Letter Agreement, dated March 1, 2022, among the Company, BTIG, IBS, the Sponsor and the Companys executive officers and directors
Exhibit 10.1
Execution Version
INSIDER LETTER AGREEMENT
March 1, 2022
SHUAA Partners Acquisition Corp I
190 Elgin Avenue
George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-9008
Cayman Islands
BTIG, LLC
65 E 55th Street
New York, NY 10022
| Re: | Initial Public Offering |
This letter (this “Letter Agreement”) is being delivered to you in accordance with the Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”) entered into by and between SHUAA Partners Acquisition Corp I, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), and BTIG, LLC as representative (the “Representative”) of the underwriters (the “Underwriters”), relating to an underwritten initial public offering (the “Public Offering”), of up to 11,500,000 of the Company’s units (including up to 1,500,000 units that may be purchased to cover over-allotments, if any) (the “Units”), each comprised of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant (each, a “Warrant”) entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Units will be sold in the Public Offering pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-1 and a prospectus (the “Prospectus”), filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and the Company has applied to have the Units listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. Certain capitalized terms used herein are defined in paragraph 12 hereof.
In order to induce the Company and the Underwriters to enter into the Underwriting Agreement and to proceed with the Public Offering and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, each of SHUAA SPAC Sponsor I LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), the undersigned individuals, each of whom is a member of the Company’s board of directors, a nominee for membership on the board of directors and/or a member of the Company’s management team (each, an “Insider” and collectively, the “Insiders”) and the Private Placement Purchasers hereby agrees with the Company as follows:
1. | It is acknowledged and agreed that the Company shall not enter into a definitive agreement regarding a proposed Business Combination without the prior consent of the Sponsor. The Sponsor and each Insider agrees that if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination, then in connection with such proposed Business Combination, it, he or she shall (i) vote any shares of Capital Stock owned by it, him or her in favor of any proposed Business Combination and (ii) not redeem any shares of Capital Stock owned by it, him or her in connection with such shareholder approval. If the Company engages in a tender offer in connection with any proposed Business Combination, the Sponsor and each Insider agrees that it, he or she will not sell or tender its, his or her shares of Capital Stock to the Company in connection with such tender offer. |
2. | The Sponsor and each Insider hereby agrees that in the event that the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months if extended as described in the Prospectus) from the closing of the Public Offering, or such later period approved by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate and memorandum of association (the “Charter”), the Sponsor and each Insider shall take all reasonable steps to cause the Company to (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the Ordinary Share sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering (the “Offering Shares”), at a per-share price, payable in cash, |
equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (as defined below), including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Offering Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish all Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. The Sponsor and each Insider agrees not to propose any amendment to the Charter (i) to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of Offering Shares to seek redemption in connection with a Business Combination or the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Offering Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination by the date set forth in the Charter or (ii) with respect to any provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless, in each case, the Company provides Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Offering Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Offering Shares.
3. | The Sponsor and each Insider acknowledges that, with respect to the Founder Shares held by it, him or her, it, he or she has no right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or any other asset of the Company as a result of any liquidation of the Company with respect to the Founder Shares held by it, him or her. The Sponsor and each Insider hereby further waives, with respect to any shares of Capital Stock held by it, him or her, if any, any redemption rights it, he or she may have in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination, including, without limitation, any such rights available in the context of a shareholder vote to approve such Business Combination or a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Charter to modify the substance or timing of the ability of holders of Offering Shares to seek redemption in connection with a Business Combination or the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Offering Shares if the Company has not consummated a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter or with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity or in the context of a tender offer made by the Company to purchase Ordinary Share (although the Sponsor, the Insiders and their respective affiliates shall be entitled to redemption and liquidation rights with respect to any Offering Shares it or they hold if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Charter). |
4. | Each of the undersigned acknowledges and agrees that prior to the Company entering into a definitive agreement for a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with any of the undersigned or any other Insiders of the Company or their affiliates, such transaction must be approved by a majority of the Company’s disinterested independent directors and the Company must obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such Business Combination is fair to the Company’s unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view. |
5. | In the event of the liquidation of the Trust Account, the Sponsor, which for purposes of clarification shall not extend to any shareholders, members or managers of the Sponsor, or any of the other undersigned, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever (including, but not limited to, any and all legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, whether pending or threatened) to which the Company may become subject as a result of any claim by (i) any third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company or (ii) any prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or Business Combination agreement (a “Target”); provided, however, that such indemnification of the Company by the Sponsor shall (x) apply only to the extent necessary to ensure that such claims by a third party for services rendered (other than the Company’s independent public accountants) or products sold to the Company or a Target do not reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.25 per Offering Share and (ii) the actual amount per Offering Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, |
if less than $10.25 per Offering Share is then held in the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account withdrawn (or which may be withdrawn) to pay franchise and income taxes, (y) shall not apply to any claims by a third party or a Target which executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) and (z) shall not apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the Underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The Sponsor shall have the right to defend against any such claim with counsel of its choice reasonably satisfactory to the Company if, within 15 days following written receipt of notice of the claim to the Sponsor, the Sponsor notifies the Company in writing that it shall undertake such defense.
6. | To the extent that the Underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 1,500,000 Units within 45 days from the date of the Prospectus (and as further described in the Prospectus), the Sponsor agrees to forfeit, at no cost, a number of Founder Shares in the aggregate equal to the product of 375,000 multiplied by a fraction, (i) the numerator of which is 1,500,000 minus the number of Units purchased by the Underwriters upon the exercise of their over-allotment option, and (ii) the denominator of which is 1,500,000. The forfeiture will be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the Underwriters so that the Initial Shareholders will own an aggregate of 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of Capital Stock after the Public Offering. |
7. | The Sponsor and each Insider hereby agrees and acknowledges that: (i) the Underwriters and the Company would be irreparably injured in the event of a breach by the Sponsor or such Insider of its, his or her obligations under paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8(a), 8(b), 9 and 10, as applicable, of this Letter Agreement, (ii) monetary damages may not be an adequate remedy for such breach and (iii) the non-breaching party shall be entitled to injunctive relief, in addition to any other remedy that such party may have in law or in equity, in the event of such breach. |
8. | (a) The Sponsor and each Insider agrees that it, he or she shall not Transfer any Founder Shares (or Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion thereof) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to the Company’s initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale reported price of the Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after the Company’s initial Business Combination or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s public shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property (the “Founder Shares Lock-up Period”). |
(b) The Sponsor, each Insider and each of the Private Placement Purchasers agrees that it, he or she shall not Transfer any Private Placement Warrants (or Ordinary Shares issued or issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants), until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination (the “Private Placement Warrants Lock-up Period,” and, together with the Founder Shares Lock-up Period, the “Lock-up Periods”).
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in paragraphs 8(a) and (b), Transfers of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and Ordinary Shares issued or issuable upon the exercise or conversion of the Private Placement Warrants or the Founder Shares and that are held by the Sponsor, any Insider or any of their permitted transferees (that have complied with this paragraph 8(c)), are permitted (i) to the Company’s officers or directors (including persons that become a director or officer substantially contemporaneously with such transfer), any affiliates or family members of any of the Company’s officers or directors, any employees, partners, consultants or members of the Sponsor (or former Sponsor if such transfer occurs after the dissolution of the Sponsor) or any affiliates of the Sponsor (or former Sponsor if such transfer occurs after the dissolution of the Sponsor); (ii) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of such individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such individual or to a charitable organization; (iii) in the case of an individual, by virtue of the laws of descent and distribution upon death of such individual; (iv) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (v) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the
consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination at prices no greater the price at which the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants or the Ordinary Shares, as the case may be, were originally purchased; (vi) in the event of the Company’s liquidation prior to the completion of its initial Business Combination; (viii) in the case of an entity, by virtue of the laws of its jurisdiction or its organizational documents or operating agreement; (ix) in the event of the Company’s completion of a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to the Company’s completion of an initial Business Combination; provided, however, that, in the case of clauses (i) through (v), these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with the Company agreeing to be bound by the transfer restrictions and the other restrictions herein.
9. | Each of the Insiders agrees to be a director or officer of the Company, as applicable, until the earlier of the consummation by the Company of an initial Business Combination, the liquidation of the Company, or his or her removal, death or incapacity. The Sponsor and each Insider represents and warrants that it, he or she has never been suspended or expelled from membership in any securities or commodities exchange or association or had a securities or commodities license or registration denied, suspended or revoked. Each Insider’s biographical information furnished to the Company (including any such information included in the Prospectus) is true and accurate in all material respects and does not omit any material information with respect to the Insider’s background and contains all of the information required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 401 of Regulation S-K, promulgated under the Securities Act. The Sponsor and each Insider’s questionnaire furnished to the Company and the Representative is true and accurate in all material respects. The Sponsor and each Insider represents and warrants that: it, he or she is not subject to or a respondent in any legal action for, any injunction, cease-and-desist order or order or stipulation to desist or refrain from any act or practice relating to the offering of securities in any jurisdiction; it, he or she has never been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, any crime (i) involving fraud, (ii) relating to any financial transaction or handling of funds of another person, or (iii) pertaining to any dealings in any securities and it, he or she is not currently a defendant in any such criminal proceeding. |
10. | Except as disclosed in the Prospectus, neither the Sponsor nor any Insider, nor any affiliate of the Sponsor or any Insider, shall receive from the Company any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any repayment of a loan or other compensation prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), other than the following, none of which will be made from the proceeds held in the Trust Account prior to the completion of the initial Business Combination: repayment of a loan and advances up to an aggregate of $1,000,000 made to the Company by the Sponsor to cover offering related and organizational expenses; payment to the Sponsor for a total of $10,000 per month, for up to 15 months (or up to 21 months if extended as described in the Prospectus), for among other things, the provision of office space, administrative and support services; reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and consummating an initial Business Combination, and repayment of loans, if any, and on such terms as to be determined by the Company from time to time, made by the Sponsor, any affiliate of the Sponsor or any of the Company’s officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial Business Combination, provided, that, if the Company does not consummate an initial Business Combination, a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account may be used by the Company to repay such loaned amounts so long as no proceeds from the Trust Account are used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender, and if the Company extends the term beyond 15 months, $1,000,000, or $1,150,000 if the Underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full, and potentially up to an aggregate of up to $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, in extension loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
11. | The Sponsor, each Insider and each of the Private Placement Purchasers has full right and power, without violating any agreement to which it is bound (including, without limitation, any non-competition or non-solicitation agreement with any employer or former employer), to enter into this Letter Agreement and, as applicable, to serve as an officer and/or director on the board of directors of the Company and hereby consents to being named in the Prospectus as an officer and/or director of the Company. |
12. | As used herein, (i) “Business Combination” shall mean a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, involving the Company and one or more businesses; (ii) “Capital Stock” shall mean, collectively, the Ordinary Shares and the Founder Shares; (iii) “Founder Shares” shall mean (a) the 2,875,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, initially issued to the Sponsor (up to 375,000 Shares of which are subject to complete or partial forfeiture by the Sponsor depending on the extent to which the over-allotment option is not exercised by the Underwriters); (iv) “Initial Shareholders” shall mean the Sponsor and any Insider that holds Founder Shares; (v) “Private Placement Purchasers” shall mean BITG and I-Bankers Securities, Inc.; (vi) “Private Placement Warrants” shall mean the Warrants to purchase up to 7,265,000 Ordinary Shares (or 7,940,000 Ordinary Shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) that the Sponsor and Private Placement Purchasers have agreed to purchase for an aggregate purchase price of $7,265,000 (or $7,940,000 if the overallotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per Warrant, in private placements that shall occur simultaneously with the consummation of the Public Offering; (vii) “Public Shareholders” shall mean the holders of the Offering Shares; (viii) “Trust Account” shall mean the trust account into which the net proceeds of the Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants shall be deposited; and (ix) “Transfer” shall mean the (a) sale of, offer to sell, contract or agreement to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant of any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agreement to dispose of, directly or indirectly, or establishment or increase of a put equivalent position or liquidation with respect to or decrease of a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder with respect to, any security, (b) entry into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of any security, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of such securities, in cash or otherwise, or (c) public announcement of any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (a) or (b). |
13. | The Company will maintain an insurance policy or policies providing directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and each Director shall be covered by such policy or policies, in accordance with its or their terms, to the maximum extent of the coverage available for any of the Company’s directors or officers. |
14. | This Letter Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements, or representations by or among the parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby. This Letter Agreement may not be changed, amended, modified or waived (other than to correct a typographical error) as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by all parties hereto. |
15. | No party hereto may assign either this Letter Agreement or any of its rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of the other parties. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be void and ineffectual and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee. This Letter Agreement shall be binding on the Sponsor, each Insider and each of the Private Placement Purchasers and their respective successors, heirs and assigns and permitted transferees. |
16. | Nothing in this Letter Agreement shall be construed to confer upon, or give to, any person or entity other than the parties hereto any right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Letter Agreement or of any covenant, condition, stipulation, promise or agreement hereof. All covenants, conditions, stipulations, promises and agreements contained in this Letter Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and their successors, heirs, personal representatives and assigns and permitted transferees. |
17. | This Letter Agreement may be executed in any number of original or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. The words “executed,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in this Letter Agreement or in any other certificate, agreement or document related to this Letter Agreement shall include images of manually executed signatures transmitted by facsimile or other electronic format (including, without limitation, “pdf,” “tif” or “jpg”) and other electronic signatures (including, without limitation, DocuSign and AdobeSign). The use of electronic signatures and electronic records (including, |
without limitation, any contract or other record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means) shall be of the same legal effect, validity and enforceability as a manually executed signature or use of a paper-based record-keeping system to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and any other applicable law, including, without limitation, any state law based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the Uniform Commercial Code.
18. | This Letter Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Letter Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Letter Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable. |
19. | This Letter Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to conflicts of law principles that would result in the application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction. The parties hereto (i) all agree that any action, proceeding, claim or dispute arising out of, or relating in any way to, this Letter Agreement shall be brought and enforced in the courts of New York City, in the State of New York, and irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction and venue, which jurisdiction and venue shall be exclusive and (ii) waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and venue or that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. |
20. | Any notice, consent or request to be given in connection with any of the terms or provisions of this Letter Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent by express mail or similar private courier service, by certified mail (return receipt requested), by hand delivery or facsimile transmission. |
21. | This Letter Agreement shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the Lock-up Periods or (ii) the liquidation of the Company. |
[Signature Page Follows]
Sincerely, | ||
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| SHUAA SPAC SPONSOR I LLC |
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By: |
| /s/ Fawad Tariq Khan |
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| Name: Fawad Tariq Khan |
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| Title: Chief Executive Officer |
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By: |
| /s/ Fawad Tariq Khan |
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| Fawad Tariq Khan |
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By: |
| /s/ Mohammad El Beitam |
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| Mohammad El Beitam |
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By: |
| /s/ Ali Ojjeh |
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| Ali Ojjeh |
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By: |
| /s/ Dhaen Al Hameli |
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| Dhaen Al Hameli |
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By: |
| /s/ Saleh Al Hashemi |
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| Saleh Al Hashemi |
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By: |
| /s/ Aashir Ahmed Siddiqui |
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| Aashir Ahmed Siddiqui |
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| BTIG, LLC |
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By: |
| /s/ Gil Ottensoser |
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| Name: Gil Ottensoser |
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| Title: Managing Director |
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| I-Bankers Securities, LLC |
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By: |
| /s/ Shelley Leonard |
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| Name: Shelley Leonard |
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| Title: President |
[Signature Page to Letter Agreement]
Acknowledged and Agreed:
SHUAA Partners Acquisition Corp I
By: | /s/ Fawad Tariq Khan |
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Name: | Fawad Tariq Khan |
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Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
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[Signature Page to Letter Agreement]