Description of Securities
Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Pursuant to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of Columbus Acquisition Corp (the “Company,” “we” or “us”), we are authorized to issue 490,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 preferred shares, par value US$0.0001 per share. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right. Each right entitles the holder thereof to receive one-seventh of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, we will not issue fractional shares in connection with a conversion of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of seven in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination.
The ordinary shares and rights began to trade separately on March 17, 2025. Holders of Public Units will need to have their brokers contact the Company’s transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, in order to separate the holders’ public units into ordinary shares and rights.
Ordinary Shares
As of the date of this annual report, 7,944,290 ordinary shares are issued and outstanding, consisting of:
● | 6,000,000 ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”); |
● | 234,290 ordinary shares underlying the private units; |
● | 1,500,000 ordinary shares held by our insiders; and |
● | 210,000 representative shares held by A.G.P. and/or its designees. |
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable share exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares that are voted at a shareholder meeting (in person or by proxy) is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company.
Our board of directors are divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. 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 shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum of association authorizes the issuance of up to 490,000,000 ordinary shares and 10,000,000 preferred shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders 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 issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any insider shares, private shares, representative shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our business combination.
Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder 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 law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires 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, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder 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 shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of issued and outstanding ordinary shares of the company representing one-third of all ordinary shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our insiders or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions, if any, could result in the approval of our business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we are required to give a minimum of only five days’ notice for each general meeting. However, a final proxy statement will be distributed to our shareholders at least twenty calendar days prior to the shareholder meeting if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at such meeting. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our insiders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of ordinary share sold in the IPO, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against, or abstain from voting on, our business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our business combination, our insiders have agreed to vote their insider shares, private shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of our initial business combination. A.G.P. has also agreed to vote the representative shares in favor of any proposed business combination. Assuming the insiders do not purchase any units or shares in the after-market, our initial shareholders collectively represent 24.47% of issued and outstanding ordinary shares. As a result, for purpose of seeking shareholder approval for our initial business combination, in addition to our insider shares, private shares and representative shares, we would need additional 703,807 public shares to vote in order to obtain a quorum which will be, pursuant to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting. Once a quorum is obtained, (i) assuming only a quorum is present and voted at such meeting held to vote on our initial business combination, no public shares sold in the IPO are needed to be voted in favor of a transaction, or (ii) assuming all issued and outstanding shares are present and voted, we need additional 2,027,855, or 33.80%, of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of a transaction. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against, or abstain from voting on, the proposed transaction (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
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Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our business combination by January 22, 2026, unless we extend such period pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our insiders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any insider shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination by January 22, 2026.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders 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 shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary share. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary share, except that we will provide our public shareholders 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.
Insider Shares and Private Shares underlying the Private Units
The insider shares are designated as ordinary shares. Except as described below, the insider shares and private shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in the IPO, and holders of insider shares and private shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except our insiders have agreed, pursuant to written letter agreements with us, (A) to vote their insider shares and private shares (as well as any public shares acquired in or after the IPO) in favor of any proposed business combination, (B) not to propose, or vote in favor of, any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would stop our public shareholders from converting or selling their shares to us in connection with a business combination or affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete a business combination within the prescribed timeline as provided in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, unless we provide redeeming public shareholders with the opportunity to convert their public shares into the right to receive cash from the trust account in connection with any such vote, (C) not to convert any insider shares and private shares (as well as any other shares acquired in or after the IPO) into the right to receive cash from the trust account in connection with a shareholder vote to approve our proposed initial business combination (or sell any shares they hold to us in a tender offer in connection with a proposed initial business combination) or a vote to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (D) that the insider shares and private shares shall not participate in any liquidating distribution upon winding up if a business combination is not consummated.
With certain limited exceptions, our insiders have agreed, (i) in the case of insider shares, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the insider shares (except to certain permitted transferees) until the earlier of 180 days after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination and the date on which the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after our initial business combination or earlier, if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to convert their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of private units, underlying securities and any units may be issued upon the conversion of the working capital loans and underlying securities, until the completion of our initial business combination (except as described herein under the section of the prospectus related to the IPO entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Insider Shares and Private Units”).
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Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
● | the names and addresses of the members of the company and a statement of the shares held by each member, which: |
(i) | distinguishes each share by its number (so long as the share has a number); |
(ii) | confirms the amount paid, or agreed to be considered as paid on the shares of each member; |
(iii) | confirms the number and category of shares held by each member; and |
(iv) | confirms whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the articles of association of the company, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional; |
● | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
● | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
For these purposes, “voting rights” means rights conferred on shareholders in respect of their shares to vote at general meetings of the company on all or substantially all matters. A voting right is conditional where the voting right arises only in certain circumstances.
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of the IPO, the register of members have been updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preferred Shares
Our amended and restated articles of association provides that preferred shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be 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 shareholder approval, issue preferred shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred shares without shareholder 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 shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preferred shares have been issued or being registered in the IPO.
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Rights
Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-seventh of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of a public right redeemed all ordinary shares held by him, her or it in connection with the initial business combination or an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 right will automatically be converted to receive the kind and amount of securities or properties of the surviving entity that each one-seventh of a share of ordinary shares underlying each right is entitled to upon consummation of the business combination, subject to any dissenter rights under the applicable law. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive his, her or its additional ordinary shares upon consummation of an initial business combination. The shares issuable upon the conversion 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 ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into ordinary shares basis.
We will not issue fractional shares in connection with a conversion of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act and any other applicable law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of seven 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. Additionally, in no event will we be required to net cash settle the rights. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.
The Company shall reserve such amount of its profits or share premium in order to pay up the par value of each share issuable in respect of the rights.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a 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 a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands law. 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 Rights Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares, and rights agent for our rights is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10004.
Listing of Our Securities
Our units, ordinary shares, and rights are listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “COLAU,” “COLA,” and “COLAR,” respectively.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modelled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
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Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of two-thirds in value of the voting shares voted at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation. Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted. Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived, (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company, and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
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Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by75% in value of shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
● | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
● | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offer or may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
● | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
● | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be only effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
● | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Ogier, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment without re-examination or re-litigation of the matters adjudicated upon, if the judgement (i) is given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction; (ii) is final and conclusive; (iii) is not in respect of a tax, fine or other penalty; (iv) was not obtained by fraud; and (v) is not of a kind, the enforcement of which is contrary to public policy in the Cayman Islands. The courts of the Cayman Islands will apply the rules of Cayman Islands private international law to determine whether the foreign court is a court of competent jurisdiction. Subject to these limitations, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign judgment for a liquidated sum and may also give effect in the Cayman Islands to other kinds of foreign judgments, such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
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Our insiders who collectively beneficially own approximately 21.83% of our ordinary shares as of the date of this annual report, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that:
● | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; |
● | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
● | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
● | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
● | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
● | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
● | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited Liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to the IPO that applies to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our insiders who collectively beneficially own approximately 21.83% of our ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that:
● | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by January 22, 2026, unless we extend such period pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
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● | Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; (ii) vote on any initial business combination; or (iii) vote on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity; |
● | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our insiders, 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 that is, or another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire, or an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
● | If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under 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 under the Exchange Act; |
● | Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding interest income earned on the trust account that is released to us to pay taxes or for working capital purposes) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
● | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions 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 the prescribed timeline as provided in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares 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 issued and outstanding public shares; and |
● | We will not complete our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we will only redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions.
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The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting or by way of unanimous written resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our IPO, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide redeeming public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Exclusive Forum
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provides that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases, the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”) or any other applicable law. Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:
(a) | the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution; or |
(b) | the subscriber is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or |
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(c) | the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors. |
For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority (“FRA”) of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
DATA PROTECTION — CAYMAN ISLANDS — PRIVATE NOTICE
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
This privacy notice explains the manner in which we collect, process, and maintain personal data about our investors pursuant to the Data Protection Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time and any regulations, codes of practice, or orders promulgated pursuant thereto (the “DPA”).
We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In our use of personal data, we will be characterized under the DPA as a “data controller,” whilst certain of our service providers, affiliates, and delegates may act as “data processors” under the DPA. These service providers may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
By virtue of your investment in our Company, we and certain of our service providers may collect, record, store, transfer, and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified.
Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for us to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request, (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax, or regulatory obligation to which we are subject, or (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by us or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.
We anticipate that we will share your personal data with our service providers for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting, and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion, and financial crime or compliance with a court order). Your personal data shall not be held by our Company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.
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We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the Company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should inform such individuals of the content.
You have certain rights under the DPA, including (a) the right to be informed as to how we collect and use your personal data (and this privacy notice fulfils our obligation in this respect), (b) the right to obtain a copy of your personal data, (c) the right to require us to stop direct marketing, (d) the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected, (e) the right to withdraw your consent and require us to stop processing or restrict the processing, or not begin the processing of your personal data, (f) the right to be notified of a data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial), (g) the right to obtain information as to any countries or territories outside the Cayman Islands to which we, whether directly or indirectly, transfer, intend to transfer, or wish to transfer your personal data, general measures we take to ensure the security of personal data, and any information available to us as to the source of your personal data, (h) the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands, and (i) the right to require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.
If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with our responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by calling +1(345)  ###-###-#### or by email at ***@***.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preferred shares are available for future issuances without shareholder 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 ordinary shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
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