The registration statement for our initial public offering (“initial public offering” or “Public Offering”) was declared effective on October 19, 2021. On October 22, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 27,600,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit (which included the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), and the sale of 14,040,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to our sponsor that closed simultaneously with the initial public offering.
Following the closing of our initial public offering on October 22, 2021, $281,520,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the net proceeds sold in our initial public offering, including proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, was deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and will 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.
Prior to shareholder approval of the Charter Amendment (as defined below), we had 15 months from the closing of our initial public offering to consummate the initial Business Combination. If we have not consummated the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay winding up and dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
On January 18, 2023, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “Meeting”) to consider and vote upon, among other things, a proposal to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Charter Amendment”) to (i) extend the date by which the Company must consummate its initial business combination (the “Termination Date”) from January 22, 2023 to April 22, 2023 and (ii) in the event that the Company has not consummated an initial business combination by April 22, 2023, to allow the Company, by resolution of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) and, without any approval of the Company’s shareholders, upon five days’ advance notice prior to each Additional Extension, to extend the Termination Date up to six times (with each such extension being upon five days’ advance notice), each by one additional month (for a total of up to six additional months to complete a business combination) (each, an “Additional Extension” and such date, an “Additional Extension Date”), provided that the Sponsor or the Sponsor’s affiliates or permitted designees will deposit into the Trust Account for each Additional Extension Date the lesser of (a) US $140,000 or (b) $0.04 for each Public Share that is then-outstanding, in exchange for one or more non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory notes issued by the Company to the Sponsor or the Sponsor’s affiliates or permitted designees (the “Lenders” and each a “Lender”). In connection with the vote to approve the Charter Amendment, the holders of 24,703,445 Class A ordinary shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.35 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $255,875,758. The Company’s current Additional Extension Date as of the date hereof is May 22, 2023.
On April 19, 2023, the Company entered into a Business Combination Agreement, by and among the Company, ESGEN OpCo, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of ESGEN (“OpCo”), Sunergy Renewables, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (“Sunergy”), the Sunergy equityholders set forth on the signature pages thereto (collectively, “Sellers” and each, a “Seller”, and collectively with Sunergy, the “Sunergy Parties”), for limited purposes, the Sponsor, and for limited purposes, Timothy Bridgewater, an individual, in his capacity as the Sellers Representative (the “Business Combination Agreement”).
In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Business Combination Agreement, among other things: (i) prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), each issued and outstanding Class B ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, of ESGEN will convert into one ESGEN Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, of ESGEN (the “ESGEN Share Conversion”); and (ii) following the ESGEN Share Conversion but prior to the Closing, ESGEN will, subject to the receipt of the requisite shareholder approval, transfer by way of continuation from the Cayman Islands to the State of Delaware and domesticate as a Delaware corporation (the “Domestication”).
In connection with the Domestication, (A) each outstanding ESGEN Class A Ordinary Share will become one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of ESGEN, (B) each outstanding warrant to purchase one ESGEN Class A Ordinary Share will become a warrant to purchase one share of ESGEN Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, and (C) ESGEN will file its certificate of incorporation and will adopt bylaws to serve as its governing documents upon consummation of the Domestication. In connection with the ESGEN Share Conversion and the Domestication, each issued and outstanding unit of ESGEN, each consisting of ESGEN Class A Ordinary Share and one-half of one warrant to purchase one ESGEN Class A Ordinary Share (each, an “ESGEN Unit”), that has not been previously separated into the underlying ESGEN Class A Ordinary Shares and underlying ESGEN Warrants prior to the Domestication will be cancelled and will entitle the holder thereof to (x) one share of ESGEN Class A Common Stock and (y) one-half of one warrant representing the right to purchase one share of ESGEN Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share on the terms and subject to the conditions applicable to ESGEN Warrants set forth in the Warrant Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2021, between ESGEN and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Trustee”).
In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Business Combination Agreement, Sunergy will cause all holders of any options, warrants or rights to subscribe for or purchase any equity interests of Sunergy or its subsidiaries or securities (including debt securities) convertible into or exchangeable for, or that otherwise confer on the holder any right to acquire, any equity interests of Sunergy or any subsidiary thereof (collectively, the “Sunergy Convertible Interests”) existing immediately prior to the Closing either to exchange or convert all such holder’s Sunergy Convertible Interests into limited liability interests of Sunergy (the “Sunergy Company Interests”) in accordance with the governing documents of Sunergy or the Sunergy Convertible Interests (collectively, the “Sunergy Exchanges”).
At the Closing, ESGEN will contribute to OpCo (1) all of its assets (excluding its interests in OpCo, but including the amount of cash in the trust account established by ESGEN with the proceeds from its initial public offering (the “Trust Account”) as of immediately prior to the Closing (after giving effect to the exercise of redemption rights by any ESGEN shareholders)), and (2) a number of newly issued shares of Class V common stock of ESGEN, par value $0.0001 per share, which will generally have only voting rights (the “ESGEN Class V Common Stock”), equal to the number of Seller OpCo Units (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement) (the “Seller Class V Shares”) and (y) in exchange, OpCo shall issue to ESGEN (i) a number of common units of OpCo (the “OpCo Units”) which shall equal the number of total shares of ESGEN Class A Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately after the Closing and (ii) a number of warrants to purchase OpCo Units which shall equal the number of SPAC Warrants issued and outstanding immediately after the Closing (the transactions described above in this paragraph, the “ESGEN Contribution”). Immediately following the ESGEN Contribution, (x) the Sellers will contribute to OpCo the Sunergy Company Interests and (y) in exchange therefor, OpCo will transfer to the Sellers the Seller OpCo Units and the Seller Class V Shares.
The obligation of ESGEN, the Sunergy Parties and OpCo to consummate the Business Combination is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including, but not limited to, (i) the absence of any order, law or other legal restraint or prohibition enacted, issued or promulgated by any court of competent jurisdiction or other governmental entity of competent jurisdiction having the effect of making the Business Combination illegal or otherwise prohibiting the consummation of the Business Combination, (ii) the termination or expiration of any applicable waiting period applicable to the consummation of the Business Combination under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, (iii) the effectiveness of the Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act, registering the ESGEN Class A Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Business Combination Agreement, (iv) receipt of the required approvals of ESGEN’s shareholders at a meeting of the shareholders of ESGEN in connection with the Business Combination, (v) the ESGEN Class A Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Business Combination immediately after Closing shall be listed on Nasdaq and ESGEN will be able to satisfy any continued listing requirements of Nasdaq immediately after Closing, (vi) if the ESGEN shareholders do not approve the Redemption Limitation Amendment (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement), ESGEN having at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) of the Exchange Act) remaining immediately after any holders of the ESGEN Class A Ordinary Shares exercise their redemption rights, (vii) the members of the post-Business Combination ESGEN board of directors shall have been elected or appointed in accordance with the Business Combination Agreement and (viii) the aggregate transaction proceeds, including from the Trust Account after giving effect to the exercise of redemption rights by any ESGEN shareholders pursuant to the ESGEN amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as amended, and the proceeds resulting from the Initial PIPE Investment (as defined below) and any financing agreements executed in furtherance of the Business Combination Agreement, shall be greater or equal to $20.0 million.
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, ESGEN entered into a subscription agreement (the “Initial Subscription Agreement”) with Sponsor. Pursuant to the Initial Subscription Agreement, Sponsor agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and ESGEN agreed to issue and sell to Sponsor, concurrently with the Closing, an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of ESGEN Class A Common Stock for a purchase price of $10.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $10,000,000 (the “Initial PIPE Investment”). The closing of the Initial PIPE Investment is contingent upon, among other things, the substantially concurrent consummation of the Business Combination. The Initial Subscription Agreement provides that ESGEN will grant Sponsor certain customary registration rights. In addition to the Initial PIPE Investment, under the Business Combination Agreement, ESGEN and Sunergy have agreed to use their reasonable best efforts to identify other investors to enter into equity financing agreements (the “Additional Financing Agreements” and, together with the Initial Subscription Agreement, the “Financing Agreements”), in form and substance reasonably acceptable to ESGEN and Sunergy, to support the transaction (such equity financing under the Financing Agreements, collectively, herein referred to as the “Private Placements”).
For additional information regarding the Business Combination Agreement, see the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 20, 2023.
The Business Combination is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023, following the receipt of the required approvals by our shareholders and the fulfillment of other customary closing conditions.
On April 5, 2023, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note (the “Note”) in the principal amount of up to $1,500,000 to the Sponsor, which may be drawn down by the Company from time to time prior to the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination. The Note does not bear interest, matures on the date of consummation of the Business Combination and is subject to customary events of default. The Note will be repaid only to the extent that the Company has funds available to it outside of its trust account established in connection with its initial public offering. As of May 11, 2023, there was approximately $1,384,500 outstanding under the Note.
19