
for an aggregate purchase price of $650,000,000 (the “PIPE Investment”).
The PIPE Subscription
Agreements provide for certain registration rights. In particular, eToro is required to, as soon as practicable but no later than
30 days following the Closing Date, submit to or file with the SEC a registration statement registering the resale of such shares.
Additionally, eToro is required to use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the registration statement declared effective
as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, but no later than the earlier of (i) the 60th calendar day following the filing
date thereof, (ii) the first anniversary of the date of the PIPE Subscription Agreements and (iii) the 5th business day after the
date eToro is notified (orally or in writing, whichever is earlier) by the SEC that the registration statement will not be “reviewed”
or will not be subject to further review. eToro must use commercially reasonable efforts to keep the registration statement effective
until the earliest of: (x) the date the PIPE Investors no longer hold any registrable shares, (y) the date all registrable shares
held by the PIPE Investors may be sold without restriction under Rule 144 under the Securities Act and (z) three (3) years from
the date of effectiveness of such registration statement.
Business Combination Structure
We anticipate structuring
our initial business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interest or assets of the target business or businesses.
Nasdaq rules require
that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal
to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest
earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market
value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors. If our board of directors is not able to independently
determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment
banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
Business Strategy
We will seek to capitalize
on the significant financial services, financial technology and banking experience and contacts of Daniel G. Cohen, our Chief Executive
Officer, Betsy Z. Cohen, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, James J. McEntee, III, our President, and our board of directors
to identify, evaluate, acquire and operate a financial technology business. If we elect to pursue an investment outside of the
financial technology industry, our management’s expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its
evaluation or operation, and the information regarding that industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business
that we elect to acquire.
Several members of our
management team, including our Chairman, served as executive officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp., or FinTech
I, a former blank check company which raised $100.0 million in its initial public offering in February 2015 and completed
its initial business combination when it acquired FTS Holding Corporation in July 2016, which we refer to as the FinTech I
Acquisition. Several members of our management team also served as executive officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp.
II, or FinTech II, a blank check company which raised $175.0 million in its initial public offering in January 2017 and
completed its initial business combination when it acquired Intermex Holdings II in July 2018, which we refer to as the FinTech
II Acquisition, in connection with which FinTech II changed its name to International Money Express, Inc. The common stock of International
Money Express, Inc. is currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “IMXI.” Certain members of our
management team served as executive officers and/or directors of FinTech Acquisition Corp. III, or FinTech III, a blank check
company which raised $345.0 million in its initial public offering in November 2018 and completed its initial business combination
with Paya, Inc. in October 2020, which we refer to as the FinTech III Acquisition. The common stock of Paya Holdings,
Inc. is currently traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “PAYA.” Additionally, members of our board
of directors and management team also currently serve as executive officers, directors and/or advisors of: FTAC Olympus Acquisition
Corp. (NASDAQ: FTOC), or FTAC Olympus, a blank check company which raised $754.7 million in its initial public offering in
August 2020; FinTech Acquisition Corp. IV (NASDAQ: FTIV), or FinTech IV, a blank check company which raised $230.0 million
in its initial public offering in September 2020; FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: FTAA), or FTAC Athena, a blank check
company which raised $250.0 million in its initial public offering in February 2021; FTAC Hera Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:
HERA), or FTAC Hera, a blank check company which raised approximately $850 million in its initial public offering in March
2021; FTAC Parnassus Acquisition Corp., or FTAC Parnassus, a blank check company currently in registration with the SEC; FinTech
Acquisition Corp. VI, or FinTech VI, a blank check company currently in registration with the SEC; INSU Acquisition Corp. IV, or
INSU IV, a blank check company currently in registration with the SEC; and FTAC Zeus Acquisition Corp., or FTAC Zeus, a blank check
company currently in registration with the SEC. We believe that potential sellers of target businesses will view the fact that
members of our board of directors and management team have successfully closed multiple business combinations with vehicles similar
to our company as a positive factor in considering whether or not to enter into a business combination with us. However, past performance
is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate.
Daniel G. Cohen, our Chief
Executive Officer, Betsy Z. Cohen, our Chairman of the Board, and James J. McEntee, III, our President, have extensive experience
in the financial services industry generally, and the financial technology industry in particular, as well as extensive experience
in operating financial services companies in a public company environment.
Mr. Cohen, with over 22 years
of experience in financial services and financial technology, is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers
of Cohen & Company, LLC, and serves as the President and Chief Executive of the European Business of Cohen and Company,
Inc. (NYSE American: COHN), a financial services company with approximately $2.65 billion in assets under management as of September
30, 2020, and as President, a director and the Chief Investment Officer of Cohen and Company Inc.’s indirect majority owned
subsidiary, Cohen & Company Financial Limited (formerly known as EuroDekania Management Limited), a Financial Conduct
Authority regulated investment advisor and broker dealer focusing on the European capital markets (“CCFL”). Mr. Cohen
previously served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC. Mr.
Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Cohen and Company, Inc. from December 2009 to
September 2013 and as the Chairman of the Board of Directors from October 2006 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served
as the executive Chairman of Cohen and Company, Inc. from October 2006 to December 2009. In addition, Mr. Cohen served
as the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Cohen & Company, LLC from 2001 to September 2013, as the Chief Investment
Officer of Cohen & Company, LLC from October 2008 to September 2013, and as Chief Executive Officer of Cohen &
Company, LLC from December 2009 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J.V.B.
Financial Group, LLC (formerly C&Co/PrinceRidge Partners LLC), the Company’s indirect broker dealer subsidiary (“JVB”),
from July 2012 to September 2013. Mr. Cohen is also a founder, the former Chief Executive Officer and the current Chairman
of The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK), which we refer to as Bancorp, a financial holding company with over $6.3 billion of total
assets as of December 31, 2020. Bancorp’s principal subsidiary is The Bancorp Bank, a state chartered bank that provides
a wide range of commercial and retail banking products and services to both regional and national markets. Mr. Cohen currently
serves as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech IV and FinTech VI, as Chief Executive Officer and President of FTAC Hera and as
Chairman of the Board of INSU Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: IIII), or INSU III, INSU IV, FTAC Parnassus and FTAC Zeus. Until October 2020,
Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Executive Officer of FinTech III and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Insurance Acquisition
Corp., or INSU I. Until February 2021, Mr. Cohen served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of INSU Acquisition Corp. II,
or INSU II. Mr. Cohen also served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of FinTech I until the FinTech I
Acquisition, and as Chief Executive Officer and a director of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition. He is also
a past Chief Executive Officer of RAIT Financial Trust, which we refer to as RAIT, formerly a publicly traded real estate finance
company focused on the commercial real estate industry, from December 2006 when it merged with Taberna Realty Finance Trust,
to February 2009, and served as a trustee from the date RAIT acquired Taberna in February 2009 until his resignation
from that position in February 2010. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Cohen served as the Chief Operation Officer of Resource America,
Inc., formerly a publicly traded asset management company with interests in energy, real estate and financial services. Mr. Cohen
was also a past director of Jefferson Bank of Pennsylvania, a commercial bank and subsidiary of JeffBanks, Inc., a publicly traded
bank holding company, which we refer to as JeffBanks, acquired by Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
Ms. Cohen, with over
42 years of experience, was a founder of Bancorp and served as Bancorp’s Chief Executive Officer from September 2000
through December 2014. Ms. Cohen served as Chairman of the board of directors of FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition,
as Chairman of the board of directors of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition, and also served as the Chairman
of the board of directors of FinTech I until the Fintech I Acquisition and, following the FinTech I Acquisition,
served on the post-business combination board of directors until May 2017. She is currently the Chairman of the Board
of FinTech IV, FinTech VI, FTAC Olympus, FTAC Athena and FTAC Hera. Ms. Cohen is also a founder of RAIT and was its Chairman
until December 2010 and its Chief Executive Officer until December 2006. She was also the founder and Chief Executive
Officer of JeffBanks and its subsidiary banks from 1974 until the merger of JeffBanks into Hudson United Bancorp in 1999.
Mr. McEntee, with over
22 years of experience, is a director of Bancorp and The Bancorp Bank, was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Alesco
Financial, an investment firm specializing in credit related fixed income investment, until it merged with Cohen & Company
and was the Chief Operating Officer of Cohen & Company. Mr. McEntee served as President and Chief Financial Officer of
FinTech III until the FinTech III Acquisition, Chief Financial Officer of FinTech II until the FinTech II Acquisition,
and also served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of FinTech I until the Fintech I Acquisition.
He is currently President and Secretary of FinTech IV and FinTech VI.
We have identified the
following criteria that we intend to use in evaluating business transaction opportunities. We expect that no individual criterion
will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular opportunity. Further, any particular business transaction opportunity
which we ultimately determine to pursue may not meet one or more of these criteria:
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History of free cash flow generation. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have a history of, or potential for, strong, stable free cash flow generation, with predictable and recurring revenue streams.
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Strong management team. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have strong, experienced management teams or those that provide a platform for us to assemble an effective and experienced management team. We have focused on management teams with a proven track record of driving revenue growth, enhancing profitability and creating value for their stockholders.
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Opportunities for add-on acquisitions. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that we can grow both organically and through acquisitions. In addition, we believe that our ability to source proprietary opportunities and execute transactions will help the business we acquire grow through acquisition, and thus serve as a platform for further add-on acquisitions.
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Defensible business niche. We have sought to acquire on one or more businesses or assets that have a leading or niche market position and that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to create barriers to entry against new competitors. We anticipate that these barriers to entry will enhance the ability of these businesses or assets to generate strong profitability and free cash flow.
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Diversified customer and supplier base. We have sought to acquire one or more businesses or assets that have a diversified customer and supplier base, which are generally better able to endure economic downturns, industry consolidation, changing business preferences and other factors that may negatively impact their customers, suppliers and competitors.
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Competitive Strengths
We believe we have the
following competitive strengths:
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Management Operating and Investing Experience. Our directors and executive officers have significant experience in the financial services and financial technology industries. Daniel G. Cohen, with over 22 years’ experience in the financial services industry, is a founder of Bancorp, the Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of an investment bank and is an affiliate of a broker-dealer subsidiary of the investment bank. Betsy Z. Cohen has over 42 years’ experience in the financial services industry and is a founder of and, until her retirement in December 2014, served as chief executive officer of, The Bancorp, Inc., a financial holding company whose banking subsidiary, The Bancorp Bank, provides banking services principally through the internet. James J. McEntee, III, with over 22 years of experience in the financial services industry, is a director of The Bancorp, Inc. and The Bancorp Bank, was previously the Chief Executive Officer of an investment firm specializing in credit related fixed income investment, a managing director of COHN and the Vice-Chairman and Co-Chief Operating Officer of JVB Financial. Additionally, each of Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Cohen and Mr. McEntee served as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech I, FinTech II and FinTech III and currently serves as an executive officer and/or director of FinTech IV and FinTech VI. We believe that this breadth of experience provides us with a competitive advantage in evaluating businesses and acquisition opportunities in our target industry.
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Established Deal Sourcing Network. As a result of their extensive experience in the financial services industry, our management team members have developed a broad array of contacts in the industry. We believe that these contacts will be important in generating acquisition opportunities for us.
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Strong Financial Position and Flexibility. With a trust account initially in the amount of $250,000,000 and a public market for our common stock, we offer a target business a variety of options to facilitate a future business transaction and fund the growth and expansion of business operations. Because we are able to consummate an initial business transaction using our capital stock, debt, cash or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to design an acquisition structure to address the needs of the parties. We have not, however, taken any steps to secure third party financing and would only do so simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business transaction. Accordingly, our flexibility in structuring an initial business transaction may be constrained by our ability to arrange third-party financing, if required.
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Status as a Public Company. We believe our structure makes us an attractive business transaction partner to prospective 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 transaction with us. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock. Once public, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. We believe that being a public company can also augment a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid it in attracting and retaining talented employees.
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Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged
in, and we will not engage in, any operations until our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business
combination using cash from the proceeds of the initial public offering and the private placement, our capital stock, debt or a
combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination.
If we pay for our initial
business combination using stock or debt securities, or we do not use all of the funds released from the trust account for payment
of the purchase price in connection with our business combination or for redemptions or purchases of our common stock, we may apply
the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion
of operations of acquired businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial
business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
While we have not contacted
any of the prospective target businesses that FinTech I, FinTech II or FinTech III had considered and rejected while searching
for target businesses to acquire, we may do so in the future if we become aware that the valuations, operations, profits or prospects
of such target business, or the benefits of any potential transaction with such target business, would be attractive. Accordingly,
there is no current basis for stockholders to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the 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.
Nasdaq rules require that
our initial business combination be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least
80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the
time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. However, if our securities are
not listed on Nasdaq or another securities exchange, we will no longer be subject to that requirement.
We may seek to raise additional
funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities to finance our initial business combination, and we may effectuate
an 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 consummate such financing only simultaneously with the consummation 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 or Nasdaq, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability
to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party
to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities
or otherwise.
Sources of Acquisition Candidates
We anticipate that target
business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, attorneys,
accountants, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds, brokers and other members
of the financial community and corporate executives. These target candidates may present solicited or unsolicited proposals. Such
sources became aware that we were seeking a business combination candidate by a variety of means, including publicly available
information relating to the initial public offering, public relations and marketing efforts or direct contact by management following
the completion of the initial public offering.
Our officers and directors,
as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their
contacts. 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 if 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 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 consummation of our
initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), other than (i) repayment of loans made to us prior
to the date of the initial public offering by our sponsor to cover offering-relating and organization expenses, (ii) repayment
of loans that our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their respective affiliates or other third parties may
make to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination (provided that if we do not consummate
an initial business combination, we may use 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), (iii) payments to our sponsor or its affiliate of a total of
$20,000 per month for office space, utilities, and shared personnel services, (iv) at the closing of our initial business combination,
a customary advisory fee to an affiliate of our sponsor, in an amount that constitutes a market standard advisory fee for comparable
transactions and services provided, and (v) to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigation
and completing an initial business combination. None of the initial holders, our officers, our directors or any entity with which
they are affiliated will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective acquisition
target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. Although some of our officers and directors may
enter into employment or consulting agreements with the acquired business following our initial business combination, the presence
or absence of any such 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 company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or their
affiliates. Additionally, we are not prohibited from partnering, submitting joint bids, or entering into any similar transaction
with such persons in the pursuit of an initial business combination. If we seek to complete an initial business combination with
such a company or we partner with such persons in our pursuit of an initial business combination, we, or a committee of independent
directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting
firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. Generally, such opinion
is rendered to a company’s board of directors and investment banking firms may take the view that stockholders may not rely
on the opinion. Such view will not impact our decision on which investment banking firm to hire.
Unless we consummate our
initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain a financial fairness opinion from an independent
investment banking firm. If we do not obtain such an opinion, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of
directors, who will determine fair market value and fairness based on standards generally accepted by the financial community.
The application of such standards would involve a comparison, from a valuation standpoint, of our business combination target to
comparable public companies, as applicable, and a comparison of our contemplated transaction with such business combination target
to other then-recently announced comparable private and public company transactions, as applicable. The application of such standards
and the basis of our board of directors’ determination will be discussed and disclosed in our tender offer or proxy solicitation
materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Selection of a target business and structuring
of our initial business combination
Nasdaq rules require that
we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets
held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust
account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market
value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally
accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable
public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board
of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an
opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with
respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make
an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less
familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value
of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction
with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility
in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial
business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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 acquire 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 taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. There is no basis for stockholders to evaluate
the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect
our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development
or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate
the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant
risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective
business target, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with
incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as 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 initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result
in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period
of time after consummation 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 consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of
diversification may:
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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
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cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
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Limited ability to evaluate the target’s
management team
Although we closely scrutinize
the management of a prospective target business when evaluating a target 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 or of our board, 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 presently unknown if 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. The determination
as to whether any members of our board of directors 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 team of the target business. We cannot assure
you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge
or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders may not have the ability to
approve a business combination
We may conduct redemptions
without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required
by law or Nasdaq, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below
is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently
required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction
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Whether
Stockholder
Approval is
Required
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Purchase of assets
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No
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Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company
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No
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Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company
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No
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Merger of the company with a target
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Yes
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Under NASDAQ’s listing
rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
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we issue shares of Class A common stock that will
be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;
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any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders
(as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly
or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock
could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
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the issuance or potential issuance of common stock
will result in our undergoing a change of control.
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Permitted purchases of our securities
If we seek stockholder
approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our 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 consummation of our initial business combination, although
as of the date of this Annual Report they have no commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions. None of the
funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares 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. Although they do not currently anticipate paying any premium purchase price for such public
shares, there is no limit on the price they may pay. They may also enter into transactions to provide such holders with incentives
to acquire shares or vote their shares in favor of an initial business combination. Such a purchase may include a contractual
acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof
and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their
affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their
redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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 stockholder
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 the business combination, where it appears that such requirement
would otherwise not be met. This may result in the consummation of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
As a consequence of any
such purchases, the public “float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities
may be reduced, which may make it difficult to obtain the continued listing of our securities on Nasdaq or another national securities
exchange in connection with our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers,
directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom they may pursue privately negotiated
purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders
following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that
our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only
potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account
or vote against the business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares
if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor,
officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will
only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability
for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements
that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or
their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the
Exchange Act.
Redemption rights
for public stockholders upon consummation of our initial business combination
We will provide our stockholders
with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the consummation 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 any amounts representing deferred underwriting
commissions and interest earned on the trust account 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
approximately $10.00 per public share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2020). There will be no redemption
rights upon the consummation of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. The initial holders, our officers
and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and placement shares, as applicable,
(i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares
if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination
by December 8, 2022 or if we liquidate prior to December 8, 2022. The initial holders and our directors and officers have also
agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to public shares in connection with the consummation of a business combination
and in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance
or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December
8, 2022. However, the initial holders and our directors and officers will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any
public shares held by them if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate by December 8, 2022.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public
stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of
our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination
or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder 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 stockholder approval under the law or stock
exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct
mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock
or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure a business
combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to
whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder
vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements
or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for
our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote
is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation:
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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination that will 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.
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Upon the public announcement
of our initial business combination, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase
shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply
with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct
redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance
with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to consummate our initial business combination until the
expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more
than a specified number of public shares, 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 upon completion of our initial business combination
(so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement
which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares
than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete our initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder
approval of the transaction is required by law or Nasdaq, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal
reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
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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
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file proxy materials with the SEC.
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In the event that we seek
stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide
our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder
approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted
are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy
of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of
capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum
and have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial
business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial
stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 26.9% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote
thereon. These quorum and voting thresholds and agreements may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business
combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the
proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible
assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and, in any event, the terms of the proposed
business combination may require our net tangible assets to be greater than $5,000,001. 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. If the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A
common stock that are validly tendered for redemption plus the amount of any cash payments required pursuant to the terms of the
proposed business combination exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not consummate the business combination
or redeem any shares and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on redemption upon consummation
of our initial business combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing,
if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business
combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder,
together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group”
(as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to an more than
aggregate of 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial public offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described
above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their
ability to exercise their redemption rights as a means to force us or management to purchase their shares at a significant premium
to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an
aggregate of 15.0% or more of the shares sold in the initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against
a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or management at a premium to the then-current market
price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15.0% of the shares sold
in the initial public offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small number of stockholders to unreasonably attempt
to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with
a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including
all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial public offering) for or against
our business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection
with redemption rights
We may require our public
stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street
name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents
mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination
in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository
Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. 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 stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have
from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the
vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to
exercise its redemption rights.
There is a nominal cost
associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC
System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to
pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders
seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption
rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different
from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business
combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business
combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating
such holder was seeking to exercise his redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact
such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option
window” after the consummation of the business combination during which he could monitor the price of the company’s
stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he could sell his shares in the open market before actually
delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they
needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the consummation 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 of the
stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivers 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 the initial business
combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption
rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will
promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial business
combination is not consummated, we may continue to try to consummate a business combination with a different target until 24 months
from the completion of the initial public offering.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation
if no initial business combination
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only until December 8, 2022 to complete our initial business combination.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022, we will: (i) cease all operations except for
the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public
shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any
amounts representing interest earned on the trust account not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and
up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption
will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating
distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject
to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations
under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption
rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial
business combination within such completion window.
Our sponsor, officers
and directors have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and
placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022. However, if our sponsor,
officers or directors acquire public shares in or after the initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions
from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination by December 8,
2022.
Our sponsor, executive
officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation that (i) would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our
public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 or (ii) with respect to any other provisions
relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders
with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable
in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the
trust account and not previously released to us to pay our 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 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock”
rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot
satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above) we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption
of our public shares.
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 $1,190,000 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 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 the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, other than the proceeds deposited in the
trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount
received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. 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 stockholders.
We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than the
$10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or
make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided
for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we
cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek
to have all vendors, service providers (except our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm), prospective target businesses
or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind
in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will
execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust
account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well
as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against
our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims
to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only
enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s
engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage
a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or
skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver
or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent
registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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. FinTech
Investor Holdings V, LLC has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than
our independent registered public accountants) 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 to below (i)
$10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation
of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be
withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to
the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the initial public 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third
party claims We have not independently verified whether FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity
obligations and believe that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked
FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that FinTech
Investor Holdings V, LLC would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against
the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00
per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser
amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by
third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the
proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in
the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each
case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to enforce its
indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against
FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot
assure you that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring
to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements
with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. We have access to up
to approximately $1,190,000 from the proceeds of the initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including
costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined
that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable
for claims made by creditors.
Under the DGCL, stockholders
may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution.
The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares if we
do not consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware
law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes
reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought
against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day
waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating
distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the
stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro
rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event
we do not consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware
law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations
for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case
of a liquidation distribution. If we have not consummated our business combination by December 8, 2022, or earlier at the discretion
of our board, 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 any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, less any
interest released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, divided
by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights
as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii)
as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board
of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors
and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably
possible following December 8, 2022 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders
could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our
stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be
complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that
will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the
subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be
limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such
as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained
in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities
with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies
held in the trust account.
As a result of this obligation,
the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability
extending to the trust account is remote. Further, FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC may be liable only to the extent necessary
to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per
public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the
trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our
indemnity of the underwriters of the initial public 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, FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC
will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy
petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account
could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third
parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot
assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition
or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could
be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent
conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore,
our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing
itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing
the claims of creditors.
We cannot assure you that
claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders
will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do
not complete our business combination by December 8, 2022, subject to applicable law, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote
to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation
to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination by December 8, 2022 or (b) with
respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii)
our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our common stock that such
stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this annual report. In no other circumstances will
a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection
with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not
result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder
must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating
and selecting a target business for our business combination, we encounter intense competition from other entities having a business
objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds and operating
businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying
and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial,
technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available
financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore,
our obligation to pay cash to our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights will reduce the resources available
to us for an 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
We currently maintain
our executive offices at 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2870. The cost for our use of this space is included
in the $20,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor or its affiliate for office space, utilities, and shared personnel services.
We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three
executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as
much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of
time they devote in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination
and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to
the consummation of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our
units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that
we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual
reports contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants. The SEC maintains
an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically
with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
We will provide stockholders
with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation
materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will
need to be prepared in accordance with GAAP. We cannot assure you that any particular target business selected by us as a potential
acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will
be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with GAAP. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may
not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not
believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to
evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only
in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer 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.
We are an “emerging
growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible
to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that
are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation
requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic
reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation
and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some stockholders 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
the initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are
deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning
associated with it in the JOBS Act.
You
should consider carefully all of the risks described below, which we believe are the principal risks that we face and of which
we are currently aware, and all of the other information contained in this report. If any of the events or developments described
below occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected.
Risks Relating
to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our public stockholders may not be afforded
an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may consummate our initial business combination even
though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder
vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable
law or the rules of Nasdaq or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by
law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders
to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors,
such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval.
Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the public shares do not approve
of the business combination we consummate.
If we seek stockholder approval of our
initial business combination, our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination,
regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank
check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes
cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed
to vote their founder shares and any placement shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the initial public
offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 26.9% of our outstanding
shares of common stock, including placement shares. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination,
it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our sponsor, officers and
directors agreed to vote their founder shares, placement shares and public shares in accordance with the majority of the votes
cast by our public stockholders.
Your only opportunity to affect the
investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares
from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
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 consummate a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may
not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we
do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination
will be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth
in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders
to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which
may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into
a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum
net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to
meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event
will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion
of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater
net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently,
if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion
of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would
not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination.
Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with
us.
The ability of our public stockholders
to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large amount of our shares may not allow us to consummate the most desirable business
combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into
an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights,
and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted
for redemption. If our 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 amount of the deferred
underwriting commissions payable to the representatives will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with
a business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights
will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held
by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders
to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business
combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
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 stock in the open market; however, at such time
our stock 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 stock in the open market.
The requirement that we consummate a
business combination by December 8, 2022 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 consummate a business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business
with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate our initial business
combination by December 8, 2022. 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 December 8, 2022. 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.
If the net proceeds of the initial public
offering and the sale of the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until
at least December 8, 2022, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders
may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to
us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least December 8, 2022, assuming that our
initial business combination is not completed by that date. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account
will be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least December 8, 2022; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate.
Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with
our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop”
provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping”
around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed
business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement
where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds
(whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due
diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders
may receive only $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances,
our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
If the net proceeds from the initial
public offering and the sale of the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount
available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend
on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our
initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of
the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, only $1,575,611 was available to us as of December 8, 2020 outside
the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. 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 we may be forced to liquidate. None of 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. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor
as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access
to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to 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 stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share
on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders
may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. Please see “— If third parties bring claims
against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders
may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
Our search for a business combination, and any target
business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus
(COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 outbreak has and a significant
outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and
financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination
could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns
relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target
company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely
manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which
are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and
the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters
of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations
of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition,
our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted
by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing
being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
We may not be able to consummate our
initial business combination by December 8, 2022, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding
up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share,
or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022. We may not be
able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by that date. Our ability to complete our
initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets
and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination by December 8, 2022, we will: (i)
cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business
days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit
in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay
our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares,
which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further
liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption,
subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case
to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such
case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances,
our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
If we seek stockholder approval of our
initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from
public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” f
our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder
approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant
to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in the open market
or in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the consummation of our initial business combination, although
they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although
still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption
rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated
transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would
be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares
in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination,
or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount
of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. 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 Class A common stock 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 Nasdaq.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice
of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial 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 initial business combination.
Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable,
such stockholder 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 stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their
shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the
tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial
business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically.
In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. Please see
“Business — Tendering stock certificates in connection with 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 stockholders
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 shares of our Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to
redeem, subject to the limitations described in this report, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection
with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of
our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 or
(b) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity
and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by December 8, 2022,
subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination
by December 8, 2022, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders
for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced
to wait beyond December 8, 2022 before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder
have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell
your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections
normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds
of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination
with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United
States securities laws. However, because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5.0 million upon the completion of the initial
public offering and the sale of the placement units and we filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet
demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as
Rule 419 under the Securities Act. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among
other things, this means our units were immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete a business combination
than would companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the initial public offering was 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 consummation of an initial business combination.
Because of our limited resources and
the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business
combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per
share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to 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. Many of these competitors 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, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition
of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation
gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
Furthermore, because we
are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial
business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business
combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are
unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust
account balance as of December 31, 2020) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain
circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
Subsequent to the consummation of our
initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges
that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could
cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive
due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface 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 stockholders who
choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders
are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If third parties bring claims against
us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be
less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds
in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we seek to have all vendors, service
providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right,
title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders,
such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing
claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or
other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage
with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute
an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives
available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes
that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Making such a request
of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target
businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue. WithumSmith+Brown,
PC, our independent registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held
in the trust account.
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 required 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 stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account due to claims
of such creditors. FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by
a vendor (other than our independent registered public accountants) 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
to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date
of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which
may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver
of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of
the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event
that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC will not be
responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether FinTech Investor
Holdings V, LLC has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC’s
only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to reserve for such indemnification
obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC would be able to satisfy those obligations.
As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business
combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete
our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your
public shares. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors
and prospective target businesses.
Our independent directors may decide
not to enforce the indemnification obligations of FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds
in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the
proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public
share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust
assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC 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 FinTech Investor Holdings V, LLC to enforce its indemnification
obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against FinTech Investor
Holdings V, LLC 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to
satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify
our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any
right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust
account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we
have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify
our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of
their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our
officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore,
a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against
our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds
in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against
us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and 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 stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition
is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor
and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a
bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed
as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims
of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds
in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against
us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and
the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing
the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition
is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law,
and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders.
To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders
in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our stockholders may be held liable
for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders
may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution.
The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the
event we do not consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 may be considered a liquidating distribution under
Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it
makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can
be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional
150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect
to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed
to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However,
it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following December 8, 2022 in the event we do not
consummate our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be
complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that
will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the
10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations
are limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors
(such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section
281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s
pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be
barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be
potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions
received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore,
if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in
the event we do not consummate our initial business combination by December 8, 2022 is not considered a liquidating distribution
under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute
of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years,
as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of
stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders
to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq
corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal
year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting
of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent
in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of
our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual
meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination,
they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section
211(c) of the DGCL.
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 merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
Although we expect to
focus our search for a target business in the financial technology industry, we may seek to consummate a business combination with
an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation,
be permitted to consummate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
To the extent we consummate our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations
with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record
of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a
development stage entity. 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 securities 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 stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination
could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities
in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business
combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine
that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate
the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or
assess all the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to
be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate.
In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition 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 Annual Report 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 the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any
stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their
shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have 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 consummate a business combination
with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination
with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination
with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption
rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum
net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or Nasdaq rules,
or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to obtain stockholder
approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are
unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust
account balance as of December 31, 2020), or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of the trust account and our warrants
will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption
of their shares.
We may seek acquisition opportunities
with an early stage company, 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 an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established
record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine.
These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, 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 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 firm or from an independent 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 consummate our
initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the
target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member
of FINRA or from an independent 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 stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair
market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender
offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Because we must furnish our stockholders
with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination
with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules
require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include
target historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection
with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may
be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board,
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 financial statements
in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and consummate our initial business
combination by December 8, 2022.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act may make it more difficult for us to consummate our initial 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 10-K for
the year ending December 31, 2021. 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 controls
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 controls 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.
Our warrants are accounted for as
liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
The SEC Warrant Accounting
Statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by SPACs focused on certain settlement terms and
provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination. The terms described in the SEC Warrant Accounting Statement
are common in SPACs and are similar to the terms contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. In response to the SEC Warrant
Accounting Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our public warrants and private placement warrants, and determined to
classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities
related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC
815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash
gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the
recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly based on factors which are
outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non- cash gains or losses on our
warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
We have identified material weaknesses
in our internal control over financial reporting. These material weaknesses could continue to adversely affect our ability to report
our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is
responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with
GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose
any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency,
or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material
misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere
in this Annual Report, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for
the warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering in December 2020, the improper valuation of our Class A common
stock subject to possible redemption at the closing of our initial public offering and the restatement of our earnings per share calculation.
As a result of these material weaknesses, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective
as of December 31, 2020. These material weaknesses resulted in a material misstatement of our warrant liabilities and related financial
disclosures, the initial carrying value of the Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and our earnings per share calculation
for the affected periods.
To respond to these
material weaknesses, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement
of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements,
we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards
that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials
and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting
applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives
will ultimately have the intended effects. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weaknesses identified
related to our accounting for the warrants, the improper valuation of our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption and the
restatement of our earnings per share calculation, see Note 2 to the accompanying financial statements, as well as Part II, Item 9A:
Controls and Procedures included in this Annual Report.
Any failure to maintain
such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and
accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise,
if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange
on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect
on our business. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which
could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.
We can give no assurance
that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weaknesses identified or that any additional
material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate
internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening
our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or
errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption
threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to consummate a business combination with which
a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem
our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial
business combination (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be
able to complete our business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction
and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions
in connection with our 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 shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required
to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available
to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption
will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to complete our initial business
combination, we may seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including
our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our stockholders
or warrant holders may not support.
In order to complete a
business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing
instruments, including their warrant agreement. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination,
increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to
require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our
charter or other governing instruments or change our industry focus in order to complete our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement
governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock,
which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend
our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the consummation of an initial business
combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the
requirement to deposit proceeds of the initial public offering and the private placement into the trust account and not release
such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders) may be amended if approved
by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the
release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon.
In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding
common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may
not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or in our
initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own 26.9% of our common stock, will participate
in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 certificate
of incorporation 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 stockholders may pursue remedies
against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, officers and
directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation 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 by December 8, 2022, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity
to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash,
equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable),
divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries
of, these agreements and, as a result, do not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for
any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative
action, subject to applicable law.
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 the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units will be sufficient to allow us to complete
our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital
requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units
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 stockholders who elect
redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection
with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination.
We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing
proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure
the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable
to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $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 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 stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share on the
liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may
receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
Our initial stockholders will control
the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest
in us. As a result, they will elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination and may
exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders
own approximately 26.9% of our outstanding common stock, including placement shares. In addition, the founder shares, all of which
are held by our initial stockholders, entitle the holders to elect all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial
business combination. Holders of our public shares have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions
of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a majority of at least 90% of our common stock
voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial
business combination.
Neither our initial stockholders
nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities. Factors
that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class
A common stock. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial
influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments
to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders
purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase
their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring
a stockholder vote.
Our initial stockholders may exert a
substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders
own shares representing 26.9% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock, including placement shares. Accordingly, they
may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including
amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial
stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would
increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the
current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by certain of
our initial stockholders, is divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one
class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to
the completion of our 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 stockholders, because of their
ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue
to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching
acquisitions that are not consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge
with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only
$10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, 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 consummate our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control.
Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts
to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public
stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2020) on the liquidation
of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less
than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
We may attempt to simultaneously consummate
business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to consummate our initial business combination
and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously
acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase
of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult
for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also
face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence
investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations
and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these
risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to consummate our initial
business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination
with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition
strategy, we may seek to consummate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information
generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial
business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not
as profitable as we suspected, if at all. Furthermore, the relative lack of information about a private company may hinder our
ability to properly assess the value of such a company which could result in our overpaying for that company.
If we effect our initial business combination
with a business located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such business will likely govern all of our material
agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect our initial
business combination with a business located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such business operates
will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. The target business may not be able to enforce any
of its material agreements or enforce remedies for breaches of those agreements in that jurisdiction. The system of laws and the
enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United
States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business,
business opportunities or capital. Additionally, if we acquire a business located outside of the United States, it is likely that
substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside
outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights,
to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon
civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under federal securities laws.
If we consummate our initial business
combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional
risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we consummate our initial
business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special
considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
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higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
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rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
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complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
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laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
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tariffs and trade barriers;
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regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
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longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
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tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
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currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
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cultural and language differences;
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employment regulations;
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crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
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deterioration of political relations with the United States; and
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government appropriation of assets.
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We may not be able to
adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact
our results of operations and financial condition.
Our management may not be able to maintain
control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of
a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our
initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than
100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction
company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the
target sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment
Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns
50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a
minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business
combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class
A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest
in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately
prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction.
In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining
a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management
will not be able to maintain 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 may issue notes or other debt securities,
or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial
condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
We may choose to incur
substantial debt to complete our initial 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:
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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
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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;
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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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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;
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our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
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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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
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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.
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We may only be able to complete one
business combination with the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, 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.
Of the net proceeds from
the initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, $250,000,000 is available to complete our business combination
and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $10,640,000 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).
We may complete our initial
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 complete a 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 consummating an initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to
numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit
from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several
business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search
for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
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dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
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This lack of diversification
may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse
impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management
Team
Our ability to successfully complete
our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management
team, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the
operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully
complete our business combination is dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team. The role of members of our management
team in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some members of our management team 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 initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct.
These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to
have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers
and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business
combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained
at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated
with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an
acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability
of our post-combination business.
Members of our management team may negotiate
employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular initial business combination. These
agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them
to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Members of our management
team may be able to remain with the company after the consummation of our initial business combination only if they are able to
negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously
with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of
cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the consummation of our initial 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 consummation of our initial 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 members of our management team will remain with us after the consummation of our initial
business combination. We cannot assure you that any members of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory
positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with us will be made at the time
of our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors
are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended
to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity
a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our
initial business combination, we will engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor
and our officers and directors are and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment
vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business.
Our officers and directors
also may become aware of business opportunities which 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
contains a waiver of the corporate opportunity doctrine, which provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity
offered to any director or officer unless (i) such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity
as a director or officer of our company (ii) such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and
would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue and (iii) the director or officer is permitted to refer the opportunity to us without
violating another legal obligation. The purpose for the surrender of corporate opportunities is to allow officers, directors or
other representatives with multiple business affiliations to continue to serve as an officer of our company or on our board of
directors. Our officers and directors may from time to time be presented with opportunities that could benefit both another business
affiliation and us. In the absence of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our charter, certain candidates would not
be able to serve as an officer or director. We believe we substantially benefit from having representatives, who bring significant,
relevant and valuable experience to our management, and, as a result, the inclusion of the “corporate opportunity”
waiver in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides us with greater flexibility to attract and retain the
officers and directors that we feel are the best candidates.
However, 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. The different timelines of competing business combinations could cause our directors and
officers to prioritize a different business combination over finding a suitable acquisition target for our business combination.
Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result
in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate
and in our stockholders’ best interest, which could negatively impact the timing for a business combination.
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, officers, directors
or existing stockholders, which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement
of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our
sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete
with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities
for us to complete our 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 that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial
point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors
or existing stockholders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination
may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. Additionally, were we
successful in consummating such a transaction, conflicts could invariably arise from the interest of the initial stockholders or
their affiliates in maximizing their returns, which may be at odds with the strategy of the post-business combination company
or not in the best interests of the public stockholders of the post-business combination company. Any or all of such conflicts
could materially reduce the value of your investment, whether before or after our initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, 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.
Our sponsor currently
own 8,546,667 founder shares, which will be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business combination. In addition, our
sponsor has also purchased 640,000 placement units for an aggregate purchase price of $6.4 million that will also be worthless
if we do not consummate our initial business combination. Holders of founder shares and private placement shares have agreed (A)
to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private
placement shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may
obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our
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 have a limited ability to assess
the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete 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 stockholders’ 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’s
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 stockholders
who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such
stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors
of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination
target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The
role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained
at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated
with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an
acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Risks Relating to our Securities
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 initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be
an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
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restrictions on the issuance of securities;
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each of which may make it difficult for us
to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have
imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
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registration as an investment company;
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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
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In order not to be regulated
as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged
primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing,
reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive
of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is 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 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the
trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds
to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than
on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment
company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our securities are 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) the
redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation (a) 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 the completion window or (b) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’
rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the
trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed
above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company
Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds
and may hinder our ability to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination,
our public stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2020) on the liquidation
of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less
than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. Please see “— If third parties bring claims against us, the
proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than
$10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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.
Our units, Class A common
stock and warrants are currently listed on Nasdaq. We cannot assure you that our securities 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 stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain
a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally
300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance
with 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 stock price would generally be required
to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and
we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities
with a market value of at least $2,500) of our securities. 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 the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board or the “pink sheets.” If this were to occur,
there could be material adverse consequences, including:
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a limited availability of market quotations for our
securities;
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reduced liquidity for our securities;
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a determination that our Class A common stock is a
“penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and
possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
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a decreased ability to issue additional securities
or obtain additional financing in the future.
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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 our units, Class A common stock and warrants are
listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants are 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, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and
might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states.
Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation
in each state in which we offer our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our
initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group”
of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15.0% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such
shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder
approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination
pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together
with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group”
(as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than
an aggregate of 15.0% of the shares sold in the initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares”.
However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of
their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares
will reduce your influence over our ability to consummate a 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 consummate our business combination. As a result, you would continue to hold that number of shares exceeding
15.0% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell those shares in open market transactions, potentially
at a loss.
We are not registering the shares of
Class A common stock 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 except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering
the shares of Class A common stock 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 will use our best efforts to file, and within 60 business days
following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering
such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock 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, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of
any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered
security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise
their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the
event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use
our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. 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 shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
The grant of registration rights to
our initial stockholders 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 Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement
entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the initial public offering, our initial stockholders
and their permitted transferees can demand that we register their founder shares, after those shares convert to our Class A common
stock at the time of our initial business combination, and placement shares. In addition, holders of our placement warrants and
their permitted transferees can demand that we register the placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise
of the placement warrants, and holders of warrants included in the units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital
loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear
the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading
in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of
the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders
of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset
the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the common stock owned by our initial
stockholders, holders of our placement warrant or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees
are registered.
We may issue additional common stock
or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial
business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio
greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in
our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely
present other risks.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001
per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated
preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are currently 74,360,000 and 1,453,333 authorized but unissued shares of Class
A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the shares
of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding warrants or the shares of Class A common stock issuable
upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common
stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment,
including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial
business combination.
We may issue a substantial
number of additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (including
pursuant to a specified future issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination
(although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common
stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock
upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination
as a result of the applicable anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However,
our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination,
we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust
account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.
The issuance of additional
shares of common or preferred stock:
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may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the initial public offering;
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may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
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could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and
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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants.
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The exercise price for the public warrants
is higher than some similar blank check company in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.
The exercise price of the
public warrants is higher than some similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was
generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants
is $11.50 per share. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.
Certain agreements related to the initial
public offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including
the underwriting agreement relating to the initial public offering, the investment management trust agreement between us and Continental
Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the letter agreement among us and our initial stockholders, officers and directors, the registration
rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various
provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. For example, the underwriting agreement contains (i) a representation
that we will not consummate any public or private equity or debt financing prior to the consummation of a business combination,
unless all investors in such financing expressly waive, in writing, any rights in or claims against the trust account and (ii)
a covenant that the target company that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust
account at the time of signing the definitive agreement for the transaction with such target business (excluding the deferred underwriting
commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) so long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities
on Nasdaq. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination,
it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve
one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such
amendment may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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 65% of the then outstanding
public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and
the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued
in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and
us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any
ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% 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 65% 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 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other
things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the
number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants
prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to
redeem outstanding warrants (excluding any placement warrants held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees) 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 Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations,
recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to
the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. 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.
Our warrants and founder shares may
have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to consummate our business combination.
We issued warrants to
purchase 8,333,333 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units sold in the initial public offering and, simultaneously
with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued to our sponsor in a private placement 640,000 units consisting of one
placement share and one-third of one placement warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one share of Class
A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own 8,546,667 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible
into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working
capital loans, such loans may be converted into units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units
would be identical to the placement units.
To the extent we issue
shares of Class A common stock to consummate our business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of
additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive
acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class
A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore,
our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to consummate our business combination or increase the cost of acquiring
the target business.
The placement warrants
are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by
our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock
issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until
30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because each unit contains one-third
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-third
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. This is different from other blank check companies similar to ours whose units
include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We established the components of the units in this
way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be
exercisable in the aggregate for one-third 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 business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this
unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement
may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
If (x) we issue additional
shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of
our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price
or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by us and in the case of any such issuance to our sponsors or their affiliates,
without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such
issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 50%
of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of
the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price
of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we
complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price
of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued
Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher
of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination
with a target business.
Provisions in our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing
to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider
to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors
to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and
may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to
anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may
make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium
over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against
our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought
only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will
be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging
lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions
against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be
brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the
suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action (A) as to which
the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction
of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within
ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court
of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the
Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent
jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed
to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
This choice of forum provision
may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any
of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although
our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other
jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by
applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty
or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will
not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal
courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
General Risk
Factors
We are a 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 company with
no operating results, and we will not commence operations until we consummate our initial business combination. 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 may be unable to complete a business combination. If we fail
to complete a business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a
failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws
and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC
reporting and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time
consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and
those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure
to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business
and results of operations.
Our ability to provide financial technology
products and services to customers may be reduced or eliminated by regulatory changes.
We expect that the customer
base for our products or services will be principally banks and other financial institutions such as insurance companies and securities
firms, all of which are subject to extensive regulation. Any product or service we supply to these firms likely will be affected
by and designed to comply with the customer’s regulatory environment. If the regulatory environment affecting a particular
product or service changes, the product or service could become obsolete or unmarketable, or require extensive and expensive modification.
As a result, regulatory changes may impair our revenues and our profitability. If we only provide a single product or service a
change in the applicable regulatory environment could cause a significant business interruption and loss of revenue until appropriate
modifications are made. Moreover, if the regulatory change eliminates the need for the product or service, or if the expense of
making necessary modifications exceeds our resources or available financing, we may be unable to continue in business.
Past performance by our management team
may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding
performance by, or businesses associated with our management team and its affiliates is presented for informational purposes only.
Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may
consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely
on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in
us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
As the number
of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more
competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our
inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In
recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential
targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still
many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies
currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more
effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In
addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with
available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could
cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as
economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business
combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate
our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business
combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
We are an emerging growth company and
a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure
requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive
to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging
growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain
exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies
including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy
statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder
approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain
information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could
cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds
$700 million as of any June 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 election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of
such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for
public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies
adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither
an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult
or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we
are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take
advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial
statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our
common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues
exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds
$700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations,
it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Our management
concluded that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had
$1,054,211 in its operating bank accounts, $250,001,576 in securities held in the Trust Account to be used for a Business Combination
or to repurchase or redeem its common stock in connection therewith and working capital of $1,496,225. As of December 31, 2020, approximately
$1,576 of the amount on deposit in the Trust Account represented interest income, which is available to pay the Company’s tax obligations.
If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could
include, but not necessarily be limited to, suspending the pursuit of a Business Combination. The Company cannot provide any assurance
that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. Further, 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 through our liquidation date. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this annual report do not include any
adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate a Business Combination or our inability to continue as a going concern.
The requirements of being a public company
may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.
As a public company, we
are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which we refer to as the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act), the Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (which we refer to as the Dodd-Frank Act), the listing
requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will
increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand
on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley
Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial
reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial
reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s
attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may
need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase
our costs and expenses.
In addition, changing
laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies,
increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards
are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in
practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty
regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend
to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general
and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance
activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory
or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings
against us and our business may be adversely affected.
However, for as long as
we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from
various reporting requirements that are applicable to “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not
being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding
executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirement of holding a nonbinding
advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may
take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”
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 the initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or
(c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of common stock that are
held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion
in non-convertible debt during the prior three year period.
We may be subject to claims from both
the firms to whom we provide our products and services and the clients they serve.
If the products or services
we provide relate to the facilitation of financial transactions, such as funds or securities settlement systems, and a failure
or compromise of our product or service results in loss to a customer or its clients, we may be liable for such loss. The amount
of the loss could be significantly greater that the revenues we derived from providing the product or service.
If we are unable to keep pace with evolving
technology and changes in the financial services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline.
We
expect that the markets for the products and services of any target business we acquire will likely be characterized by rapid technological
change, frequent new product introductions and evolving industry standards. The introduction of products and services embodying
new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards can render existing products and services obsolete and unmarketable
in short periods of time. We expect new products and services, and enhancements to existing products and services, will be developed
and introduced by others, which will compete with the products and services that we offer. Our success will depend upon our ability
to enhance current products and services and to develop and introduce new products and services that keep pace with technological
developments and emerging industry standards. If we are unable to develop and introduce new products and services or enhancements
in a timely manner, or if a release of a new product or service does not achieve market acceptance, our revenues and future prospects
may decline.
A failure to comply with privacy regulations
could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business.
Depending
upon the type of financial technology business we acquire, in the course of providing services to our customers we may collect,
process and retain sensitive and confidential information on our customers and their clients. A failure of our systems due to security
breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other causes could result
in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer information. Any such failure could result
in damage to our reputation with our customers, expose us to the risk of litigation and liability, disrupt our operations, and
impair our ability to operate profitably.
Difficulties with any products or services
we provide could damage our reputation and business.
We expect that market
acceptance of our products and services will depend upon the reliable operation and security of our systems and their connection
to the systems of our customers. Any operational or connectivity failures, system outages or security breaches would likely result
in revenue loss to us until corrected and could result in client dissatisfaction, causing them to terminate or reduce their business
dealings with us. It may also damage our business reputation, making it more difficult for us to obtain new customers and maintain
or expand our business.
We
may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims.
We
expect to rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect
any proprietary technology of a target business. Although we intend to protect vigorously any intellectual property we acquire,
third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property or may develop competitive technology. Our competitors may
independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or services or design around our intellectual property rights.
We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our intellectual property rights, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their
scope, validity or enforceability, which is expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not prove successful. The loss
of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce intellectual property protection could harm our business
and ability to compete.
We
also may be subject to claims by third parties for infringement of another party’s proprietary rights, or for breach of
copyright, trademark or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could subject us to significant liability
for damages. An adverse determination in any litigation of this type could require us to design around a third party’s intellectual
property, obtain a license for that technology or license alternative technology from another party. None of these alternatives
may be available to us at a price which would allow us to operate profitably. In addition, litigation is time consuming and expensive
to defend and could result in the diversion of the time and attention of management and employees. Any claims from third parties
may also result in limitations on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims.