Description of Registrant's Securities
Exhibit 4.3
Description of the Company’s Securities Registered
Under Section 12 of the Exchange Act of 1934
The following description of our units, common stock, warrants and rights, 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 4.1 is a part.
Description of Securities
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 40,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value.
Units
Each unit consists of one share of our common stock, one redeemable warrant, and one right. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as described herein and each eight rights entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of common stock at the closing of a business combination. In addition, we will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Delaware law. Each eight rights entitles the holder to receive one share of our common stock upon completion of an initial business combination.
The units, shares of common stock, warrants and rights, 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 common stock, warrants and rights.
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. 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. Any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of 60% of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 40,000,000 shares of 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 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.
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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 was initially $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 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. 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (i.e., until May 22, 2026) 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 (which may include the costs associated with obtaining directors and officers “tail” insurance) and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), 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 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering (i.e., May 22, 2026) 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 18 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 18 months (i.e., before May 22, 2026), we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to six times, each by an additional month (for a total of up to 24 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, 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, $229,700 ($0.0333 per share) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, up to an aggregate of $1,378,200 ($0.1998 per share) (each an “Extension Period”).
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 common stock included in the units sold in the IPO except that: (1) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into, (2) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (May 22, 2026)(or up to 24 months from the closing of our IPO (November 22, 2026) if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail herein) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre- initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (May 22, 2026)(or up to 24 months from the closing of our IPO (November 22, 2026) if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail herein) 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 the prescribed time frame); and (3) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed (and their respective permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after our IPO in favor of our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement, investment agreements or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
The founder shares are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement entered into by our initial stockholders, directors and officers. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of shares of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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 public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property, except in each case (a) to our directors or officers, any affiliates or family members of any of our directors or officers, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) in the case of an entity, by virtue of the laws of its jurisdiction or its organizational documents or operating agreement; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.
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Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of twelve months from the date of the IPO or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. However, no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock. While the shares underlying the warrants have been registered, if the registration statement relating thereto is no longer available, it is our current intention to arrange for a new registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock in effect promptly following consummation of an initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the public 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 of 1933, as amended (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. In the event of such cashless exercise, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose will mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of common stock for the 5 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date of exercise. The warrants will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The private warrants included in the private placement units, as well as any warrants underlying additional units we issue to our sponsor, officers, directors, initial stockholders, holding founder shares or their affiliates in payment of working capital loans made to us, are identical to the warrants underlying the units offered in our IPO, except that:
We may call the warrants for redemption, in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant,
● | at any time after the warrants become exercisable, |
● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, |
● | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders (“Reference Value”); and |
● | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such warrants. |
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing share price and the warrant exercise price so that if the share price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the share price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of common stock for the 5 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.
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The warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder (i) 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 our IPO prospectus, or to cure, correct or supplement any defective provision, or (ii) to add or change any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the interests of the registered holders of the warrants. The warrant agreement requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.
The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a an issue price or effective issue price less than $9.20 per share of common stock (“Newly Issued Price”) (of 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, initial stockholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by them prior to such issuance), (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 shares of our 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 (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) 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, 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 shares of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder would beneficially own in excess of 9.9% of the shares of common stock outstanding.
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 the number of shares of 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, including under the Securities Act, 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 exclusive forum provision shall not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
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In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may loan us funds as may be required, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private units of the post business combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units.
Rights
Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-eighth (1/8) of one share of common stock upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of a public right converted all shares of common stock held by him, her or it in connection with the initial business combination or an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation with respect to our pre-business combination activities. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights in order to receive the one-eighth (1/8) of a share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive his, her or its additional shares of common stock upon consummation of an initial business combination. The shares issuable upon exchange of the rights will be freely tradable (except to the extent held by affiliates of ours). If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of the common stock will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into common stock basis.
We will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Delaware law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 8 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights, and the rights will expire worthless. Further, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination. Additionally, in no event will we be required to net cash settle the rights. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.
Private Rights
The private rights have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the rights described above. The private rights (including the common stock issuable upon conversion of the private rights) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except to permitted transferees.
Private Placement Units
The private placement units are identical to the units, except that the private warrants and the common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the private warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the private warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the private warrants will be redeemable by the company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the public warrants.
The placement warrants (including the 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).
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or during any Extension Period) from the closing of the initial public offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement units will be worthless.
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In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial 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 an initial 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 an initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of an initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the private placement units.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the placement units (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of any of the private placement warrants or upon exchange of any private placement rights) 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, Warrant Agent and Rights Agent
The transfer agent for our common stock, warrant agent for our warrants and rights agent for our rights, is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC in its roles as transfer agent, warrant agent and rights 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 consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend 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 to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the IPO (or up to 24 months from the closing of the IPO if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail herein) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
● | prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either: (1) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against, or abstain from voting on, the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (net of permitted withdrawals); or (2) provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (net of permitted withdrawals), in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
● | we will consummate our initial business combination only if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination at a duly held stockholders meeting; |
● | if our initial business combination is not consummated within 18 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 24 months from the closing of the IPO if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail herein), then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and |
● | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of common stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. |
In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of common stock voted by our stockholders at a duly held stockholder meeting.
Any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of 60% of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We have elected to be exempt from the restrictions imposed under Section 203 of the DGCL. However, our certificate of incorporation will contain similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that such stockholder becomes an interested stockholder unless:
● | prior to such time, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
● | upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an “interested stockholder,” the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced (excluding certain shares); or |
● | on or subsequent to such time, the business combination is approved by the Board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our voting stock.
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Under some circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who is an interested stockholder to effect various business combinations with us for a three-year period.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our sponsor and its various affiliates, successors and transferees will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly are not subject to this provision.
Our authorized but unissued common 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 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 that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) and any appellate court therefrom shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the following claims or causes of action under the Delaware statutory or common law: (A) any derivative claim or cause of action brought on behalf of the Company; (B) any claim or cause of action for breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, or any claim or cause of action for aiding and abetting any such breach; (C) any claim or cause of action against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Company, arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation or the bylaws of the Company (as each may be amended from time to time); (D) any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation or the bylaws of the Company (as each may be amended from time to time, including any right, obligation, or remedy thereunder); (E) any claim or cause of action as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and (F) any claim or cause of action against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee of the Company, governed by the internal-affairs doctrine, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants.
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 Delaware 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, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As noted above, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction over any action arising under the Securities Act. Accordingly, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision, and our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
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Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by our board of directors, by our president or by our chairman, if any.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors are authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors are able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Listing of Securities
Our units, public shares, public warrants and public rights are each traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “NOEMU,” “NOEM”, “NOEMW” and “NOEMR,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on November 22, 2024, and our public shares, public warrants and public rights commenced separate public trading on January 16, 2025.
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