Description of Registered Securities

EX-4.5 2 ex4-5.htm DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

 

Exhibit 4.5

 

Description of the Company’s Securities Registered

Under Section 12 of the Exchange Act of 1934

 

The following description of our units, common stock and warrants is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws and warrant agreement, each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part.

 

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

 

  ● “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;
     
  ● “Exchange Act” are to the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
     
  ● “equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt;
     
  ● “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our IPO, and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon the conversion thereof;
     
  ● “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares (or their permitted transferees);
     
  ● “IPO” or “initial public offering” are to the September 17, 2021, sale by the Company of 10,500,000 units which included the exercise of a portion (500,000 units) of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 units to cover over-allotments at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $105,000,000;
     
  ● “placement warrants” are to the warrants purchased by our sponsor in the private placement;
     
  ● “private placement” are to the private placement of 5,411,000 redeemable warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant which closed simultaneously in connection with the IPO;
     
  ● “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our IPO (whether they are purchased in the IPO 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 purchase 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 IPO (whether they are purchased in the IPO or thereafter in the open market, including warrants that may be acquired by our sponsor or its affiliates in the IPO or thereafter in the open market) and to any placement warrants 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;
     
  ● “representative” are to EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC, who was the representative of the underwriters in the IPO;
     
  ● “sponsor” are to Aesther Healthcare Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, an affiliate of Suren Ajjarapu, our Chief Executive officer;

 

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  ● “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;
     
  ● “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
     
  ● “underwriters” are to the underwriters of the IPO, for which the representative acted as representative;
     
  ● “units” are to the Units sold in the IPO which each consisted of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share and one half of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant exercisable into one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share;
     
  ● “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the placement warrants and any warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans to the extent they are no longer held by the initial holders or their permitted transferees; and
     
  ● “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Aesther Healthcare Acquisition Corp.

 

Description of Securities

 

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 125,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 12,500,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,250,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value.

 

Units

 

Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as described herein. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of the company’s Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

 

The units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants separately trade on The Nasdaq Global Market. Holders have the option to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants.

 

The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.

 

Common Stock

 

Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.

 

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Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 125,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, if we were to enter into an initial business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such an initial business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.

 

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.

 

We will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our 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. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 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 have agreed to pay to the underwriters of our initial public offering. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange requirements, if a stockholder vote is not required by law 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 the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek 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.

 

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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of common stock sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the initial business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

 

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Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of our initial public offering (i.e., until September 17, 2022) or during any Extension Period (as discussed below), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they will agree to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of our initial public offering (i.e., September 17, 2022) or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders 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 within the prescribed time period.

 

As discussed above, we will have until 12 months from the closing of our initial public offering to complete our initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months (i.e., before September 17, 2022), we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination), subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below. Pursuant to the terms of the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our initial shareholders or their affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three-month extension, $1,050,000 ($0.10 per share) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, up to an aggregate of $2,100,000 ($0.20 per share).

 

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

 

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Founder Shares

 

The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in our initial public offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (x) 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 within 12 months from the closing of our initial public offering or during any Extension Period or (y) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any Extension Period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the founder shares are shares of our Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein, and (iv) are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors, have pursuant to the letter agreement entered into with us, agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased after the initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.

 

The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus 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 initial public offering (excluding the placement warrants and underlying securities, and the representative’s shares) 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 placement-equivalent units and their underlying securities issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us). We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A stockholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock. If such adjustment is not waived, the issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock issues in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.

 

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With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or saleable (except to our officers, directors, consultants and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported last sale price of our 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 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

 

Redeemable Warrants

 

Public Stockholders’ Warrants

 

We have issued warrants to purchase 5,250,000 shares of our Class A common stock to investors in our initial public offering. Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of our initial offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.

 

The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

 

We 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 of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue 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 the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such unit.

 

We have agreed that as soon as practicable after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 90th day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.

 

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Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:

 

  ● in whole and not in part;
     
  ● at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
     
  ● upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption 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, right issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain capital raising transactions as discussed below) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

 

If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in the initial public offering.

 

We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

 

If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination.

 

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

 

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

 

In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A common stock on account of such shares of Class A common stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend 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 Class A common stock if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any Extension Period or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, or (f) in connection with any payment in connection with the Company’s liquidation and the distribution of its assets upon its failure to consummate a initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A common stock in respect of such event.

 

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

 

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

 

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event.

 

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The warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.

 

In addition, if (x) if the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (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 our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, then 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, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

 

The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A common stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.

 

No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.

 

We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.

 

Placement warrants

 

Except as described below, the placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants sold as part of the units in the initial public offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability, redemption, and exercise period. The placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, subject to certain other limited exceptions, to our officers, directors, consultants and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor).

 

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The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in the initial public offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, (i) may not (including the common stock shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and (ii) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or during any Extension Period) from the closing of the initial public offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will be worthless.

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The warrants would be identical to the placement warrants. However, as the warrants would not be issued until consummation of our initial business combination, such warrants would not be able to be voted on an amendment to the warrant agreement in connection with such business combination.

 

Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of any of these warrants) until the date that is 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except, subject to certain other limited exceptions, to our officers, directors, consultants and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.

 

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 an 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 conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

 

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

 

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Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:

 

  ● If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our 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;
     
  ● Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination;
     
  ● Although we do not intend to enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking 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;
     
  ●  If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above;
     
  ●  So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, 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;
     
  ● If our stockholders approve an 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 within 12 months from the closing of the initial public offering or during any Extension Period or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and
     
  ● We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

 

In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares unless our net tangible assets are 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.

 

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Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

 

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:

 

  ● a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
     
  ● an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
     
  ● an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.

 

A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:

 

  ● our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
     
  ● after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
     
  ● on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the initial business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide that our board of directors will be classified. As a result, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at one annual meeting.

 

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

 

Exclusive forum for certain lawsuits

 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

 

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

Special meeting of stockholders

 

Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.

 

Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations

 

Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.

 

Action by written consent

 

Any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.

 

Class B Common Stock Consent Right

 

For so long as any shares of Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision our certificate of incorporation, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B common stock may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of Class B common stock were present and voted.

 

Listing of Securities

 

Our units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “AEHAU,” “AEHA” and “AEHAW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on September 15, 2021, and our public shares and public warrants commenced separate public trading on November 5, 2021.

 

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