UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                      to                     

 

Commission file number: 001-40076

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Delaware   85-4030806
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

c/o Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York

  10105
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (929) 529-7125

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of Each Class:   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-quarter of one Redeemable Warrant   FSRXU   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share   FSRX   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stock for $11.50 per share   FSRXW   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

  

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒ 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes ☒   No  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer     Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated filer   ☒        Smaller reporting company   ☒ 
Emerging growth company    ☒             

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes  ☒  No ☐

 

The aggregate market value of the Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price for the Class A common stock on June 30, 2021, as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $291,900,000.

 

As of March 29, 2022 there were 30,800,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 7,500,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the registrant issued and outstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  PAGE
Item 1. Business 5
Item 1A. Risk Factors 21
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 23
Item 2. Properties 23
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 23
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 23
   
PART II 24
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 24
Item 6. Reserved 25
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 25
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 28
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 28
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 29
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 29
Item 9B. Other Information 29
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. 29
   
PART III 30
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 30
Item 11. Executive Compensation 34
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 35
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 36
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 39
   
PART IV 40
Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules 40
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 40

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Report (as defined below), including, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act (as defined below) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act (as defined below). These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:

 

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

  the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities;

 

  our pool of prospective target businesses;

 

  the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities;

  

  our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

 

  the lack of a market for our securities;

 

  the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or

 

  our financial performance.

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. 

 

Unless otherwise stated in this Report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:

 

“anchor investors” are to certain qualified institutional buyers or institutional accredited investors (who have an indirect interest in the securities owned by our sponsor) and who are not affiliated with any member of our management team, who could (but were not required to) have purchased an aggregate of approximately $98 million of units in our initial public offering, as further described herein;

 

“board of directors” or “board” are to the board of directors of the Company;

 

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“Citigroup” are to Citigroup Global Markets Inc., and “Barclays” are to Barclays Capital Inc., the representatives of the underwriters in our initial public offering

 

“Class A common stock” are to the shares of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share;

 

“Class B common stock” are to the shares of Class B common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share;

 

“common stock” are to the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock;

 

“Continental” are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our trust account (as defined below) and warrant agent of our warrants (as defined below);

 

“DGCL” are to the Delaware General Corporation Law;

 

“DWAC System” are to the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian System;

 

“Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;

 

“FINRA” are to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority;

 

“founder shares” are to the shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon the conversion thereof as provided herein;

 

“GAAP” are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;

 

“IFRS” are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board;

 

“initial business combination” are to a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses;

 

“initial public offering” or “IPO” are to the initial public offering that was consummated by the Company on February 22, 2021;

 

“initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering (or their permitted transferees);

 

“Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;

 

“JOBS Act” are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012;

 

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

 

“Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Capital Market;

 

“PCAOB” are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States);

  

“placement units” are to the units purchased by our sponsor in the private placement, each placement unit consisting of one placement share and one-quarter of one placement warrant;

 

“placement shares” are to the shares of our common stock included within the placement units;

 

“placement warrants” are to the warrants included within the placement units;

 

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“private placement” are to the private placement of 800,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,000,000 which occurred simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering;

 

  “public units” are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one public share and one-quarter of one public warrant;

 

  “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

 

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

 

“public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market, including warrants that may be acquired by our sponsor or its affiliates in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any placement warrants sold as part of the placement units or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans in each case that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination;

 

“Registration Statement” are to the Form S-1s initially filed with the SEC February 2, 2021 and February 17, 2022, respectively (File No. 333-252672 and 333-253231), as amended;

 

“Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021;

 

“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” are to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;

 

“SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;

 

“Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;

 

“sponsor” are to FinServ Holdings II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;

 

“trust account” are to the U.S.-based trust account in which an amount of $300,000,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the units (as defined below) in the initial public offering and private placement units was placed following the closing of the initial public offering.

 

“units” are to the public units and the private units;

 

“we,” “us,” “Company” or “our Company” are to FinServ Acquisition Corp. II; and

 

“Withum,” are to WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm.

 

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PART I

 

Item 1. Business.

 

Overview

 

We are a blank check company formed as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting our initial business combination.

 

Initial Public Offering

 

On February 22, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 300,000,000 units. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-quarter of one redeemable warrant of the Company, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per whole share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $300,000,000.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 800,000 units to our sponsor at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating gross proceeds of $8,000,000.

 

A total of $300,000,000, comprised of $294,000,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and $6,000,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.

 

It is the job of our sponsor and management team to complete our initial business combination. Our management team is led by Lee Einbinder, our Chief Executive Officer, and Howard Kurz, our President, who have over 30 years of experience in the financial services and FinTech industries. We must complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023, 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering. If our initial business combination is not consummated by February 22, 2023, then our existence will terminate, and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account.

 

Business Strategy

 

We have concentrated and will continue to concentrate our efforts in identifying businesses in the FinTech and financial services industries with an equity value of $500 million to $2.0 billion or more, with particular emphasis on businesses that offer a differentiated technology platform and/or products for interfacing with the financial services sector, including digital assets, capital markets trading and infrastructure, payments, traditional and alternative asset managers, specialty finance companies, insurance and real estate services. Over the past several years, there has been a rise in the level of sophistication and interconnectivity between innovative technology and financial services providers, and we expect this trend to continue and accelerate. We believe that there are many potential targets within the FinTech and financial services sectors that could become attractive public companies. These potential targets exhibit a broad range of business models and financial characteristics that range from very high growth innovative companies to more mature businesses with established franchises, recurring revenues and strong cash flows.

 

There has been significant disruption and change in the delivery of financial services in recent years, and we seek companies that are involved with, among others:

 

Point of sale payment platforms;

 

Banking technology;

 

Payments processing for consumers and businesses;

 

Digital assets and blockchain technology

 

Wealth management and technology;

 

Exchanges and trading platforms;

 

Big data moving to the cloud, APIs, data security;

 

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Mortgage technology and services;

 

Insurance technology and services;

 

Regulatory technology for financial services; and

 

Real estate and prop tech services.

 

With the increased adoption of technology solutions by both consumers and businesses, we believe that the sector is poised for continued growth in both overall market size and penetration. Key industry characteristics include sustainable long-term organic growth, technology disruption, attractive competitive dynamics, and further consolidation opportunities. Key business characteristics include competitive moats, technological advantages, and a strong management team. Key financial metrics include double digit organic revenue growth, recurring revenues and strong cash flow conversion with existing or line of sight to profitability.

 

We do not intend to limit our search to one segment of the FinTech and financial services ecosystem, but will instead target a wide variety of companies that deliver a solution or product to the financial services end-market. We believe that our extensive experience and demonstrated success in advising and investing in businesses in this industry provides us with a unique set of capabilities that will be utilized in generating stockholder returns.

 

We seek to acquire established businesses that we believe are fundamentally sound but potentially in need of financial, operational, strategic or managerial improvements to maximize value. We also look at earlier stage companies that exhibit the potential to change the industries in which they participate and which offer the potential of sustained high levels of revenue growth. Consistent with our industry focus, we target FinTech and financial services businesses that have strong management teams, demonstrated organic growth, and differentiated products or services. Opportunities range from high-growth, customer facing technologies in payments, lending and digital assets to more mature, high-margin, stable businesses which may be engaged in lending, asset management, or providing critical processing and support to established financial services firms.

 

We believe that the wide networks of our management team will deliver access to a broad spectrum of opportunities across the FinTech and financial services landscape. In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity and venture capital funds, and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

 

Acquisition Criteria

 

Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We have used and will continue to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular opportunity. We seek to acquire companies that we believe:

 

are fundamentally sound companies that can enhance stockholder value through a combination with us, and offer an attractive risk-adjusted return for our stockholders;

 

have strong, experienced management teams, or provide a platform to assemble an effective management team with a track record of driving growth and profitability;

 

are at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate through new operational techniques, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance;

 

can benefit from the application and exploitation of financial services technologies;

 

have a history of, or potential for, strong, stable free cash flow generation, with predictable and recurring revenue streams;

 

can grow both organically and where we believe our ability to source proprietary opportunities and execute transactions will help the business grow through additional acquisitions;

 

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have a leading or niche market position and demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to create barriers to entry against new competitors;

 

can benefit from being a publicly traded company, with access to broader capital markets, to achieve the company’s growth strategy; and

 

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe can be enhanced based on our analysis and due diligence review.

 

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

 

We may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination. We intend to acquire a company with an enterprise value significantly above the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units. Depending on the size of the transaction or the number of public shares we become obligated to redeem, we may potentially utilize several additional financing sources, including but not limited to the issuance of additional securities to the sellers of a target business, debt issued by banks or other lenders or the owners of the target, a private placement to raise additional funds, or a combination of the foregoing. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient to meet our obligations or our working capital needs, we may need to obtain additional financing.

 

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. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm 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. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.

 

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.

 

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Our Business Combination Process

 

In evaluating prospective business combinations, we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), in-depth assessment of the management talent, on-site inspection of facilities and assets (if possible), discussion with customers and suppliers, assessment of the organization readiness for public company status, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We also utilize the expertise of our management team in analyzing companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.

 

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

 

Each of our officers and directors presently has fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

 

Members of our management team may become officers or directors of other special purpose acquisition companies before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.

 

In addition, members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they, in the exercise of their respective business judgement, deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. We do not have an employment agreement with any member of our management team.

 

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

 

Status as a Public Company

 

We believe our status as a public company makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, 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. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.

 

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Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.

 

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

 

While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

 

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 independent registered public accounting firm 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 investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, or February 22, 2021 (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.

 

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.

 

Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors. As a result, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. We currently do not intend to utilize these exemptions.

 

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Financial Position

 

With funds available for an initial business combination in the amount of $289,525,197.16 as of December 31, 2021, after payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting fees and before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

 

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

 

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we consummate our initial business combination. We will effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the placement units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of our initial public offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

 

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we may target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, 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 Target Businesses

 

Target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our prospectus in connection with our initial public offering or this Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. We may engage the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. We may pay our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, which may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. We pay our sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We will reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination.

 

Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.

 

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

 

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Potential target companies with whom we may engage in discussions after the closing of the offering may have had prior discussions with other blank check companies, bankers in the industry and/or other professional advisors including blank check companies with which our executive officers or board of directors were affiliated. Subsequent to the closing of our initial public offering, we may pursue transactions with such potential targets (i) if such other blank check companies are no longer pursuing transactions with such potential targets, (ii) if we become aware that such potential targets are interested in a potential initial business combination with us and (iii) if we believe such transactions would be attractive to our stockholders. We have not contacted any of the prospective target businesses that FinServ I has considered and rejected while it was a blank check company searching for target businesses with which to consummate an initial business combination. However, we may contact such targets subsequent to the closing of our initial public offering if we become aware that such targets are interested in a potential initial business combination with us and such transaction would be attractive to our stockholders.

 

If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

 

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.

 

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 conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, in-depth assessment of the management talent, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, assessment of the organization readiness for public company status, 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.

 

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Lack of Business Diversification

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial 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 applicable stock exchange rule, 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  Whether Stockholder Approval is Required
Purchase of assets  No
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company  No
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company  No
Merger of the company with a target  Yes

 

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

 

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;

 

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

 

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 initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.

 

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

 

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates 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 proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors 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 our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the 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. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.

 

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

 

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. As of December 31, 2021, the amount in the trust account was approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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 initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial 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. Under Nasdaq rules, 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 an initial business combination 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 initial business combination. We may 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 stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

 

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

 

file proxy materials with the SEC.

 

In the event that we seek 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 initial 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 initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and placement shares, we would need only 10,850,001, or 36.1%, of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. In the event that our anchor investors vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, no affirmative votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, 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.

 

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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:

 

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

 

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

 

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or 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 complete 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 are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (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 the initial business combination.

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (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. For example, the proposed initial 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 initial business combination. 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial 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 Completion 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 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% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

 

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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 up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials 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 up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

 

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 $80.00 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 initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the initial 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 initial business combination is approved.

 

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

 

If our 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 proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until February 22, 2023.

 

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, or until February 22, 2023, to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023, 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 the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023.

 

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Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they 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 February 22, 2023. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after our 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 February 22, 2023.

 

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023 or (ii) with respect to any other provision 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 taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (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 at such time.

 

If we do not consummate our initial business combination by the deadline set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 $1,151,239.65 of proceeds held outside the trust account as of December 31, 2021, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.

 

We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. 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, 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 our 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 $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 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, 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. Withum, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our initial public offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

 

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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. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors 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 our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.

 

We have sought and will continue to seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. As of December 31, 2021, we have access to up to approximately $1,151,239.65 from the proceeds of our initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. As of December 31, 2021, the amount held outside of the trust account was $1,151,239.65.

 

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023, 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.

 

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Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023, 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 the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above 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 February 22, 2023 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, our sponsor 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 our 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, our sponsor 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 of directors 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 upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 22, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination by February 22, 2023, subject to applicable law. 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 initial 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. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.

 

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Competition

 

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. 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 initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.

 

Employees

 

We currently have three officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary, in the exercise of their respective business judgement, 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 completion of our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with any member of our management team.

 

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

 

Our units, Class A common stock, and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act, and as a result, we 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, including this Report, will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

 

We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the 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, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination 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 the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination 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, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to 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 business combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

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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 investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, or February 22, 2021, (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 Class A common stock that are 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 during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

 

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 end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by nonaffiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors.

 

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:

 

we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;

 

we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;

 

  our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;

 

  we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required  officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

 

  our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

 

  we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption;

 

  we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time;

 

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  you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;

 

  trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;

 

  an active market for our public securities’ may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading;

 

  the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination;

 

  our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management;

 

  there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target;

 

  changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination;

 

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

 

  we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the initial public offering, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination;

 

  we may attempt to complete 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;

 

  our warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities and are recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;

 

  since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after our initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our public stockholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination;

 

  changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations;

 

  the value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share;

 

resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless;

 

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  our ability to identify a target and to consummate an initial business combination may be adversely affected by economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, including as a result of the military conflict in Ukraine;

 

  we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021. If we are unable to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our Registration Statement.

 

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 2. Properties.

 

Our executive offices are located at c/o Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105, and our telephone number is (929) 529-7125. The cost for our use of this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee we pay to our sponsor for office space, administrative and shared personnel support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

 

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

 

To the knowledge of our management team, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART II

 

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

 

(a)Market Information

  

Our units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq under the symbols FSRXU, FSRX, and FSRXW, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on February 18, 2021, and our public shares and public warrants commenced separate public trading on April 12, 2021.

 

(b)Holders

 

On March 29, 2022, there were two holders of record of our units, one holder of record of shares of our Class A common stock and one holder of record of our warrants.

 

(c)Dividends

 

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

(d)Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

None.

 

(e)Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

None.

 

(f)Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering

 

On February 22, 2021, as reported in the Registration Statement, the Company consummated its initial public offering of 30,000,000 units, including 3,500,000 units issued pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one public share and one-quarter of one public warrant, with each whole public warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one public share for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $300,000,000. Citigroup and Barclays acted as bookrunners and representatives of the underwriters of the initial public offering.

 

A total of $300,000,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering (which amount includes $10,500,000 of the underwriters’ deferred discount) and the sale of the private placement units, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act.

 

(g)Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

 

None.

 

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Item 6. Reserved.

 

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

 

References to the “Company,” “us,” “our” or “we” refer to FinServ Acquisition Corp. II. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes included herein.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Report includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward- looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other SEC filings.

 

Overview

 

We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on November 23, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor is FinServ Holdings II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.

 

The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on February 17, 2021. On February 22, 2021, we consummated the IPO of 30,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $16.8 million, inclusive of $10.5 million in deferred underwriting commissions.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 800,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit to the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of approximately $8.0 million.

 

Upon the closing of the IPO and the Private Placement on February 22, 2021, $300.0 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the Private Placement were placed in a trust account located in the United States with Continental, and invested only in U.S. “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, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

 

If we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, 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 its 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), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

 

Results of Operations

 

For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had net income of approximately $2.5 million, which consisted of a $3.6 million unrealized gain on change in fair value of warrants, $25,647 interest earned on investments held in trust account, offset by approximately $0.6 million of formation and operating costs, approximately $0.5 million offering costs, and $1,204 loss on investment in mutual funds.

 

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For the period from November 23, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020, we had net loss of $761 solely from formation and operating costs.

 

Our business activities from inception to December 31, 2021 consisted primarily of our formation and completing our IPO, and since the offering, our activity has been limited to identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition targets for a Business Combination.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $1.2 million in our operating bank account and money market funds, and working capital of approximately $1.1 million.

 

Our liquidity needs up to February 22, 2021 had been satisfied through a capital contribution from the Sponsor of $25,000 for the founder shares and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the Sponsor which was paid in full on February 22, 2021 from the IPO proceeds. Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the trust account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide us working capital loans. As of December 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any working capital loan.

 

We have until February 22, 2023 to complete our initial Business Combination under the terms of our final prospectus filed with the SEC on February 19, 2021. If we do not complete our initial Business Combination by February 22, 2023, we will begin mandatory liquidation proceedings, including the cessation of all operations and redemption of the Public Shares. As of the date of this filing, we have not yet identified a target for our initial Business Combination.

 

Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet our needs through the earlier of the consummation of an initial business combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds held outside of the trust account for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial business combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. However, in light of the mandatory liquidation that could potentially occur within one year from the date of this filing, management believes there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern if we do not consummate our initial Business Combination before February 22, 2023.

  

Administrative Services Agreement

 

We entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on April 1, 2021 through the earlier of the consummation of an initial business combination or our liquidation, we will pay the sponsor a monthly fee of up to $10,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support. Upon completion of an initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

 

Contractual Obligations

 

We do not have any long-term debt obligations, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations, purchase obligations or long-term liabilities.

  

Critical Accounting Policies

 

This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

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Except as set forth below, there have been no significant changes in our critical accounting policies as discussed in the final prospectus filed by us with the SEC on February 19, 2021.

 

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

 

All of the shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with our liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within our control require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, all shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheets.

 

We recognize any subsequent changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock to the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value of redeemable Class A common stock. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock also resulted in charges against Additional paid-in capital and Accumulated deficit.

 

Warrant Liability

 

We evaluated the Warrants in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity,” and concluded that a provision in the Warrant Agreement related to certain tender or exchange offers as well as provisions that provided for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant, precludes the Warrants from being accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815 and are not eligible for an exception from derivative accounting, the Warrants are recorded as derivative liabilities on the Balance Sheet and measured at fair value at inception (on the date of the IPO) and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.

  

Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

 

We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period, excluding shares subject to forfeiture. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 7,700,000 shares of our Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the period presented.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. We adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.

 

JOBS Act

 

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act and are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

 

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

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of December 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.

 

Factors That May Adversely Affect Our Results of Operations

 

Our results of operations and our ability to complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected by various factors that could cause economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, many of which are beyond our control. Our business could be impacted by, among other things, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, increases in oil prices, inflation, increases in interest rates, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including resurgences and the emergence of new variants, and geopolitical instability, such as the military conflict in the Ukraine. We cannot at this time fully predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact our business and our ability to complete an initial business combination.”

 

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.

 

As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.

 

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

 

Reference is made to pages F-1 through F-16 comprising a portion of this Report, which are incorporated herein by reference.

 

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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

 

None.

 

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer (together, the “Certifying Officers”), we carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on the foregoing, our Certifying Officers concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of the end of the period covered by this Report, due to the previous material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to our accounting for complex financial instruments..

 

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Certifying Officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting

 

This Report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

Other than as discussed elsewhere in this Report, there have been no changes to our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f)) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the year ended December 31, 2021 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Management has identified a material weakness in internal controls related to the accounting for complex financial instruments. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to continue to enhance our system of evaluating and implementing the accounting standards that apply to our financial statements, including through enhanced analyses by 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.

 

Item 9B. Other Information.

 

None.

 

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART III

 

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

 

Directors and Executive Officers

 

As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:

 

Name  Age  Position
Lee Einbinder  61  Chief Executive Officer and Director
Howard Kurz  64  President and Director
Steven Handwerker  34  Chief Financial Officer
Robert Matza  65  Director
David Smilow  60  Director
Val Soranno Keating  58  Director
Michael Vaughan  46  Director

 

The experience of our directors and executive officers is as follows:

 

Lee Einbinder, our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since inception, has over 35 years of experience as an M&A and capital markets advisor to financial services and FinTech companies. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Katapult (the successor to FinServ I after its business combination). Mr. Einbinder was previously the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of FinServ I. Previously, until 2019, Mr. Einbinder was a Vice Chairman at Barclays responsible for senior client relationships across the financial services industry, including banks, specialty finance, financial technology, asset management and financial sponsors. Mr. Einbinder was at Barclays since the acquisition of Lehman Brothers in 2008, and during that time was also co-Head of the Financial Institutions Group and a member of the Investment Banking Operating Committee. Prior to joining Barclays, Mr. Einbinder worked at Lehman Brothers from 1996 to 2008, where he was Head of the Specialty Finance group and founded the Financial Technology group. He previously worked in similar capacities at CS First Boston and Salomon Brothers. He received his MBA with Distinction from the Wharton School and his BSE cum laude from Princeton University. We believe Mr. Einbinder is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his extensive finance and investment experience.

 

Howard Kurz, our President and a Director since inception, has over 35 years of experience as a successful institutional investor and asset manager. Mr. Kurz was the founder and has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Lily Pond Capital Management LLC (“LPCM”), an alternative investment manager headquartered in New York since 2001. Most recently, LPCM was the investment manager of a Private Equity Fund (Lilypad Investors I) which provided early stage operating capital and expertise to an array of alternative investment management firms. Before founding LPCM, from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Kurz was Managing Director and Head of North American Financial Markets at The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc. Additionally, he was responsible globally for Foreign Exchange, Emerging Markets, and principal investments and was a senior member of the division’s Executive Committee. Prior to RBS, Mr. Kurz was a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers where he headed the Multi-Markets Proprietary Trading unit. He is President, Chief Financial Officer and a Director of FinServ I. He received his BA from University of Pennsylvania. We believe Mr. Kurz is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to the breadth and depth of his experience in the finance, banking and investment industries.

 

Steven Handwerker, our Chief Financial Officer since inception, has served as a consultant for FinServ I, and has been extensively involved in all aspects of its business and operations. Mr. Handwerker previously spent more than 10 years investing in and covering the financial services and FinTech industries. Before joining FinServ I as a Consultant in 2019, from 2013 to 2017, he was an Analyst on two of Citadel’s Equity Long/Short Hedge Fund platforms, Surveyor Capital and Aptigon Capital, covering companies within financial technology, payments, insurance, and other financial sub-sectors. Prior to Citadel, Mr. Handwerker was an Investment Banking Analyst in Barclays’ Financial Institutions Group from 2010 to 2013. He received his BBA from Emory University.

 

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Robert Matza, who has served as one of our directors since February 2021, retired as President, Partner and member of the Executive Committee of GoldenTree in 2019 after almost 14 years at the firm. Mr. Matza joined GoldenTree in 2006 and managed GoldenTree’s business management infrastructure, which provides operational support to GoldenTree’s investment products and client franchise. During his time at GoldenTree, Mr. Matza was part of the senior management team that oversaw significant growth in assets under management (from approximately $7 billion to over $30 billion), long only and alternatives (private equity and hedge funds), product lines and personnel. Prior to GoldenTree, Mr. Matza served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Neuberger Berman, Inc., as well as a member of its Board of Directors and Executive Committee, and following its acquisition by Lehman Brothers, a member of Lehman Brothers’ Management and Investment Committees. He joined Neuberger Berman in 1999 as a Principal, and led the team that successfully completed the initial public offering of Neuberger Berman in November of that same year. Between 2000 and 2003, he negotiated and completed several acquisitions and lift outs. In 2003, Mr. Matza negotiated the $2.6 billion sale of the company to Lehman Brothers. Assets under management grew from approximately $55 billion to over $107 billion from the time that Mr. Matza joined Neuberger Berman, until he left at the end of 2005. Mr. Matza’s industry experience prior to 1996 includes 16 years with Lehman Brothers and its predecessor companies, where he last served as Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Operating and Investment Committees. In 1996, he joined Travelers Group as its Treasurer and became Deputy Treasurer of Citigroup after Travelers and Citicorp merged in 1998. While at Citigroup, he served on the Finance, Investment and Merger & Acquisition Committees. He began his professional career at Coopers and Lybrand. Mr. Matza currently serves on the Board of Managers (as well as audit and compensation committees) of AG Artemis Holding LP, the holding company of Advisor Group Inc., a privately owned network of independent broker-dealers that was purchased by a private equity firm for $2.3 billion in 2019. He is also serving as a Senior Advisor to Algorand, a blockchain company focused on the commercialization of the secure blockchain to transact for global institutions. Mr. Matza is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board and the Board of the Center for Institutional Investment Management of the University at Albany’s School of Business. Mr. Matza earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany, his MBA in Finance from New York University and he is a Certified Public Accountant. We believe Mr. Matza is well qualified to serve as a Director due to his asset management, investment and mergers and acquisition experience in the financial industry.

 

David Smilow, who has served as one of our directors since February 2021, has over his career managed portfolios of alternative fixed income assets and secured investments, including railcars, real estate securities, and distressed assets. He has also sponsored and been an officer or director of numerous related start-up companies. Mr. Smilow is a founder and partner of ITE Management, which manages roughly $1.5 billion invested in transportation assets. From 2006 to the present, he has been Founder and Managing Partner at D.Aaron Asset Management, a venture capital and angel investing platform. From 2001 to 2011, Mr. Smilow was the Founder and Chairman of Jefferson National Financial (“JNF”), an insurance company offering variable annuity and other retirement products. Mr. Smilow oversaw investment activities and strategic planning for JNF, which is now part of 1st Nationwide. In addition, Mr. Smilow was the Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer of TeleBanc (now E*Trade Bank) from 1989 to 2001. Under his direction, TeleBanc became among the largest Internet banks worldwide before its sale to E*Trade in 1999. Prior to founding TeleBanc, Mr. Smilow was a fixed income portfolio manager and trader at Goldman Sachs and Drexel Burnham Lambert. He has also taught and lectured at Harvard Business School, New York University, and The Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Smilow holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. We believe Mr. Smilow is well qualified to serve as a Director due to his asset management, investment and operational experience in the financial and FinTech industry.

 

Val Soranno Keating, who has served as one of our directors since February 2021, has been senior advisor to a number of private equity firms in the U.S. and Europe since 2017 as Chief Executive Officer of Sagamore Group LLC, a private equity consulting firm. From 2009 through 2015, she was a member of the Group Executive Committee and the Chief Executive Officer of Barclaycard, the global payments division of Barclays. Before joining Barclays, Ms. Soranno Keating held a variety of executive positions and was a member of the Global Management Team at American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) from 1993 through 2009 including President, Travelers Cheques & Prepaid Services, Executive Vice President Global Commercial Services, Executive Vice President Global Merchant Services, Emerging Global Businesses & Network Expansion, and Vice President Corporate Strategic Planning. Prior to that, she was a management consultant at AT Kearney, Inc. from 1985 through 1991, and at the Amherst Group Limited from 1991 through 1993. Ms. Soranno Keating has served on a number of boards over the course of her career, including American Express Incentive Services from 2001 through 2007, Travelers Cheques Associates Ltd. from 2002 through 2007, Harbor Payments, Inc. from 2008 through 2009, Barclays Bank of Delaware as Chairman of the Board from 2010 through 2015, Visa Europe from 2011 through 2015, Apexx Fintech Limited from 2017 to 2020, Engage People Inc. since 2018, OneMain Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:OMF) since 2018 and CPI Card Group, Inc. (OTCQX: PMTS) since 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Business Administration from the Lehigh University College of Business. We believe Ms. Soranno Keating is well qualified to serve as a Director due to her operational and consulting experience in the financial industry.

 

Michael Vaughan, who has served as one of our directors since February 2021, has since 2019 been a Venture Partner at Oak HC/FT, a healthcare and fintech venture capital fund, where his focus is on investing in and advising growth-stage fintech businesses. Previously he served from 2011 to 2019 as Chief Operating Officer at Venmo, a mobile payments system owned by PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) since 2013. As one of Venmo’s earliest employees, he helped lead the company from its Series A funding round in 2011 through two strategic acquisitions. Prior to Venmo, Mr. Vaughan played a pivotal role in growing innovative companies in the wireless space, financial services industry and event ticketing market. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Since 2019, he has served on the board of Stem Disintermedia Inc., an arts royalty and payments platform. We believe Mr. Vaughan is well qualified to serve as a Director due to his operational experience with early- and growth- stage FinTech companies as well as his venture capital experience.

 

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Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

 

We currently have six (6) directors. Holders of our founder shares will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time.  Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Smilow and Mr. Vaughan, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Matza and Ms. Soranno Keating, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Einbinder and Kurz, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.

 

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

 

Committees of the Board of Directors

 

Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

 

Audit Committee

 

We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Matza and Smilow and Ms. Soranno Keating serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Matza chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Matza and Smilow and Ms. Soranno Keating meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.

 

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

 

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

 

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

 

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

 

setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Compensation Committee

 

We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Mr. Vaughan and Ms. Soranno Keating serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Mr. Vaughan and Ms. Soranno Keating are independent and Mr. Vaughan chairs the compensation committee.

 

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;

 

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers;

 

reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

 

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

 

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

 

if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

 

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

 

It is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee is only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

 

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

 

33

 

 

Director Nominations

 

We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Matza, Vaughan, Smilow and Ms. Soranno Keating. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.

 

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

 

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

 

Code of Ethics

 

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

 

Compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act

 

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common stock and other equity securities. These executive officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms filed by such reporting persons. Based solely on our review of such forms furnished to us and written representations from certain reporting persons, we believe that during the year ended December 31, 2021, all reports applicable to our executive officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were filed in a timely manner in accordance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act.

 

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

 

None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us.

 

We may pay our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, which may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. These individuals and entities will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, advisors or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. After the completion of our initial business combination, officers or directors who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

 

34

 

 

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

  

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.

 

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 29, 2022 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock, by:

 

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

 

each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and

 

all our executive officers and directors as a group.

 

In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 38,300,000 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 30,800,000 shares of our Class A common stock and (ii) 7,500,0000 shares of our Class B common stock, issued and outstanding as of March 29, 2022. On all matters to be voted upon, except for the election of directors of the board, holders of the shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.

 

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

 

   Class A Common Stock   Class B Common Stock   Approximate 
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) 

Number of

Shares

Beneficially

Owned

   Approximate
Percentage
of Class
  

Number of

Shares

Beneficially

Owned

   Approximate
Percentage
of Class
  

Percentage
of Outstanding
Common

Stock

 
FinServ Holdings II LLC (2)(3)   800,000    2.6%   7,500,000    100%   21.7%
Lee Einbinder (2)   800,000    2.6%   7,500,000    100%   21.7%
Howard Kurz                    
Steven Handwerker                    
Robert Matza                    
David Smilow                    
Val Soranno Keating                    
Michael Vaughan                    
All executive officers and directors as a group (7 individuals)   800,000    2.6%   7,500,000    100%   21.7%

  

 

(1)Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105.
(2)FinServ Holdings II LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the securities reported herein. Lee Einbinder, our Chief Executive Officer, is the sole managing members of our sponsor and has voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held by our sponsor. As such, he may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. Each of our officers, directors and director nominees is or will be, directly or indirectly, a member of our sponsor.
(3)Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, the company’s counsel, has received an interest in our sponsor as compensation for its services in lieu of a cash payment for fees relating to our initial public offering.

  

35

 

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

 

None.

 

Changes in Control

 

None.

 

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

 

In December 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering (excluding the placement units and underlying securities). In February 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.06 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in the sponsor holding an aggregate number of 7,618,750 founder shares, including an aggregate of up to 993,750 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised by the underwriters in full. On February 22, 2021, as a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option, a proportionate number of founder shares, aggregating 118,750, were forfeited, resulting in the sponsor holding an aggregate of 7,500,000 founder shares.

 

Our anchor investors purchased an aggregate of $98 million (or approximately 39.2%) of the units in our initial public offering at the offering price and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement units upon closing of our initial public offering. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor (a) does not own the number of shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units it purchased in our initial public offering (such number of shares referred to as such anchor investor’s “initial share allocation”) (i) at the time of any stockholder vote with respect to an initial business combination or (ii) on the business day immediately prior to the consummation of our initial business combination or (b) redeems all or a portion of such shares of Class A common stock in connection with an initial business combination such that as of the time of such initial business combination it does not own a number of shares at least equal to its initial share allocation, the allocation of founder shares to such anchor investor will be reduced proportionately based on the percentage of such anchor investor’s initial share allocation the anchor investor has redeemed or sold. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s managing member deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional stockholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement units (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any units, shares or warrants they may have purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter for any amount time, (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.

 

Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in our initial public offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase such units (either in our initial public offering or after) and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, no affirmative votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination. However, our anchor investors are not required to vote their public shares in favor of any initial business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination.

 

36

 

 

Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 800,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,000,000. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares, placement shares or placement warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination by February 22, 2023.

 

We pay our sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support commencing on April 1, 2021. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. We may pay our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, which may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. These individuals and entities will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

 

On December 23, 2020, we issued an unsecured promissory note to the sponsor for an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the initial public offering. This loan was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of September 30, 2021 or the completion of the initial public offering. On February 22, 2021, we paid the balance of the promissory note in full from the initial public offering proceeds, and it is no longer available to be drawn upon.

 

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units. Other than as described above, the terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We 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.

 

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

 

The holders of the founder shares, placement units, and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and in each case holders of their component securities, as applicable) will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of our initial public offering. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us.

 

We have entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

 

37

 

 

Related Party Policy

 

We have adopted a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the code of ethics was filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement.

 

In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter, is responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present is required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee constitutes a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee is required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter was filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.

 

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

 

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

 

We may pay our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, which may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. These individuals and entities may also receive the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of our initial public offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:

 

Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;

 

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

 

Repayment of non-interest bearing loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which (other than as described above) have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units.

 

In addition, we pay our sponsor up to $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support.

 

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

 

Director Independence

 

Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Matza, Vaughan, Smilow and Ms. Soranno Keating are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

 

38

 

  

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

 

The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Withum, for services rendered.

 

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Withum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Withum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 totaled $83,290 and $26,265 respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.

 

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2021 we did not pay Withum any audit-related fees.

 

Tax Fees. We paid Withum $5,750 for tax services, planning or advice for the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

All Other Fees. We did not pay Withum for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

Pre-Approval Policy

 

Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).

 

39

 

 

PART IV

 

Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules.

 

(a)The following documents are filed as part of this Report:

 

(1)Financial Statements

 

  Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-1
   
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 F - 2
   
Statements of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 and Period from November 23, 2020 (Inception) to December 31, 2020 F - 3
   
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 and Period from November 23, 2020 (Inception) to December 31, 2020 F - 4
   
Statements of Cash Flows for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 and Period from November 23, 2020 (Inception) to December 31, 2020 F - 5
   
Notes to Financial Statements F - 6

 

(2)Financial Statement Schedules

 

All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes beginning on F-1 on this Report.

 

(3)Exhibits

 

We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. 

 

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

 

Not applicable.

 

40

 

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of

FinServ Acquisition Corp. II

 

Opinion on the Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of FinServ Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 23, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 23, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Going Concern

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by February 22, 2023 then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. 

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

 

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC

 

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2020.

 

New York, New York

March 29, 2021

 

PCAOB ID 100

 

F-1

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
BALANCE SHEETS

 

   December 31,
2021
   December 31,
2020
 
Assets:        
Current Assets:        
Cash  $152,443   $3,523 
Investment in Mutual Funds   998,796    
 
Prepaid Expenses   224,880    
 
Total current assets   1,376,119    3,523 
Other noncurrent assets   26,682    
 
Deferred offering costs   
    30,000 
Cash and Investments held in Trust Account   300,025,197    
 
Total assets  $301,427,998   $33,523 
           
Liabilities, Redeemable Common Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)          
Current liabilities:          
Accounts payable and accrued expenses  $321,157   $
 
Promissory note - related party   
    9,284 
Total current liabilities   321,157    9,284 
Warrant liability   4,774,000    
 
Deferred underwriting fee   10,500,000    
 
Total liabilities   15,595,157    9,284 
           
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6)   
 
    
 
 
Common Stock subject to possible redemption, 30,000,000 and no shares at redemption value $10.00 at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively   300,000,000    
 
           
Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit):          
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding   
    
 
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 800,000 and 0 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 30,000,000 and no shares subject to possible redemption) at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively   80     
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 7,500,000 and 7,618,750 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively(1)   750    762 
Additional paid-in capital   
    24,238 
Accumulated deficit   (14,167,989)   (761)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)   (14,167,159)   24,239 
Total Liabilities, Redeemable Common Stock and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)  $301,427,998   $33,523 

 

(1)Shares at December 31, 2020 included up to 993,750 founder Class B shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor if over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6).

 

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

F-2

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
 

   For the year ended
December 31, 2021
   For the period
from November 23,
2020 (Inception) to
December 31,
2020
 
Formation and operating costs  $649,181   $761 
Loss from Operations   (649,181)   (761)
           
Other income (expense):          
Interest earned on cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account   25,647    
 
Offering costs allocated to warrants   (457,600)   
 
Change in fair value of warrant liability   3,623,000    
 
Loss on investment in mutual funds   (1,204)   
 
Total other income (expense)   3,189,843    
 
           
Net income (loss)  $2,540,662   $(761)
           
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock   26,412,055    
 
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, Class A common stock  $0.08   $
 
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock(1)   7,375,342    6,625,000 
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share, Class B common stock  $0.08   $(0.00)

 

(1)Excludes up to 993,750 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6). In February 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.06 shares for each Class B common share outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate number of 7,618,750 Founder Shares (see Note 7). All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated.

 

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

 

F-3

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND
PERIOD FROM NOVEMBER 23, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020

  

   Class A
Common stock
   Class B
Common stock
   Additional
Paid-in
   Accumulated   Total
Stockholders’
Equity
 
   Shares   Amount   Shares(1)   Amount   Capital   Deficit   (Deficit) 
Balance as of November 23, 2020 (Inception)   
   $
       $
   $
   $
   $ 
Issuance of Class B common stock to initial stockholders           7,618,750   $762   $24,238        25,000 
Net loss               
    
   $(761)  $(761)
Balance as of December 31, 2020   
   $
    7,618,750   $762   $24,238   $(761)  $24,239 
Sale of 800,000 Private Placement Units   800,000    80            7,777,920        7,778,000 
Forfeiture of 118,750 shares due to over-allotment not exercised in full           (118,750)   (12)   12         
Accretion of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption                   (7,802,170)   (16,707,890)   (24,510,060)
Net income               
    
    2,540,662    2,540,662 
Balance as of December 31, 2021   800,000   $80    7,500,000   $750    
   $(14,167,989)  $(14,167,159)

 

(1)Balance at December 31, 2020 includes up to 993,750 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6). In February 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.06 shares for each Class B common share outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate number of 7,618,750 Founder Shares (see Note 7). All share and per share amounts have been retroactively restated.

 

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

  

F-4

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

   For the year ended December 31, 2021   For the
period from November 23,
2020 (Inception) to December 31,
2020
 
Cash flows from operating activities:        
Net income (loss)  $2,540,662   $(761)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:          
Incorporation cost paid by Sponsor   
    (716)
Interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account   (25,647)   
 
Offering costs allocated to warrants   457,600    
 
Change in fair value of warrant liability   (3,623,000)   
 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:          
Prepaid assets   (251,562)   
 
Due to related party   
    
 
Accrued expenses   321,157    
 
Net cash used in operating activities   (580,790)   (1,477)
           
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:          
Investment of cash in trust account   (300,000,000)   
 
Cash withdrawn from trust account to pay taxes   450    
 
Net cash used in investing activities   (299,999,550)   
 
           
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:          
Proceeds from issuance of founder shares   
    25,000 
Proceeds from sale of units, net of underwriting discount   294,000,000    
 
Proceeds from issuance of private placement warrants   8,000,000    
 
Proceeds from (repayment of) promissory note – related party   (9,284)   10,000 
Payment of offering costs   (262,660)   (30,000)
Net cash provided by financing activities   301,728,056    5,000 
           
Net change in cash and cash equivalents   1,147,716    3,523 
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period   3,523    
 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period  $1,151,239   $3,523 
           
Cash, end of the period  $152,443   $3,523 
Investment in Mutual Funds, end of the period   998,796    
 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period  $1,151,239   $3,523 
           
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information from financing activity:          
Deferred underwriters’ discount payable charged to additional paid-in capital  $10,500,000    
 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements

 

F-5

 

FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations

 

FinServ Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on November 23, 2020. The Company was 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 (“Business Combination”).

 

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) which is described below, and, since the closing of the IPO, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the IPO.

 

The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 17, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On February 22, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 30,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), which included the partial exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option resulting in the purchase of an additional 3,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per whole share.

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 800,000 placement units (the “Placement Units”), at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit, in a private placement to FinServ Holdings II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $8,000,000, which is discussed in Note 4.

 

Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to $16,792,661, consisting of $6,000,000 of underwriting discount, $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting discount, and $292,661 of other offering costs. Total transaction costs included $457,600 of expenses associated with the warrant liability.

 

Following the closing of the IPO on February 22, 2021, $300,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net offering proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Placement Units was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (a) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or certain amendments to the charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-Business Combination activity, and (c) the redemption of the public shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Public Offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the public stockholders.

 

The Company will provide its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its 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 the Company to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirements. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations.

 

F-6

  

The Company will have only 24 months from February 22, 2021, the closing of the IPO, to complete an initial Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company doesn’t complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its 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), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

 

The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame, and (iv) vote any founder shares and placement shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of the Company’s initial Business Combination.

 

The Company’s Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable), nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked its Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether its Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Company’s Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that its Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $1.2 million in its operating bank account and money market funds, and working capital of approximately $1.1 million.

 

The Company’s liquidity needs up to February 22, 2021 had been satisfied through a capital contribution from the Sponsor of $25,000 for the founder shares (see Note 5) and the loan under an unsecured promissory note from the Sponsor of up to $300,000, which outstanding balance was paid on February 22, 2021 (see Note 5). In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 5).

 

The Company has until February 22, 2023 to complete its initial Business Combination under the terms of its final prospectus filed with the SEC on February 19, 2021. If the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination by February 22, 2023, it will begin mandatory liquidation proceedings, including the cessation of all operations and redemption of the Public Shares. As of the date of this filing, the Company has not yet identified a target for its initial Business Combination.

 

Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. However, in light of the mandatory liquidation that could potentially occur within one year from the date of this filing, management believes there is substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern if it does not consummate its initial Business Combination before February 22, 2023.

 

F-7

 

Risks and Uncertainties

 

Management is continuing to evaluate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that it could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

  

Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies 

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) have been made that are necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company. 

 

Emerging Growth Company Status

 

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

  

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial 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.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

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

 

F-8

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,151,239 and $3,523, respectively.

 

Investments Held in Trust Account

 

At December 31, 2021, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds which invest in U.S. Treasury securities.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the federal depository insurance corporation coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

 

Warrant Liabilities

 

The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposure to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluated the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrants,” which are discussed in Note 3, Note 4, and Note 8) in accordance with ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity,” and concluded that a provision in the Warrant Agreement related to certain tender or exchange offer precludes the Warrants from being accounted for as components of equity. As the Warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, the Warrants are recorded as derivative liabilities on the Balance Sheet and measured at fair value at inception (on the date of the IPO) and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” with changes in fair value recognized in the Statement of Operations in the period of change.

 

Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

 

The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1. Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the Initial Public Offering that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred, presented as non-operating expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the Class A common stock were charged to temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to an aggregate of $16,792,661, of which $457,600 was allocated to expense associated with the warrant liability and $16,335,061 was charged to temporary equity.

  

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

 

All of the shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s second amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Ordinary liquidation events, which involve the redemption and liquidation of all of the entity’s equity instruments, are excluded from the provisions of ASC 480. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, all shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheets, respectively. The Company recognizes any subsequent changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock to the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value of redeemable Class A common stock. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. The change in the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock also resulted in charges against Additional paid-in capital and Accumulated deficit.

 

F-9

 

The Class A common stock subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 is reconciled in the following table:

 

Gross Proceeds  $300,000,000 
Less:     
Proceeds allocated to public warrants   (8,175,000)
Class A common stock issuance costs   (16,335,061)
Plus:     
Accretion of carrying value to redemption value   24,510,061 
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption  $300,000,000 

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized. The deferred tax assets were deemed to be de minimis as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020.

 

ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.

 

The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. The provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 23, 2020 (Inception) to December 31, 2020.

  

Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

 

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period, excluding shares subject to forfeiture. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 7,700,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the period presented.

 

F-10

 

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) per Share of Common Stock

 

Accordingly, basic and diluted income (loss) per share for Class A common stock and for Class B common stock is calculated as follows:

 

   For the year ended
December 31, 2021
   For the period from
November 23, 2020
(Inception) to
December 31, 2020
 
   Class A
Common Stock
   Class B
Common Stock
   Class A
Common Stock
   Class B
Common Stock
 
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share:                
Numerator:                
Allocation of net income (loss)  $1,986,069   $554,593   $
   $(761)
Denominator:                    
Weighted-average shares outstanding   26,412,055    7,375,342    
    7,500,000 
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share  $0.08   $0.08   $
   $(0.00)

  

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

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

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

 

F-11

 

Note 3 — Initial Public Offering

 

Public Units

 

On February 22, 2021, the Company sold 30,000,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit, which included the partial exercise by the underwriters of the over-allotment option resulting in the purchase of an additional 3,500,000 Units. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock (the “Public Warrants”).

 

Public Warrants

 

As of December 31, 2021, the Company has 7,500,000 Pubic Warrants. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or February 22, 2022, the closing of the Public Offering, and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Company’s Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or its affiliates, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the 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 greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under the caption “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under the caption “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common Stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

 

The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such unit.

 

F-12

 

Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:

 

in whole and not in part;

 

at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

 

upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption given after the warrants become exercisable (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and

 

if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the 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 three business days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

  

Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00

 

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:

 

in whole and not in part;

 

at a price of $0.10 per warrant, upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants, but only on a cashless basis, prior to redemption based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of Class A common stock except as otherwise described below;

 

if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days (the “Reference Days”) within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and

 

if the reported last sale price of the Class A common stock is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for the Reference Days, the placement warrants are also concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.

 

If the Company calls the warrants for redemption as described above, the management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the management will consider, among other factors, the Company’s cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on its stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrant by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361 per whole warrant. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price of the Class A common stock for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants.

 

Note 4 — Private Placement

 

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 800,000 Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,000,000, in a private placement. A portion of the proceeds from the private placement was added to the proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account.

 

Each Placement Unit is identical to the Units offered in the Public Offering except as described below. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the founder shares, placement shares or placement warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period.

 

As of December 31, 2021, the Company has 200,000 Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to Public Warrants except that the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.

 

The Company’s initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their placement shares (i) in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or certain amendments to the Company’s charter prior thereto, to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity and (iii) if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period or if the Company liquidates prior to the expiration of the Combination Period. However, the initial stockholders will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by them if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination or liquidate within the Combination Period.

 

F-13

 

Note 5 — Related Party Transactions

 

Founder Shares

 

In December 2020, the Company’s initial stockholders paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, in consideration for an aggregate of 7,187,500 shares of Class B common stock par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). In February 2021, the Company effected a stock dividend of 0.06 shares for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate number of 7,618,750 Founder Shares, including an aggregate of up to 993,750 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised by the underwriters in full. On February 22, 2021, as a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option, a proportionate number of founder shares, aggregating 118,750, were forfeited, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 7,500,000 Founder Shares.

 

With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to the Company’s officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the Sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) six months after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the Company’s initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date, following the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

 

Promissory Note — Related Party

 

On December 23, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor for an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the IPO. This loan was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the Public Offering. On February 22, 2021, the Company paid the balance of the promissory note in full from the IPO proceeds, and it is no longer available to be drawn upon.

 

Related Party Loans

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the Placement units. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.

 

Administrative Services Agreement

 

The Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on April 1, 2021 through the earlier of the consummation of the Initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company may pay, if requested by the Sponsor, a monthly fee of up to $10,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support. Upon completion of the Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company paid administrative fees of $30,000 covering the quarter ended June 30, 2021. No fees were requested, paid or accrued for the quarters ended September 30, 2021 or December 31, 2021.

 

F-14

 

Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of the founder shares, Placement Units, and units that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock and warrants (and underlying Class A common stock) that may be issued upon conversion of the units issued as part of the Working Capital Loans and Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the founder shares, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Public Offering, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act.

 

Underwriting Agreement

 

The underwriter had a 45-day option from the date of the IPO to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,975,000 additional Units at the public offering price less the underwriting commissions to cover over-allotments, if any. On February 22, 2021, the underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option and purchased 3,500,000 additional units, and was paid a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $6,000,000 in the aggregate. 

 

The underwriters are entitled to deferred underwriting fee of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the IPO, or $10,500,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will be payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes an initial Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

 

Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity

 

Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock at par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

 

Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were 30,800,000 and 0 shares issued and outstanding, including 30,000,000 and 0 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, respectively.

 

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock at par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were 7,500,000 and 7,618,750 shares issued and outstanding.

 

The Company’s Sponsor, directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) six months after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the Company’s initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date, following the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

 

The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of the IPO (excluding the placement units and underlying securities) plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination, any private-equivalent units and their underlying securities issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company).

 

Holders of record of the Class A common stock and holders of record of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders, with each share of common stock entitling the holder to one vote except as required by law.

 

F-15

  

Note 8 — Fair Value Measurements

 

The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually. 

 

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

 

  Level 1 — Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Valuation adjustments and block discounts are not being applied. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, valuation of these securities does not entail a significant degree of judgment.

 

  Level 2 — Valuations based on (i) quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, (ii) quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets, (iii) inputs other than quoted prices for the assets or liabilities, or (iv) inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by market through correlation or other means.

 

  Level 3 — Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement.

 

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:

 

   December 31,   Quoted Prices In Active Markets   Significant Other Observable Inputs   Significant Other Unobservable Inputs 
   2021   (Level 1)   (Level 2)   (Level 3) 
Assets:                
U.S. Money Market held in Trust Account  $300,025,197   $300,025,197   $
   $
 
   $301,023,993   $301,023,993   $
   $
 
Liabilities:                    
Public Warrants Liability  $4,650,000   $4,650,000   $
   $
 
Private Placement Warrants Liability   124,000    
    124,000    
 
   $4,774,000   $4,650,000   $124,000   $
 

 

Level 1 assets include investments in mutual funds and money market funds invested in government securities. The Company uses inputs such as actual trade data, benchmark yields, quoted market prices from dealers or brokers, and other similar sources to determine the fair value of its investments.

 

The Warrants are accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities on the balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the statement of operations.

 

F-16

  

The Company established the initial fair value of the Public and Private Warrants on February 22, 2021, the date of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, using a Monte Carlo simulation model and modified Black-Sholes model. The Warrants were classified as Level 3 at the initial measurement date due to the use of unobservable inputs. As of December 31, 2021, the Company used the quoted market price as the fair value of the Public Warrants and the Public Warrants were reclassified from Level 3 to Level 1. Due to certain “make whole” provisions in the warrant agreement, the Company also used the quoted market price of the Public Warrants as the fair value of the Private Warrants as of December 31, 2021, and reclassified the Private Warrants from Level 3 to Level 2, due to the use of the quoted price of a similar liability.

 

The following table presents the changes in the fair value of Level 3 warrant liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2021:

 

   Level 3 Warrant
Liabilities
 
Fair Value as of December 31, 2020  $
 
Initial measurement on February 22, 2021   8,397,000 
Transfer of Public Warrants to Level 1   (9,000,000)
Transfer of Private Placement Warrants to Level 2   (240,000)
Change in valuation as of December 31, 2021   843,000 
Fair Value as of December 31, 2021  $
 

 

The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation and modified Black-Sholes model as of February 22, 2021 were as follows:

 

Inputs 

February 22,
2021

(initial measurement)

 
Risk-free interest rate   0.61%
Exercise price  $11.50 
Expected volatility   14.5%
Underlying stock price  $11.10 
Term (in years)   5.0 

 

Note 9 — Subsequent Events

 

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

 

F-17

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

  

Exhibit No.   Description
1.1   Underwriting Agreement, dated February 17, 2021, by and among the Company, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc. (3)
3.1   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. (3)
3.2   By Laws (1)
4.1   Specimen Unit Certificate (2)
4.2   Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate (2)
4.3   Specimen Warrant Certificate (2)
4.4   Warrant Agreement, dated February 17, 2021, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent. (3)
4.5   Description of Registered Securities.*
10.1   Letter Agreement, dated February 17, 2021, by and among the Company, its officers, directors and the Sponsor. (3)
10.2   Promissory Note, dated November 23, 2020, issued to FinServ Holdings II LLC (1)
10.3   Investment Management Trust Agreement, February 17, 2021, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. (3)
10.4   Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 17, 2021, by and among the Company, the Sponsor and the holders party thereto. (3)
10.5   Securities Subscription Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, between the Registrant and FinServ Holdings II LLC (1)
10.6   Placement Unit Purchase Agreement, dated February 17, 2021, by and between the Company and the Sponsor. (3)
10.7   Administrative Support Agreement, dated April 1, 2021, by and between the Company and the Sponsor.*
14   Code of Ethics (1)
31.1   Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by Rules 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Exchange Act, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
31.2   Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by Rules 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Exchange Act, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
32.1   Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.**
32.2   Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.**
99.1   Audit Committee Charter (1)
99.2   Compensation Committee Charter (1)
101.INS   Inline XBRL Instance Document.*
101.SCH   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.*
101.CAL   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.*
101.DEF   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.*
101.LAB   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.*
101.PRE   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.*
104   Cover Page Interactive Data File (Embedded as Inline XBRL document and contained in Exhibit 101).*

  

* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith

(1)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on February 2, 2021.

(2)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on February 8, 2021.

(3)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form Current Report 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 23, 2021.

 

41

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

March 29, 2022 FINSERV ACQUISITION CORP. II
     
  By:

/s/ Lee Einbinder

  Name: Lee Einbinder
  Title: Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Name   Position   Date
     

/s/ Lee Einbinder

  Chief Executive Officer and Director   March 29, 2022
Lee Einbinder   (Principal Executive Officer)    
     

/s/ Steven Handwerker

  Chief Financial Officer   March 29, 2022
Steven Handwerker   (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)    
     

/s/ Howard Kurz

  President and Director   March 29, 2022
Howard Kurz        
     

/s/ Robert Matza

  Director   March 29, 2022
Robert Matza        
     

/s/ David Smilow

  Director   March 29, 2022
David Smilow        
     

/s/ Val Soranno Keating

  Director   March 29, 2022
Val Soranno Keating        
     

/s/ Michael Vaughan

  Director   March 29, 2022
Michael Vaughan        

 

 

 

42

 

 

 

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