Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)

Registration Nos. 333-217006 and 333-217911

 

PROSPECTUS

$210,000,000

National Energy Services Reunited Corp.

21,000,000 units

 

National Energy Services Reunited Corp. is a newly-organized blank check company formed in the British Virgin Islands as a business company for the purpose of acquiring, engaging in a share exchange, share reconstruction and amalgamation, purchasing all or substantially all of the assets of, entering into contractual arrangements, or engaging in any other similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination, with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as a target business. Our efforts to identify a target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although we intend to focus our search on target businesses that operate in the energy services industry, with an emphasis on oil and gas services globally. We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction.

 

This is an initial public offering of our units. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one ordinary share and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half of one ordinary share at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of ordinary shares. Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination or 12 months from the date of this prospectus, and will expire five years after the completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption. Please see the section titled “Description of Securities” for further information.

 

If we are unable to consummate a business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below pro rata to our public shareholders by way of the redemption of their shares and will cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein.

 

We have granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,150,000 units (over and above the 21,000,000 units referred to above) solely to cover over-allotments, if any.

 

We have agreed to introduce the underwriters in this offering to investors, who we refer to throughout this prospectus as the “lead investors,” that are interested in purchasing up to an aggregate of $100,000,000 of the units being offered hereby. The lead investors will also agree to hold their shares through the consummation of our initial business combination and not seek redemption in connection therewith. Any potential target for a business combination will be shown to the lead investors, will undergo a financial valuation by an independent third party firm in accordance with industry best practices, and will need to be unanimously approved by our board of directors prior to consummation of the initial business combination.

 

Our sponsor has committed to purchase from us an aggregate of 11,850,000 warrants (or 13,110,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $0.50 per warrant, for a total purchase price of $5,925,000 (or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private warrants. Each private warrant is exercisable to purchase one-half of one ordinary share at $5.75 per half share. The private warrants may be exercisable only for a whole number of ordinary shares. All of the proceeds we receive from this private placement will be placed in the trust account.

 

There is currently no public market for our units, ordinary shares or warrants. Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “NESRU”. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52 nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriters informs us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the ordinary shares and warrants will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “NESR” and “NESRW,” respectively. Following the date that our ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, the units will cease trading. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq after this offering.

 

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and will therefore be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 17 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally offered to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.

 

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

 

This prospectus does not constitute, and there will not be, an offering of securities to the public in the British Virgin Islands.

 

    Price to
Public
    Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions (1)
    Proceeds,
Before
Expenses, to us
 
Per Unit   $ 10.00     $ 0.55     $ 9.45  
Total   $ 210,000,000     $ 11,550,000     $ 198,450,000  

 

 
(1) This reflects the maximum amount of discounts and commissions the underwriters may receive. Includes up to $0.35 per unit, or $7,350,000 in the aggregate (or $8,452,500 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), payable to the representative of the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in our trust account. These funds will be released only on completion of our initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable, or shares issuable, to the underwriters in connection with this offering. The underwriting discounts and commissions may be reduced to an aggregate of $0.275 per unit for certain funds raised in this offering. Please see the section titled “Underwriting” for further information relating to the underwriting arrangements agreed to between us and the underwriters in this offering.

 

Upon consummation of the offering, $10.00 per unit sold to the public in this offering (whether or not the over-allotment option has been exercised in full or part) will be deposited into a United States-based account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. Except as described in this prospectus, these funds will not be released to us until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and our redemption of the ordinary shares sold in this offering upon our failure to consummate a business combination within the required time period.

 

The underwriters are offering the units on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to purchasers on or about May 17, 2017.

 

Joint Book Running Managers

 

Maxim Group LLC National Bank of Canada Financial Inc.

 

The date of this prospectus is May 11, 2017

 

 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  Page
SUMMARY 1
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA 16
RISK FACTORS 17
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 41
USE OF PROCEEDS 42
DIVIDEND POLICY 45
DILUTION 46
CAPITALIZATION 47
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS 47
PROPOSED BUSINESS 51
MANAGEMENT 68
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS 74
CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS 76
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES 78
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY CONSIDERATIONS 85
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE 94
TAXATION 95
NOTES REGARDING OUR CHOICE OF BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS AND THE ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES 105
UNDERWRITING 107
LEGAL MATTERS 114
EXPERTS 114
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 114
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS F-1

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

 

This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.

 

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, references to:

 

“we,” “us” or “our company” refer to National Energy Services Reunited Corp.;

 

the “Companies Act” and the “Insolvency Act” are to the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 and the Insolvency Act, 2003 of the British Virgin Islands, respectively;

 

“insider shares” refer to the 6,037,500 ordinary shares issued prior to this offering, which include up to an aggregate of 787,500 ordinary shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part;

 

“initial shareholders” refer to the holders of the insider shares;

 

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

 

“ordinary shares” are to our ordinary shares of no par value;

 

“public shares” and “public warrants” refer to ordinary shares and warrants which are being sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) and references to “public shareholders” and “public warrantholders” refer to the holders of our public shares and public warrants, including our sponsor and management team to the extent they purchase public shares or public warrants, provided that their status as “public shareholders” and “public warrantholders” shall exist only with respect to such public shares or public warrants;

 

“private warrants” refer to the warrants we are selling privately to our sponsor upon consummation of this offering;

 

“sponsor” refers to NESR Holdings Ltd., a British Virgin Island company, the shareholders and directors of which are Sherif Foda, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman and Thomas Wood, our Chief Financial Officer and director; and

 

“underwriters” refer to Maxim Group LLC and National Bank of Canada Financial Inc.

 

Except as specifically provided otherwise, the information in this prospectus (i) assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and (ii) gives effect to a 1.05-for-1 subdivision of our ordinary shares on May 11, 2017.

 

Our Company

 

We are a blank check company formed in the British Virgin Islands on January 23, 2017 as a business company with limited liability. This means that our shareholders have no additional liability for our liabilities over and above the amount paid for their shares. We were formed for the purpose of acquiring, engaging in a share exchange, share reconstruction and amalgamation, purchasing all or substantially all of the assets of, entering into contractual arrangements, or engaging in any other similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to our offering. We have not identified any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although we intend to focus our search on target businesses and assets in the energy services industry, with an emphasis on oil and gas services globally (with an initial focus on North America, Europe, Asia and Africa). Our management believes this area of focus represents a favorable and highly fragmented market opportunity to consummate a business combination.

 

 

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We will seek to capitalize on the 60 years of experience in the oil and gas business of the two executives leading the company: Sherif Foda and Tom Wood. Mr. Foda was an officer of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) with 23 years of experience in managing a variety of businesses and operations globally. He most recently managed a portfolio of $20 billion revenue each year and oversaw 30,000 employees at Schlumberger Limited. Mr. Wood was the Chief Executive Officer of Xtreme Drilling Corp. (TSX: XDC), a leading drilling, workover and coil tubing company, doing business in North America, the Middle East and Asia. Previously, Mr. Wood founded and ran more than six companies. Messrs. Foda and Wood have a wealth of knowledge, client relations, business acumen, and track records of mergers and acquisitions.

 

We intend to identify and acquire businesses that could benefit from the strong operations background of our management team, with the broad expertise they have in oilfield services globally. Since even fundamentally sound companies can often under-perform their potential due to a temporary period of dislocation in the markets in which they operate, inefficient capital allocation, over-levered capital structures, excessive cost structures, incomplete management teams and/or inappropriate business strategies, we believe that we will be able to locate an attractive target business to acquire. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing acquisitions across the global energy market including the upstream and service sectors of the oil and gas services industry. In the past five years, our management team has been involved in over 20 mergers and acquisitions transactions valued at more than $2 billion. In addition, our team has significant hands-on experience working with private investors and international companies. In the event that we elect to pursue an investment outside of the oil and gas services industry, our management’s expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding this industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business or asset that we elect to acquire.

 

We believe that our management team is well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that their contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, and investment bankers, in addition to the extensive global industry and geographical reach of management’s past experience, will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities. Our management believes that its ability to identify and implement value creation initiatives will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy. However, there is no assurance that we will complete an initial business combination nor is there any guarantee that such initial business combination will be successful. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are concurrently involved with other businesses. There is no guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until our initial business combination is completed, if at all.

 

Our management team’s objective is to generate attractive returns and create value for our stockholders by applying a disciplined strategy of effecting changes in a target business after making an acquisition to unlock value. We favor companies with certain elements of downside protection, for example, companies with multiple year contracts, proven infrastructure, good governance and credibility in the market place in which they operate.

 

Business Strategy

 

Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company in the energy services industry that complements the experience of our management team and to benefit from our operational expertise. Our acquisition strategy will leverage our team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the energy services industry could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses or properties to improve their overall value proposition.

 

Acquisition Criteria

 

Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and completing an initial business combination with a target entity that has an enterprise value of between $600 million and $1.25 billion, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies, assets and business units that we believe:

 

 

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can utilize the extensive networks and insights we have built in the energy services industry;

 

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

 

are fundamentally sound companies that are underperforming their potential as a result of the current low price of oil and corresponding services;

 

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe have been misevaluated by the marketplace;

 

need new technology ideas and/or tools to reveal the full potential of the companies; and

 

can enlarge its base of services and expand its geographical footprint from the current serving platform.

 

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

 

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document review, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience. We will seek opinions from its clients and the industry for the credibility and reputation of the target companies.

 

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company (other than any such positions held on the date of this prospectus) until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required time frame.

 

Initial Business Combination

 

We will either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we would be deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require that we conduct a tender offer under SEC rules rather than seeking shareholder approval). Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares (unless we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time) or seek to amend our memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval (references herein to our memorandum and articles are, unless the contrary is stated, to our amended and restated memorandum and articles to be adopted upon or before the effective date of this prospectus). Any potential target for a business combination will be shown to the lead investors, will undergo a financial valuation by an independent third party firm in accordance with industry best practices, and will need to be unanimously approved by our board of directors prior to consummation of the initial business combination.

 

 

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If we conduct a tender offer, we will file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will only consummate our initial business combination if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted at the meeting at which such approval is sought are voted in favor of the business combination.

 

We will have until 24 months from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of the redemption of their shares and will cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. In such event, our warrants will expire worthless. We expect the per share redemption price to be $10.00 per ordinary share (regardless of whether the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full or in part), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

 

Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, our initial business combination must be with a target business or businesses whose collective fair market value is at least equal to 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for such business combination, although this may entail simultaneous acquisitions of several target businesses. The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). The target business or businesses that we acquire may have a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the trust account balance.

 

We currently anticipate structuring our initial business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination where we merge directly with the target business or where we acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction parent company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we or a newly formed public holding company issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target; however, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of the outstanding shares of the public parent company subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of trust account balance test.

 

Although we have no commitment as of the date of this offering, we may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary or preferred shares, or a combination of ordinary and preferred shares, or incur significant indebtedness, to complete our initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary and/or preferred shares may (i) significantly reduce the equity interest of investors in this offering; (ii) subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if we issue preferred shares with rights senior to those afforded to our ordinary shares; (iii) cause a change in control if a substantial number of ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and (iv) adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants. The incurrence of significant indebtedness could result in (i) default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after our initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; (ii) acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; (iii) our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; and (iv) our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding.

 

 

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Competitive Strengths

 

We believe our competitive strengths to be the following:

 

Status as a public company.  We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses might find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, roadshow and public reporting efforts that will likely be reduced in connection with a business combination with us. Furthermore, once the business combination is consummated, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests than it would have as a privately-held company. Being public can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

 

While we believe that our status as a public company will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view the inherent limitations in our status as a blank check company as a deterrent and may prefer to effect a business combination with a more established entity or with a private company.

 

Financial position.  With funds held in trust available for our initial business combination initially in the amount of $210,000,000 (or $241,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as providing the owners of a target business with shares in a public company and a public means to sell such shares, providing cash for stock, and providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to consummate our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and it may not be available to us.

 

Management Operating and Investing Experience.  Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad international network of contacts and corporate relationships which we believe will serve as a useful source of investment opportunities. We will seek to capitalize on the global network and investing and operating experience of our management team to identify, acquire and operate one or more businesses or assets in the energy sector, although we may pursue a business combination outside of such industry.

 

We believe our management team has the skills and experience to identify, evaluate and consummate a business combination and is positioned to assist businesses we acquire. However, there is no assurance that we will complete an initial business combination nor is there any guarantee that such an initial business combination will be successful. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are concurrently involved with other businesses. There is no guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until our initial business combination is completed, if at all.

 

 

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If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. See the section titled “Management — Conflicts of Interest” for complete details on the pre-existing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our management team.

 

Emerging Growth Company Status

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30 th (the end of our second fiscal quarter), and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. Any reference herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

 

Private Placements

 

On February 9, 2017, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 of our ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On March 11, 2017, we effectuated a 1.05-for-1 subdivision of our ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 6,037,500 ordinary shares being held by our sponsor. We refer to these 6,037,500 shares collectively throughout this prospectus as the “insider shares.” The insider shares held by our sponsor, include an aggregate of up to 787,500 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that our initial shareholders will collectively own 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase units in this offering).

 

The insider shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering. However, the holders have agreed (A) to vote the insider shares in favor of any proposed business combination, (B) not to propose, or vote in favor of, an amendment to our memorandum and articles of association with respect to our pre-business combination activities prior to the consummation of such a business combination unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote, (C) not to redeem any shares (including the insider shares) 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 memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (D) that the insider shares shall not participate in any liquidating distribution upon winding up if a business combination is not consummated. Additionally, the holders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the insider shares (except to certain permitted transferees) until the earlier of one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period 150 days after our initial business combination, the insider shares will be released.

 

 

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In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase from us an aggregate of 11,850,000 private warrants (or 13,110,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $0.50 per warrant (for a total purchase price of $5,925,000 or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The proceeds from the private placement of the private warrants will be added to the proceeds of this offering and placed in an account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee.

 

The private warrants are identical to the warrants included in the units sold in this offering except the private warrants will be non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, in each case so long as they continue to be held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. The purchasers have also agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private warrants or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the insider shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the private warrants must agree to, each as described above) until the completion of our initial business combination.

 

Our executive offices are located at 777 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056 and our telephone number is (713) 293-2935.

 

The Offering

 

We are a newly formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. See “Proposed Business — Comparison to offerings of blank check companies subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors.”

 

Securities offered 21,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one-half of one ordinary share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of ordinary shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants.
   
  We structured each warrant to be exercisable for one-half of one ordinary share at a price of $5.75 per half share, as compared to warrants issued by some other similar companies which are exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as compared to units that contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. However, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one full share.

 

 

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Listing of our securities and proposed symbols We anticipate the units, and the ordinary shares and warrants once they begin separate trading, will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “NESRU,” “NESR” and “NESRW,” respectively.
   
  Each of the ordinary shares and warrants may trade separately on the 52 nd  day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriters inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin.
   
  Following the date that our ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, the units will cease trading and will automatically separate into their component securities.
   
  We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC, including an audited balance sheet, promptly upon the consummation of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date the units commence trading. The audited balance sheet will reflect our receipt of the proceeds from the exercise of the over-allotment option, if the over-allotment option is exercised on the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised after the date of this prospectus, we will file an amendment to the Current Report on Form 8-K or a new Current Report on Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option.
   
Units:  
Number outstanding before this offering 0
   
Number to be outstanding after this offering 21,000,000 (1)
   
Ordinary shares:  
Number outstanding before this offering 6,037,500 (2)
   
Number to be outstanding after this offering 26,250,000 (3)
   
Warrants:  
Number of private warrants to be sold simultaneously with this offering
11,850,000 (4)
   
Number to be outstanding after this offering and sale of private warrants
32,850,000 (4)

 

 

(1) Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised.
(2) This number includes an aggregate of 787,500 insider shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters.
(3) Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 787,500 insider shares have been forfeited.
(4) Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and the maximum number of private warrants are purchased.

 

Exercisability Each warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one-half of one ordinary share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of ordinary shares. 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 down to the nearest whole number of shares to be issued to the warrantholder.

 

 

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Exercise price $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as provided for herein. No public warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, public 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.
   
Exercise period The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering. The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the five-year anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption.
   
Redemption Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (excluding the private warrants), in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, at any time:
   
 

•   upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption,

•   if, and only if, the last sales price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $21.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption, and

•   if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants commencing five business days prior to the 30-day trading period and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption.

   
  If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption, each warrant holder can exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the ordinary shares may fall below the $21.00 trigger price as well as the $11.50 per whole share warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
   
  The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a substantial 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.

 

 

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  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 ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares 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” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Whether we will exercise our option to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” will depend on a variety of factors including the price of our ordinary shares at the time the warrants are called for redemption, our cash needs at such time and concerns regarding dilutive stock issuances.
   
Offering proceeds to be held in the
trust account
Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $210,000,000 (or $241,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be placed in an account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee pursuant to an agreement to be signed on the date of this prospectus. The remaining $1,000,000 of net proceeds of this offering and the private placement (which amount may be higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors) will not be held in the trust account. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include deferred underwriting commissions of $7,350,000 (or $8,452,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
   
  Except as set forth below, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination within the required time period and (2) our redemption of 100% of the outstanding public shares if we have not completed a business combination in the required time period. Therefore, unless and until our initial business combination is consummated, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be available for our use for any expenses related to this offering or expenses which we may incur related to the investigation and selection of a target business and the negotiation of an agreement to acquire a target business.
   
  Notwithstanding the foregoing, there can be released to us from the trust account any interest earned on the funds in the trust account that we need to pay our tax obligations. With these exceptions, expenses incurred by us may be paid prior to a business combination only from the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account of approximately $1,000,000 (or higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors); provided, however, that in order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering if the funds not held in the trust account are insufficient, our sponsor, officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a non-interest bearing promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant. Our shareholders have approved the issuance of the warrants (and underlying ordinary shares) upon conversion of such notes, to the extent the holder wishes to so convert them at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination. If we do not complete a business combination, the loans will not be repaid.

 

 

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Limited payments to insiders

There will be no fees, reimbursements or other cash payments paid to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates prior to or in connection with the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is) other than:

•   repayment at the closing of this offering of non-interest bearing loans in an aggregate amount of up to $300,000 made by our sponsor;

•   payment of up to $10,000 per month to our sponsor for office space, utilities and personnel for up to 24 months; and

•   reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on our behalf, such as identifying and investigating possible business targets and business combinations.

   
  There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and the interest income earned on the amounts held in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. Our audit committee will review and approve all reimbursements and payments made to any sponsor or member of our management team, or our or their respective affiliates, and any reimbursements and payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval.
   
Shareholder approval of, or tender offer in connection with, initial business combination; manner of conducting redemptions In connection with any proposed initial business combination, we will either (1) seek shareholder approval of such initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein.

 

 

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  The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made solely by us, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we would be deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require that we conduct a tender offer under SEC rules rather than seeking shareholder approval). Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares (unless we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time) or seek to amend our memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval.
   
 

If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, or if we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:

 

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

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

   
  In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
   
  If we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer, we will conduct redemptions in accordance with the SEC’s tender offer rules.
   
 

If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, and if we will not be a foreign private issuer at such time, we will:

 

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

 

 

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  •   file proxy materials with the SEC.
   
  If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. In such case, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their insider shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 7,875,001 of the 21,000,000 public shares, or 37.5% of the public shares sold in this offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and no shares are purchased by our initial shareholders in this offering). Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
   
  Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
   
  We have agreed to introduce the underwriter in this offering to lead investors who are interested in purchasing up to an aggregate of $100,000,000 of the units being offered hereby and who will agree to hold their shares through the consummation of our initial business combination and not seek redemption in connection therewith. As a result, we expect to meet the $5,000,001 net tangible asset requirement in order to complete an initial business combination.
   
  Our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed (1) to vote all of their insider shares and any public shares purchased in or after this offering in favor of any proposed business combination, (2) not to redeem any shares (including the insider shares) in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination and (3) not to sell any shares (including the insider shares) in a tender offer in connection with any proposed business combination. Although there is no commitment to do so, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may purchase units in this offering or any units or ordinary shares in the open market or in private transactions. In addition, if a significant number of shareholders vote, or indicate an intention to vote, against a proposed business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates could make such purchases in the open market or in private transactions in order to influence the vote. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our officers, directors, sponsor and their affiliates will not make purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act, which are rules designed to stop potential manipulation of a company’s stock.

 

 

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Redemption rights; limitation on redemption rights We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares sold in this offering, referred to as 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their insider shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our business combination. Prior to acquiring any securities from our initial shareholders, permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement with us agreeing to be bound by the same restriction.
   
  Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, 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 will provide 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 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering.
   
  We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s ordinary shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their ordinary shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold 20% or more of the ordinary shares sold in this offering) for or against our business combination.

 

 

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  We may require public shareholders, whether they are a record holder or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent at any time through the vote on the business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. There is a nominal cost associated with this tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $45 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder.
   
Liquidation if no business combination If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding 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 (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish 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 our remaining holders of ordinary shares and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject (in the case of (ii) and (iii) above) to our obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. The holders of the insider shares will not participate in any redemption distribution. Holders of warrants will receive no proceeds in connection with the redemption or liquidation .
   
  We may not have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims. Although we will seek to have all third parties (including any vendors or other entities we engage after this offering) and any prospective target businesses enter into valid and enforceable agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. There is also no guarantee that the third parties would not challenge the enforceability of these waivers and bring claims against the trust account for monies owed them. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to ensure that the proceeds in the trust account are not reduced by the claims of target businesses or claims of vendors or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us, but it may not be able to satisfy its indemnification obligations if it is required to do so. Furthermore, it will have no liability under this indemnity as to any claimed amounts owed to a target business or vendor or other entity who has executed an agreement with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the trust account. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

 

 

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  If we are unable to conclude our initial business combination and we expend all of the net proceeds of this offering not deposited in the trust account, without taking into account any interest earned on the trust account, we expect that the initial per-share redemption price will be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to claims of our creditors that are in preference to the claims of our shareholders. In addition, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. Therefore, the actual per-share redemption price may be less than $10.00.
   
  We will pay the costs of any subsequent liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, our sponsor has agreed to pay the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than approximately $100,000) and has agreed not to seek repayment for such expenses.

 

SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, and accordingly only balance sheet data is presented.

 

The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the sale of the units we are offering, including the application of the related gross proceeds and the payment of the estimated remaining costs from such sale and the repayment of the accrued and other liabilities required to be repaid.

 

    As of February 10, 2017  
    Actual     As Adjusted (1)  
Balance Sheet Data:                
Working capital (deficiency)   $ (53,280 )   $ 203,669,720 (2)
Total assets     98,000       211,019,720 (3)
Total liabilities     78,280       7,350,000 (4)
Value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash           198,669,710 (5)
Shareholders’ equity     19,720       5,000,010  

 

 
(1) Includes the full $5,925,000 we may receive from the sale of the private warrants.
(2) The “as adjusted” calculation equals actual working capital of ($53,280) as of February 10, 2017, plus $210,000,000 in cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering, plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, plus $73,000 to reduce liabilities related to offering costs at February 10, 2017 paid out of the proceeds from this offering, less $7,350,000 of deferred underwriting commissions.
(3) The “as adjusted” calculation equals actual total assets of $98,000 as of February 10, 2017 plus $210,000,000 in cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering, plus $1,000,000 in cash held outside the trust account, less payment of $78,280 of liabilities as of February 10, 2017.

 

 

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(4) The “as adjusted” calculation represents deferred underwriting commissions.
(5) The “as adjusted” value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash is derived by taking 19,866,971 ordinary shares which may be redeemed, representing the maximum number of ordinary shares that may be redeemed while maintaining at least $5,000,001 in net tangible assets after the offering, multiplied by a redemption price of $10.00. The number of ordinary shares that may be redeemed will be lower to the extent lead investors purchase shares in this offering.

 

The $210,000,000 included in the “as adjusted” working capital and total assets amounts, will be held in the trust account, which, except for limited situations described in this prospectus, will be available to us only upon the consummation of our initial business combination within the time period described in this prospectus. If our initial business combination is not so consummated, the trust account, less amounts we are permitted to withdraw as described in this prospectus, will be distributed solely to our public shareholders (subject to our obligations to provide for claims of creditors).

 

We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination.

 

 

R I SK FACTORS

 

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, which we believe represent the material risks related to the offering, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline and you could lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below.

 

Risks Associated with Our Business

 

We are a newly-formed blank check company with no operating history and, accordingly, you will not have any basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

 

We are a newly-formed blank check company with no operating results to date. Therefore, our ability to commence operations is dependent upon obtaining financing through the public offering of our shares. Since we do not have an operating history, you will have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective, which is to acquire an operating business. We have not conducted any discussions and we have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective acquisition candidates. We will not generate any revenues until, at the earliest, after the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

 

As of February 10, 2017, we had $25,000 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $53,280. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.

 

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Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.

 

We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under the laws of the British Virgin Islands or the rules of NASDAQ or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, NASDAQ rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a shareholder meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were not a foreign private issuer and were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares and we were not a foreign private issuer, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval, or whether we will be deemed to be a foreign private issuer (in which case we would be required to conduct a tender offer under SEC rules rather than seeking shareholder approval). Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Effecting our Initial Business Combination — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve an Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

 

According to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our entire board of directors must approve our initial business combination, which may make it more difficult to bring such potential targets to our public shareholders for their vote.

 

Unlike many other blank check companies in which only the majority of a company’s board of directors (including a majority of its independent directors) is required to approve a business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles or association, which will become effective immediately prior to the consummation of this offering, requires all of our directors to approve our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved. Accordingly, there will be fewer potential transactions that could be brought to a vote of our shareholders than would be the case if the approval of only a majority of our board members was required. In addition, it may be more difficult for our board of directors to approve a potential business combination, thereby increasing the risk that we would be forced to liquidate and dissolve without closing a business combination.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.

 

Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their insider shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their insider shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial shareholders will own 20% of our outstanding ordinary immediately following the completion of this offering. As a result, we would need only 7,875,001 shares, or 37.5% of the 21,000,000 public shares sold in this offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and no shares are purchased by our initial shareholders). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial shareholders agreed to vote their insider shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.

 

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of blank check companies.

 

Since the net proceeds of this offering are intended to be used to complete our initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, since we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 upon the successful consummation of this offering and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors of blank check companies such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules which would, for example, completely restrict the transferability of our securities, require us to complete our initial business combination within 18 months of the effective date of the initial registration statement and restrict the use of interest earned on the funds held in the trust account. Because we are not subject to Rule 419, our units will be immediately tradable, we will be entitled to withdraw interest income earned on the funds held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination and we will have a longer period of time to complete such a business combination than we would if we were subject to such rule.

 

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We may issue shares of our stock to complete our initial business combination, which would reduce the equity interest of our shareholders and could cause a change in control of our ownership.

 

Our memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of an unlimited amount of both ordinary shares of no par value and preferred shares of no par value. Although we have no commitment as of the date of this offering, we may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary or preferred shares, or a combination of ordinary and preferred shares, to complete our initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary and/or preferred shares:

 

may significantly reduce the equity interest of investors in this offering;

 

may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if we issue preferred shares with rights senior to those afforded to our ordinary shares;

 

may cause a change in control if a substantial number of ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and

 

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants.

 

We may incur significant indebtedness in order to consummate our initial business combination.

 

If we find it necessary to incur significant indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, it could result in:

 

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after our initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

 

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

 

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; and

 

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding.

 

The funds held in the trust account may not earn significant interest and, as a result, we may be limited to the funds held outside of the trust account to fund our search for target businesses, to pay our tax obligations and working capital and to complete our initial business combination.

 

Of the net proceeds of this offering, $1,000,000 (or higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors) is anticipated to be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. Interest rates on permissible investments for us have been less than 1% over the last several years. Accordingly, if we do not earn a sufficient amount of interest on the funds held in the trust account and use all of the funds held outside of the trust account, we may not have sufficient funds available with which to structure, negotiate or close our initial business combination. In such event, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, officers or directors to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Our sponsor, officers and directors are under no obligation to loan us any funds. If we are unable to obtain the funds necessary, we may be forced to cease searching for a target business and may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

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If we liquidate, distributions, or part of them, may be delayed while the liquidator determines the extent of potential creditor claims.

 

Pursuant to, among other documents, our memorandum and articles of association, if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, this will trigger an automatic redemption of our ordinary shares using the available funds in the trust account pursuant to our memorandum and articles of association, resulting in our repayment of available funds in the trust account. Thereafter, we will proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the company. In connection with such a voluntary liquidation, the liquidator would give notice to our creditors inviting them to submit their claims for payment, by notifying known creditors (if any) who have not submitted claims and by placing a public advertisement in at least one newspaper published in the British Virgin Islands and in at least one newspaper circulating in the location where the company has its principal place of business, and taking any other steps the liquidator considers appropriate, after which our remaining assets would be distributed.

 

As soon as our affairs are fully wound-up, if we were to liquidate, the liquidator must complete his statement of account and will then notify the Registrar of Corporate Affairs in the British Virgin Islands, or the Registrar, that the liquidation has been completed. However, the liquidator may determine that he or she requires additional time to evaluate creditors’ claims (particularly if there is uncertainty over the validity or extent of the claims of any creditors). Also, a creditor or shareholder may file a petition with the British Virgin Islands Court, which, if successful, may result in our liquidation being subject to the supervision of that court. Such events might delay distribution of some or all of our remaining assets.

 

In any liquidation proceedings of the company under British Virgin Islands law, the funds held in our trust account may be included in our estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any such claims deplete the trust account we may not be able to return to our public shareholders the redemption amounts payable to them.

 

If we do not maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, public holders will only be able to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis.”

 

If we do not maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants at the time that holders wish to exercise such warrants, they will only be able to exercise them on a “cashless basis.” As a result, the number of ordinary shares that holders will receive upon exercise of the public warrants will be fewer than it would have been had such holders exercised their warrants for cash. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. If we are unable to do so, the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company may be reduced. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the private warrants and any other warrants that may be issued to our officers, directors, sponsor or their affiliates as described elsewhere in this prospectus may be exercisable for unregistered ordinary shares for cash even if the prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not current and effective.

 

An investor will be able to exercise a warrant only if the issuance of ordinary shares upon such exercise has been registered or qualified or is deemed exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants.

 

No public warrants will be exercisable for cash and we will not be obligated to issue ordinary shares unless the shares issuable upon such exercise have been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. At the time that the warrants become exercisable, we expect to continue to be listed on a national securities exchange, which would provide an exemption from registration in every state. Accordingly, we believe holders in every state will be able to exercise their warrants as long as our prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current. However, we cannot assure you of this fact. If the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, the warrants may be deprived of any value, the market for the warrants may be limited and they may expire worthless if they cannot be sold.

 

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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a way that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding warrants.

 

Our warrants will be 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 to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision. The warrant agreement requires the approval by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding warrants (including the private warrants) in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. Upon consummation of this offering, our sponsor will own approximately 36.4% of the outstanding warrants (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering and no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option). Therefore, we would only need approval from holders of approximately 13.7% of the outstanding public warrants to amend the terms of the warrants.

 

Since we are not limited to a particular industry or target business with which to complete our initial business combination, we are unable to currently ascertain the merits or risks of the industry or business in which we may ultimately operate.

 

Although we intend to focus our search on target businesses in the energy services industry, we may consummate our initial business combination with a company in any industry we choose and are not limited to any particular industry or type of business. Accordingly, there is no current basis for you to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the particular industry in which we may ultimately operate or the target business which we may ultimately acquire. To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its development stage, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations of those entities. If we complete our initial business combination with an entity in an industry characterized by a high level of risk, we may be affected by the currently unascertainable risks of that industry. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular industry or target business, we may not properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. An investment in our securities may not ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a target business.

 

Our officers and directors may not have significant experience or knowledge regarding the jurisdiction or industry of the target business we may seek to acquire.

 

We may consummate a business combination with a target business in any geographic location or industry we choose. Our officers and directors may not have enough experience or sufficient knowledge relating to the jurisdiction of the target or its industry to make an informed decision regarding our initial business combination.

 

The requirement that the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination may limit the type and number of companies that we may complete such a business combination with.

 

Pursuant to the Nasdaq listing rules, the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination. This restriction may limit the type and number of companies that we may complete a business combination with. If we are unable to locate a target business or businesses that satisfy this fair market value test, we may be forced to liquidate and you will only be entitled to receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account.

 

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

 

21

 

 

We may structure a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company, in which our public shareholders own shares, acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company, in which our public shareholders own shares, owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of our stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.

 

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, our assessment of these individuals may not prove to be correct.

 

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and performing and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have employment agreements with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us.

 

The role of our key personnel after our initial business combination, however, remains to be determined. Although some of our key personnel may serve in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that most, if not all, of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, our assessment of these individuals may not prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.

 

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

 

Our key personnel will be able to remain with the company after the consummation of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements or other appropriate arrangements in connection with the business combination.

 

Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business.

 

22

 

 

Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination.

 

Our officers and directors are not required to commit their full time to our affairs, which could create a conflict of interest when allocating their time between our operations and their other commitments. We presently expect each of our officers and directors to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. All of our officers and directors are engaged in several other business endeavors and are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our affairs. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to such affairs, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor.

 

Our officers and directors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

Our officers and directors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations to other companies, including companies that are engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Accordingly, they may participate in transactions and have obligations that may be in conflict or competition with our consummation of our initial business combination. As a result, a potential target business may be presented by our management team to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may not be afforded the opportunity to engage in a transaction with such target business. For a more detailed description of the pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations of our management team, and the potential conflicts of interest that such obligations may present, see the section titled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”

 

The shares beneficially owned by our sponsor, officers and directors will not participate in liquidation distributions and, therefore, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for our initial business combination.

 

Our sponsor and our officers and directors have waived their right to redeem their insider shares or any other ordinary shares acquired in this offering or thereafter, or to receive distributions with respect to their insider shares upon our liquidation if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination. Accordingly, the insider shares will be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business combination. The private warrants and any other warrants they acquire will also be worthless if we do not consummate an initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, officers and directors may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest.

 

Nasdaq may delist our securities from quotation on its exchange which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

 

Our securities have been approved for listing on Nasdaq, a national securities exchange, upon consummation of this offering. Although, after giving effect to this offering, we meet the minimum initial listing standards of Nasdaq on a pro forma basis, which generally only requires that we meet certain requirements relating to shareholders’ equity, market capitalization, aggregate market value of publicly held shares and distribution, our securities may not continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future prior to an initial business combination. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 round-lot holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

 

23

 

 

If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

reduced liquidity with respect to our securities;

 

a determination that our shares are a “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading in our shares to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our shares;

 

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage for our company; and

 

a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

 

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products, services or potential sources of revenue.

 

It is likely we will consummate our initial business combination with a single target business, although we have the ability to simultaneously acquire several target businesses. By consummating a business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

 

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business;

 

dependent upon the successful development, construction and operation of a single mining asset; or

 

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

 

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

 

Alternatively, if we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

 

The ability of our public shareholders to exercise their redemption rights or sell their shares to us in a tender offer may not allow us to effectuate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

 

If our initial business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, because we will not know how many public shareholders may exercise redemption rights or seek to sell their shares to us in a tender offer, we may either need to reserve part of the trust account for possible payment upon such redemption or sale, or we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our initial business combination. In the event that the acquisition involves the issuance of our shares as consideration, we may be required to issue a higher percentage of our shares to make up for a shortfall in funds. Raising additional funds to cover any shortfall may involve dilutive equity financing or incurring indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. This may limit our ability to effectuate the most attractive business combination available to us.

 

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We may be unable to consummate an initial business combination if a target business requires that we have a certain amount of cash at closing, in which case public shareholders may have to remain shareholders of our company and wait until our redemption of the public shares to receive a pro rata share of the trust account or attempt to sell their shares in the open market.

 

A potential target may make it a closing condition to our initial business combination that we have a certain amount of cash in excess of the $5,000,001 of net tangible assets we are required to have pursuant to our organizational documents available at the time of closing. If the number of our public shareholders electing to exercise their redemption rights has the effect of reducing the amount of money available to us to consummate an initial business combination below such minimum amount required by the target business and we are not able to locate an alternative source of funding, we will not be able to consummate such initial business combination and we may not be able to locate another suitable target within the applicable time period, if at all. In that case, public shareholders may have to remain shareholders of our company and wait the full 24 months in order to be able to receive a pro rata portion of the trust account, or attempt to sell their shares in the open market prior to such time, in which case they may receive less than a pro rata share of the trust account for their shares.

 

If we hold a shareholder meeting to approve any initial business combination, we will offer each public shareholder the option to vote in favor of the proposed business combination and still seek redemption of his, her or its shares.

 

In connection with any meeting held to approve an initial business combination, we will offer each public shareholder (but not our initial shareholders or the lead investors) the right to have his, her or its ordinary shares redeemed for cash (subject to the limitations described elsewhere in this prospectus) regardless of whether such shareholder votes for or against such proposed business combination. We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Accordingly, public shareholders owning a substantial majority of the shares sold in this offering may exercise their redemption rights and we could still consummate a proposed business combination so long as a majority of shares voted at the meeting are voted in favor of the proposed business combination. This threshold and the ability to seek redemption while voting in favor of a proposed business combination may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.

 

Public shareholders that fail to vote either in favor of or against a proposed business combination will not be able to have their shares redeemed for cash.

 

If we hold a meeting to approve a proposed business combination, public shareholders must vote either in favor of or against a proposed business combination in order to have their shares redeemed to cash. If a public shareholder fails to vote in favor of or against a proposed business combination, whether that shareholder abstains from the vote or simply does not vote, that shareholder would not be able to have his, her or its ordinary shares so redeemed for cash.

 

Public shareholders, together with any affiliates of theirs or any other person with whom they are acting in concert or as a “group,” will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering.

 

In connection with any meeting held to approve an initial business combination, we will offer each public shareholder (but not our initial shareholders or the lead investors) the right to have his, her or its ordinary shares redeemed for cash. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering. Generally, in this context, a shareholder will be deemed to be acting in concert or as a group with another shareholder when such shareholders agree to act together for the purpose of acquiring, voting, holding or disposing of our equity securities. Accordingly, if you purchase more than 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering and our proposed business combination is approved, you will not be able to seek redemption rights with respect to the full amount of your shares and may be forced to hold such additional shares or sell them in the open market. The value of such additional ordinary shares may not appreciate over time following our initial business combination, and the market price of our ordinary shares may not exceed the per-share redemption price.

 

25

 

 

In connection with any shareholder meeting called to approve a proposed initial business combination, we may require public shareholders who wish to redeem their ordinary shares to comply with specific requirements for redemption that may make it more difficult for them to exercise their redemption rights prior to the deadline for exercising their rights.

 

In connection with any shareholder meeting called to approve a proposed initial business combination, each public shareholder (but not our initial shareholders or the lead investors) will have the right, regardless of whether he is voting for or against such proposed business combination, to demand that we redeem his ordinary shares for his pro rata portion of the cash held in the trust account. We may require public shareholders who wish to redeem their ordinary shares in connection with a proposed business combination to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent at any time prior to the vote taken at the shareholder meeting relating to such business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System. In order to obtain a physical stock certificate, a shareholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC and our transfer agent will need to act to facilitate this request. It is our understanding that shareholders should generally allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. However, because we do not have any control over this process or over the brokers or DTC, it may take significantly longer than two weeks to obtain a physical stock certificate. While we have been advised that it takes a short time to deliver shares through the DWAC System, this may not be the case. Accordingly, if it takes longer than we anticipate for shareholders to deliver their shares, shareholders who wish to redeem may be unable to meet the deadline for exercising their redemption rights and thus may be unable to redeem their shares.

 

If, in connection with any shareholder meeting called to approve a proposed business combination, we require public shareholders who wish to redeem their ordinary shares to comply with the delivery requirements for redemption, such redeeming shareholders may be unable to sell their securities when they wish to in the event that the proposed business combination is not approved.

 

If we require public shareholders who wish to redeem their ordinary shares to comply with specific delivery requirements for redemption described above and such proposed business combination is not consummated, we will promptly return such certificates to the tendering public shareholders. Accordingly, investors who attempted to redeem their shares in such a circumstance will be unable to sell their securities after the failed acquisition until we have returned their securities to them. The market price for our shares may decline during this time and you may not be able to sell your securities when you wish to, even while other shareholders that did not seek redemption may be able to sell their securities.

 

Because of our structure, other companies may have a competitive advantage and we may not be able to consummate an attractive business combination.

 

We expect to encounter intense competition from entities other than blank check companies having a business objective similar to ours, including private equity funds and operating businesses competing for acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe that there are numerous potential target businesses that we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, seeking shareholder approval of our initial business combination may delay the consummation of a transaction. Additionally, the insider shares and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of the foregoing may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating our initial business combination.

 

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Our ability to consummate an attractive business combination may be impacted by the market for initial public offerings.

 

Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to any particular industry or geographic region, although it is very likely that our target will want to be a public reporting company. If the market for initial public offerings is limited, we believe there will be a greater number of attractive target businesses open to being acquired by us as a means to achieve publicly held status. Alternatively, if the market for initial public offerings is robust, we believe that there will be fewer attractive target businesses amenable to being acquired by us to become a public reporting company. Accordingly, during periods with strong public offering markets, it may be more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.

 

We may be unable to obtain additional financing, if required, to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of the target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

 

Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering will be sufficient to allow us to consummate a business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business, the capital requirements for any particular transaction remain to be determined. If the net proceeds of this offering prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of the business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, or the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of ordinary shares, we will be required to seek additional financing. Such financing may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to consummate a particular business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, if we consummate a business combination, we may require additional financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or sponsor is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.

 

Our initial shareholders will control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a shareholder vote.

 

Upon consummation of this offering, our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Although there is no commitment to do so, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may purchase units in this offering or any units or shares from persons in the open market or in private transactions. In addition, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates could determine in the future to make such purchases in the open market or in private transactions, to the extent permitted by law. In connection with any vote for a proposed business combination, our sponsor, as well as all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote the ordinary shares owned by them immediately before this offering as well as any ordinary shares acquired in this offering or in the aftermarket in favor of such proposed business combination.

 

Our board of directors is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. It is unlikely that there will be an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the consummation of the business combination. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise your voting rights under corporate law for up to 24 months. If there is an annual meeting, our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

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If we do not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management until such time.

 

Unless otherwise required by law or the Nasdaq Capital Market, we do not currently intend to call an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our initial business combination. In accordance with the Nasdaq rules, a newly listed company not previously subject to a requirement to hold an annual meeting is required to hold its first annual meeting within one year after its first fiscal year-end following listing, unless such company is a foreign private issuer. If our shareholders want us to hold a meeting prior to our consummation of our initial business combination, they may do so by members holding not less than 30% of voting rights in respect of the matter for which the meeting is requested making a request in writing to the directors in accordance with Section 82(2) of the Companies Act. Under British Virgin Islands law, we may not increase the required percentage to call a meeting above 30%. Until we hold an annual meeting of shareholders, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to elect directors and to discuss company affairs with management.

 

Our initial shareholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, for the insider shares and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.

 

The difference between the public offering price per ordinary share and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to the investors in this offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the insider shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon consummation of this offering, you and the other new investors will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 92.2% or $9.22 per share (the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share $0.78, and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit). This is because investors in this offering will be contributing approximately 99.99% of the total amount paid to us for our outstanding securities after this offering but will only own 80% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, the per-share purchase price you will be paying substantially exceeds our per share net tangible book value.

 

Our outstanding warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.

 

We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,500,000 ordinary shares as part of the units offered by this prospectus and the private warrants to purchase up to 5,925,000 ordinary shares (or up to 6,555,000 ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We may also issue additional warrants to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates upon redemption of promissory notes issued to such entities or individuals for loans made to supplement our working capital requirements, as described elsewhere in this prospectus. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effect a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of sale, of the shares underlying the warrants could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these warrants are exercised, you may experience dilution to your holdings.

 

We may redeem the warrants at a time that is not beneficial to public investors.

 

We may call the public warrants for redemption at any time after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied. If we call the public warrants for redemption, public shareholders may be forced to accept a nominal redemption price or sell or exercise the warrants when they may not wish to do so.

 

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Our management’s ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer ordinary shares upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their warrants for cash.

 

If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant (including any warrants held by our sponsor, officers, directors or their permitted transferees) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company.

 

Because each warrant is exercisable for only one-half of one ordinary share, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

 

Each warrant is exercisable for one-half of one ordinary share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of ordinary shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

 

If our security holders exercise their registration rights, it may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effect our initial business combination.

 

The holders of the insider shares are entitled to demand that we register the resale of the insider shares and the holders of the private warrants are entitled to demand that we register the resale of the private warrants (and underlying securities) and any securities our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may be issued in payment of working capital loans made to us. The presence of these additional securities trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities. In addition, the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business, as the stockholders of the target business may be discouraged from entering into a business combination with us or will request a higher price for their securities because of the potential effect the exercise of such rights may have on the trading market for our ordinary shares.

 

If we are deemed to be an investment company, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

 

A company that, among other things, is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, trading or holding certain types of securities would be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Since we will invest the proceeds held in the trust account, it is possible that we could be deemed an investment company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act of 1940. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in United States government treasury bills, notes or bonds having a maturity of 180 days or less, in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in U.S. treasuries or in demand deposit accounts. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, we intend to meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

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If we are nevertheless deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, we may be subject to certain restrictions that may make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination, including:

 

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

 

restrictions on the issuance of securities.

 

In addition, we may have imposed upon us certain burdensome requirements, including:

 

registration as an investment company;

 

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

 

reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy, compliance policies and procedures and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

 

Compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expense for which we have not allotted.

 

We are not subject to the supervision of the Financial Services Commission of the British Virgin Islands and so our shareholders are not protected by any regulatory inspections in the British Virgin Islands.

 

We are not an entity subject to any regulatory supervision in the British Virgin Islands by the Financial Services Commission. As a result, shareholders are not protected by any regulatory supervision or inspections by any regulatory agency in the British Virgin Islands and we are not required to observe any restrictions in respect of our conduct save as disclosed in this prospectus or our memorandum and articles of association.

 

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination, our public shareholders may be forced to wait up to 24 months before redemption from our trust account.

 

If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs by way of a voluntary liquidation, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our memorandum and articles of association prior to our commencing any voluntary liquidation. If we are required to liquidate prior to distributing the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account pro rata to our public shareholders, then such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.

 

If we are deemed to be insolvent, distributions, or part of them, may be delayed while the insolvency liquidator determines the extent of potential creditor claims. In these circumstances, prior payments made by the company may be deemed “voidable transactions.”

 

If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months, this will trigger an automatic redemption of public shareholders from the trust account pursuant to our memorandum and articles of association.

 

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However, if at any time we are deemed insolvent for the purposes of the Insolvency Act (i.e. (i) we fail to comply with the requirements of a statutory demand that has not been set aside under section 157 of the Insolvency Act; (ii) execution or other process issued on a judgment, decree or order of a British Virgin Islands Court in favor of a creditor of the company is returned wholly or partly unsatisfied; or (iii) either the value of the company’s liabilities exceeds its assets, or the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due), we are required to immediately enter insolvent liquidation. In these circumstances, a liquidator will be appointed who will give notice to our creditors inviting them to submit their claims for payment, by notifying known creditors (if any) who have not submitted claims and by placing a public advertisement in at least one newspaper published in the British Virgin Islands and in at least one newspaper circulating in the location where the company has its principal place of business, and taking any other steps he considers appropriate, after which our assets would be distributed. Following the process of insolvent liquidation, the liquidator will complete its final report and accounts and will then notify the Registrar. The liquidator may determine that he requires additional time to evaluate creditors’ claims (particularly if there is uncertainty over the validity or extent of the claims of any creditors). Also, a creditor or shareholder may file a petition with the British Virgin Islands Court which, if successful, may result in our liquidation being subject to the supervision of that court. Such events might delay distribution of some or all of our assets to our public shareholders. In such liquidation proceedings, the funds held in our trust account may be included in our estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any such claims deplete the trust account we cannot assure you we will be able to return to our public shareholders the amounts otherwise payable to them.

 

If we are deemed insolvent, then there are also limited circumstances where prior payments made to shareholders or other parties may be deemed to be a “voidable transaction” for the purposes of the Insolvency Act. A voidable transaction would be, for these purposes, payments made as “unfair preferences” or “transactions at an undervalue.” Where a payment was a risk of being a voidable transaction, a liquidator appointed over an insolvent company could apply to the British Virgin Islands Court for an order, inter alia, for the transaction to be set aside as a voidable transaction in whole or in part.

 

Our initial shareholders have waived their right to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to the initial shares. We will pay the costs of our liquidation and distribution of the trust account from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. In addition, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us for all claims of creditors to the extent that we fail to obtain executed waivers from such entities in order to protect the amounts held in trust, except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. We cannot assure you that the liquidator will not determine that he or she requires additional time to evaluate creditors’ claims (particularly if there is uncertainty over the validity or extent of the claims of any creditors). We also cannot assure you that a creditor or shareholder will not file a petition with the British Virgin Islands Court which, if successful, may result in our liquidation being subject to the supervision of that court. Such events might delay distribution of some or all of our assets to our public shareholders.

 

If we are deemed to be insolvent, distributions made to public shareholders, or part of them, from our trust account may be subject to claw back in certain circumstances.

 

If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, and instead distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses) pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption, it will be necessary for our directors to pass a board resolution approving the redemption of those ordinary shares and the payment of the proceeds to public shareholders. Such board resolutions are required to confirm that we satisfy the solvency test prescribed by the Companies Act (namely that our assets exceed our liabilities; and that we are able to pay our debts as they fall due). If, after the redemption proceeds are paid to public shareholders, it transpires that our financial position at the time was such that it did not satisfy the solvency test, the Companies Act provides a mechanism by which those proceeds could be recovered from public shareholders. However, the Companies Act also provides for circumstances where such proceeds could not be subject to claw back, namely where (a) the public shareholders received the proceeds in good faith and without knowledge of our failure to satisfy the solvency test; (b) a public shareholder altered its position in reliance of the validity of the payment of the proceeds; or (c) it would be unfair to require repayment of the proceeds in full or at all.

 

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The determination for the offering price of our units is more arbitrary compared with the pricing of securities for an operating company in a particular industry.

 

Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units was negotiated between us and the representative of the underwriters. Factors considered in determining the price of the shares of units include:

 

the history of other similarly structured blank check companies;

 

prior offerings of those companies;

 

our prospects for acquiring an operating business or asset at an attractive value;

 

our capital structure;

 

securities exchange listing requirements;

 

market demand;

 

expected liquidity of our securities; and

 

general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the offering.

 

However, although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities for an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results to compare them to.

 

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating our initial business combination.

 

We have 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware of this requirement. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete a business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete a business combination with any other target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the time limit referenced above.

 

We may not obtain a fairness opinion with respect to the target business that we seek to acquire and therefore you may be relying solely on the judgment of our board of directors in approving a proposed business combination.

 

We will only be required to obtain a fairness opinion with respect to the target business that we seek to acquire if it is an entity that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or sponsor. In all other instances, we will have no obligation to obtain an opinion. Accordingly, investors will be relying solely on the judgment of our board of directors in approving a proposed business combination.

 

We may not be required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm as to the fair market value of the target business we are seeking to acquire.

 

We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, as to the fair market value of such target business if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold. Accordingly, investors will be relying solely on the judgment of our board of directors in valuing such target business or businesses, and our board of directors may not properly value such target business or businesses.

 

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Resources could be spent researching acquisitions that are not consummated, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.

 

It is anticipated that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting, and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents, and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If a decision is made not to complete a specific business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, even if an agreement is reached relating to a specific target business, we may fail to consummate the business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.

 

We may qualify as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.

 

If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Taxation — General”) of our securities, the U.S. Holder may be subject to increased U.S. federal income tax liability and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2017 may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). If we do not complete our initial business combination by the end of our current taxable year ending December 31, 2017, and we have gross income (which is likely) for such taxable year, we likely will be a PFIC for such taxable year unless we complete our initial business combination before the end of our taxable year ending December 31, 2018 and are not treated as a PFIC for either of our taxable years ending December 31, 2018 or December 31, 2019. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. In addition, we may not provide timely financial information that would be required for U.S. investors to make a potentially favorable “qualified electing fund” election, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

 

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.

 

An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of the unit between the ordinary shares and the warrant to purchase one-half of one ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or the courts. Furthermore, the United States federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units is unclear under current law. See the section titled “Taxation – United States Federal Income Taxation” for a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.

 

After our initial business combination, it is likely that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.

 

It is likely that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.

 

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Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will require substantial financial and management resources and may increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.

 

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls and may require that we have such system of internal controls audited. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties and/or shareholder litigation. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports could harm our business. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also requires that our independent registered public accounting firm report on management’s evaluation of our system of internal controls. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. Furthermore, any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in the implementation of adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

 

We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.

 

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years. However, if our non-convertible debt issued within a three-year period or revenues exceeds $1.07 billion, or the market value of our ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of the second fiscal quarter of any given fiscal year, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following fiscal year. As an emerging growth company, we are not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and we are exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our ordinary shares less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find our ordinary shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our shares and our share price may be more volatile.

 

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, will not adopt the new or revised standard until the time private companies are required to adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.

 

We may re-incorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.

 

In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the British Virgin Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction would likely govern all of our material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States or the British Virgin Islands. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Any such reincorporation and the international nature of our business will likely subject us to foreign regulation.

 

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You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are formed under British Virgin Islands law.

 

We are a company formed under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.

 

Our corporate affairs will be governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the common law of the British Virgin Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under British Virgin Islands law are governed by the Companies Act and the common law of the British Virgin Islands. The common law of the British Virgin Islands is derived from English common law, and whilst the decisions of the English courts are of persuasive authority, they are not binding on a court in the British Virgin Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under British Virgin Islands law may not be as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the British Virgin Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and some states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, while statutory provisions do exist in British Virgin Islands law for derivative actions to be brought in certain circumstances, shareholders in BVI companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States. The circumstances in which any such action may be brought, and the procedures and defenses that may be available in respect to any such action, may result in the rights of shareholders of a BVI company being more limited than those of shareholders of a company organized in the United States. Accordingly, shareholders may have fewer alternatives available to them if they believe that corporate wrongdoing has occurred.

 

The British Virgin Islands Courts are also unlikely:

 

to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws where that liability is in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of the company; and

 

to impose liabilities against us, in original actions brought in the British Virgin Islands, based on certain civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws that are penal in nature.

 

There is no statutory recognition in the British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the British Virgin Islands will in certain circumstances recognize such a foreign judgment and treat it as a cause of action in itself which may be sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary provided that:

 

the U.S. court issuing the judgment had jurisdiction in the matter and the company either submitted to such jurisdiction or was resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and was duly served with process;

 

the judgment is final and for a liquidated sum;

 

the judgment given by the U.S. court was not in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of the company;

 

in obtaining judgment there was no fraud on the part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on the part of the court;

 

recognition or enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to public policy in the British Virgin Islands; and

 

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the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice.

 

In appropriate circumstances, a British Virgin Islands Court may give effect in the British Virgin Islands to other kinds of final foreign judgments such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions.

 

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company. For a discussion of certain differences between the provisions of the Companies Act, remedies available to shareholders and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “British Virgin Islands Company Considerations.”

 

The provisions of our memorandum and articles of association relating to the rights and obligations attaching to our ordinary shares may be amended prior to the consummation of our initial business combination with the approval of the holders of 65% (or 50% if for the purposes of approving, or in conjunction with, the consummation of our initial business combination) of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting on such amendment at the relevant meeting, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of many blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the consummation of our initial business combination that a significant number of our shareholders may not support.

 

Many blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. Typically, amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shareholders. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that, prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the provisions related to pre-business combination activity and the rights and obligations attaching to the ordinary shares may be amended if approved by holders of 65% (or 50% if approved in connection with our initial business combination) of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting on such amendment. Prior to our initial business combination, if we seek to amend any provisions of our memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote on any proposed amendments to our memorandum and articles of association. Other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may be amended prior to the consummation of our initial business combination if approved by a majority of the votes of shareholders attending and voting on such amendment or by resolution of the directors. Following the consummation of our initial business combination, the rights and obligations attaching to our ordinary shares and other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may be amended if approved by a majority of the votes of shareholders attending and voting on such amendment or by resolution of the directors. Our initial shareholders, which will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering, no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 787,500 insider shares), will participate in any vote to amend our memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination and the rights and obligations attaching to the ordinary shares more easily that many blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to consummate an initial business combination with which you do not agree. However, we and our directors and officers have agreed not to propose any amendment to our memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance and timing of our obligation to redeem the public shares of any public shareholder without the consent of that holder if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

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Our memorandum and articles of association permit the board of directors by resolution to create additional classes of securities, including shares with rights, preferences, designations and limitations as they determine which may have an anti-takeover effect.

 

Our memorandum and articles of association permits the board of directors by resolution to amend the memorandum and articles of association to designate rights, preferences, designations and limitations attaching to the preferred shares as they determine in their discretion, without shareholder approval with respect the terms or the issuance. If issued, the rights, preferences, designations and limitations of the preferred shares would be set by the board of directors and could operate to the disadvantage of the outstanding ordinary shares the holders of which would not have any pre-emption rights in respect of such an issue of preferred shares. Such terms could include, among others, preferences as to dividends and distributions on liquidation, or could be used to prevent possible corporate takeovers. We may issue some or all of such preferred shares in connection with our initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we and our directors and officers have agreed not to propose any amendment to our memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance and timing of our obligation to redeem our public shares if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards as issued by the IASB, we will not be able to complete our initial business combination with prospective target businesses unless their financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or international financial reporting standards.

 

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with any tender offer documents we use, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. Additionally, to the extent we furnish our shareholders with financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS, such financial statements will need to be audited in accordance with U.S. GAAP at the time of the consummation of the business combination. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire.

 

There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

 

There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

 

We may face risks related to oil and gas exploration and production companies.

 

Business combinations with oil and gas exploration and production companies entail special considerations and risks. If we acquire a target business in the oil and gas exploration and production industry, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:

 

our success may be dependent on the prices of oil and natural gas;

 

low oil or natural gas prices and the substantial volatility in these prices may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to meet our capital expenditure requirements and financial obligations;

 

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our exploration, development and exploitation projects may require substantial capital expenditures that may exceed our cash flows from operations and potential borrowings, and we may be unable to obtain needed capital on satisfactory terms, which could adversely affect our future growth;

 

drilling for and producing oil and natural gas are highly speculative and involve a high degree of operational and financial risk, with many uncertainties that could adversely affect our business;

 

we may incur indebtedness which could reduce our financial flexibility, increase interest expense and adversely impact our operations and our unit costs;

 

our operations may be subject to operational hazards and unforeseen interruptions for which we may not be adequately insured;

 

our reserves and production may be concentrated in a few core areas, such that problems in production and markets relating to a particular area could have a material impact on our business;

 

the unavailability or high cost of drilling rigs, completion equipment and services, supplies and personnel could adversely affect our ability to establish and execute exploration and development plans within budget and on a timely basis, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows;

 

our oil and natural gas reserves may be estimated and may not reflect the actual volumes of oil and natural gas we will recover, and significant inaccuracies in these reserves estimates or underlying assumptions could materially affect the quantities and present value of our reserves;

 

our identified drilling locations may be scheduled over several years, making them susceptible to uncertainties that could materially alter the occurrence or timing of their drilling;

 

competition in the oil and natural gas industry is intense, which may make it more difficult for us to acquire properties, market oil and natural gas and secure trained personnel;

 

our competitors may use superior technology and data resources that we may be unable to afford or that would require a costly investment by us in order to compete with them more effectively;

 

strategic relationships upon which we may rely may be subject to change, which may diminish our ability to conduct our operations;

 

the marketability of our production may be dependent upon oil and natural gas gathering, processing and transportation facilities owned and operated by third parties, and the unavailability of satisfactory oil and natural gas gathering, processing and transportation arrangements would have a material adverse effect on our revenue;

 

financial difficulties encountered by our oil and natural gas purchasers, third party operators or other third parties could decrease our cash flows from operations and adversely affect the exploration and development of our prospects and assets;

 

gathering, processing and transportation services are subject to complex federal, state and other laws that could adversely affect the cost, manner or feasibility of conducting our business;

 

a component of our growth may come through acquisitions, and our failure to identify or complete future acquisitions successfully could reduce our earnings and hamper our growth;

 

we may purchase oil and natural gas properties with liabilities or risks that we did not know about or that we did not assess correctly, and, as a result, we could be subject to liabilities that could adversely affect our results of operations;

 

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we may incur losses or costs as a result of title deficiencies in the properties in which we invest;

 

we may be required to write down the carrying value of our proved properties under accounting rules and these write-downs could adversely affect our financial condition;

 

hedging transactions, or the lack thereof, may limit our potential gains and could result in financial losses;

 

we may be subject to government regulation and liability, including complex environmental laws, which could require significant expenditures; and

 

we may have difficulty managing growth in our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and our ability to execute our business plan in a timely fashion.

 

Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

 

If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’s home jurisdiction, including any of the following:

 

laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

 

exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;

 

tariffs and trade barriers;

 

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

 

longer payment cycles;

 

tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

 

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

 

rates of inflation;

 

challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

 

cultural and language differences;

 

employment regulations;

 

crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks and wars; and

 

deterioration of political relations with the United States.

 

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.

 

Because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.

 

Managing a business, operations, personnel or assets in another country is challenging and costly. Any management that we may have (whether based abroad or in the U.S.) may be inexperienced in cross-border business practices and unaware of significant differences in accounting rules, legal regimes and labor practices. Even with a seasoned and experienced management team, the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, personnel and assets can be significant (and much higher than in a purely domestic business) and may negatively impact our financial and operational performance.

 

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If social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, or policy changes or enactments occur in a country in which we may operate after we effect our initial business combination, it may result in a negative impact on our business.

 

Political events in another country may significantly affect our business, assets or operations. Social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, and policy changes or enactments could negatively impact our business in a particular country.

 

Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

 

Our ability to seek and enforce legal protections, including with respect to intellectual property and other property rights, or to defend ourselves with regard to legal actions taken against us in a given country, may be difficult or impossible, which could adversely impact our operations, assets or financial condition.

 

Rules and regulations in many countries are often ambiguous or open to differing interpretation by responsible individuals and agencies at the municipal, state, regional and federal levels. The attitudes and actions of such individuals and agencies are often difficult to predict and inconsistent.

 

Delay with respect to the enforcement of particular rules and regulations, including those relating to customs, tax, environmental and labor, could cause serious disruption to operations abroad and negatively impact our results.

 

If relations between the United States and foreign governments deteriorate, it could cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive.

 

The relationship between the United States and foreign governments could be subject to sudden fluctuation and periodic tension. For instance, the United States may announce its intention to impose quotas on certain imports. Such import quotas may adversely affect political relations between the two countries and result in retaliatory countermeasures by the foreign government in industries that may affect our ultimate target business. Changes in political conditions in foreign countries and changes in the state of U.S. relations with such countries are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our operations or cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, there is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible extent of any impact on our ultimate operations if relations are strained between the United States and a foreign country in which we acquire a target business or move our principal manufacturing or service operations.

 

If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.

 

If you are a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact redeemed into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact redeemed into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually redeem the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.

 

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If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.

 

Following our initial business combination, our management will likely resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with our laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues, which may adversely affect our operations.

 

Currency policies may cause a target business’s ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.

 

In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.

 

Because foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements, we may not be able to enforce our rights within such jurisdiction or elsewhere, which could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.

 

Foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements. The target business may not be able to enforce any of its material agreements or enforce remedies for breaches of those agreements outside of such foreign jurisdiction’s legal system. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws and contracts in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. As a result, the inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business and business opportunities.

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

The statements contained in this prospectus that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about our:

 

ability to complete our initial business combination;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

pool of prospective target businesses;

 

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

 

potential change in control if we acquire one or more target businesses for stock;

 

the potential liquidity and trading of our securities;

 

the lack of a market for our securities;

 

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

 

financial performance following this offering.

 

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

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering and the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table:

 

    Without
Over-Allotment
Option
    With
Over-Allotment
Option
 
Gross proceeds                
                 
This offering   $ 210,000,000     $ 241,500,000  
Private placement warrants     5,925,000       6,555,000  
                 
Total gross proceeds   $ 215,925,000     $ 248,055,000  
                 
Offering expenses (1)                
Underwriting discount (excluding deferred portion) (2)   $ 4,200,000     $ 4,830,000  
Legal fees and expenses     275,000       275,000  
Printing and engraving expenses     40,000       40,000  
Accounting fees and expenses     35,000       35,000  
SEC registration fee     26,657       26,657  
FINRA filing fee     35,000       35,000  
Nasdaq listing and filing fees     75,000       75,000  
Miscellaneous expenses (3)   $ 238,343     $ 238,343  
                 
Total offering expenses   $ 4,925,000     $ 5,555,000  
                 
Net proceeds after offering expenses                
Held in the trust account   $ 210,000,000     $ 241,500,000  
Not held in the trust account (4)     1,000,000       1,000,000  
                 
Total net proceeds   $ 211,000,000     $ 242,500,000  

 

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Use of net proceeds not held in the trust account: (4)

    Amount     % of Total  
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection
with any business combination
  $ 435,000       43.5 %
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements     150,000       15.0 %
Nasdaq and other regulatory fees     75,000       7.5 %
Payment for office space, secretarial support and administrative services     240,000       24.0 %
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses     100,000       10.0 %
                 
Total   $ 1,000,000       100 %

 

 
(1) A portion of the offering expenses, including the SEC registration fee, the FINRA filing fee, the non-refundable portion of the Nasdaq listing fee and a portion of the legal and audit fees, have been paid from the funds we received from an affiliate described below. These funds will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering available to us.
(2) The underwriters have agreed to defer up to $7,350,000 of their underwriting commissions (or $8,452,500 if the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised in full), which equals 3.5% of the gross proceeds from the units offered to the public (and assumes that all proceeds were raised by the underwriters), until consummation of our initial business combination. Upon consummation of our initial business combination, the deferred commissions will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account. No discounts, commissions or fees will be paid with respect to the purchase of the private warrants. See the section entitled “Underwriting.”
(3) Up to $150,000 of the miscellaneous expenses shall be reimbursement to the underwriters for their expenses. See the section entitled “Underwriting”.
(4) The amount of proceeds not held in the trust account may increase based on the lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors. In addition, interest income earned on the amounts held in the trust account will be available to us to pay tax obligations. We estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $80,000 over a 24-month period assuming an interest rate of approximately 0.02% per year. These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of that business combination. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would be deducted from our excess working capital.

 

The rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the private placement be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $210,000,000 ($241,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be placed in an account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. The funds held in the trust account will be invested only in United States government treasury bills, notes or bonds having a maturity of 180 days or less, in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in U.S. treasuries, or in demand deposit accounts so that we are not deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination or our redemption of 100% of the outstanding public shares if we have not completed a business combination in the required time period. The proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. Any amounts not paid as consideration to the sellers of the target business may be used to finance operations of the target business.

 

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The payment to our sponsor of a monthly fee of $10,000 is for general and administrative services including office space, utilities and secretarial support. This arrangement is being agreed to by our sponsor for our benefit and is not intended to provide our officers or directors with compensation in lieu of a salary. This arrangement will terminate upon completion of our initial business combination or the distribution of the trust account to our public shareholders. Other than the $10,000 per month fee, no compensation of any kind will be paid to our sponsor, members of our management team or any of our or their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, such individuals will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. Since the role of present management after our initial business combination is uncertain, we have no ability to determine what remuneration, if any, will be paid to those persons after our initial business combination.

 

Regardless of whether the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the net proceeds from this offering available to us out of trust for our working capital requirements in searching for our initial business combination will be approximately $1,000,000 (or higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors). In addition, interest earned on the funds held in the trust account may be released to us to pay tax obligations. The allocation of the net proceeds available to us outside of the trust account, along with the available interest earned on the funds held in the trust account, represents our best estimate of the intended uses of these funds. In the event that our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, we may reallocate some of such proceeds within the above described categories. If our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating our initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or the amount of interest available from the trust account is insufficient as a result of the current low interest rate environment, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. In this event, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from members of our management team, but such members of our management team are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.

 

We will likely use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account, to acquire a target business and to pay our expenses relating thereto. To the extent that our shares are used in whole or in part as consideration to effect our initial business combination, the proceeds held in the trust account which are not used to consummate a business combination will be disbursed to the combined company and will, along with any other net proceeds not expended, be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’s operations, for development and construction of one or more mining assets, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products.

 

To the extent we are unable to consummate a business combination, we will pay the costs of liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, our sponsor has agreed to pay the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than $100,000) and has agreed not to seek repayment of such expenses.

 

As of February 10, 2017, an affiliate of our sponsor advanced us an aggregate of $78,280 to be used for entity formation costs. The advance is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand. The advance will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering available to us for payment of offering expenses.

 

On February 10, 2017, we entered into a promissory note with the sponsor, whereby the sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used in part for expenses incurred in connection with this offering. The promissory note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of this offering. As of February 10, 2017, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note.

 

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We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, we will have sufficient available funds to operate for up to the next 24 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not consummated during that time. However, if necessary, in order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a non-interest bearing promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant. Our shareholders have approved the issuance of the warrants and underlying securities upon conversion of such notes, to the extent the holder wishes to so convert them at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, the loans will not be repaid.

 

If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination instead of conducting a tender offer to allow our public shareholders to seek redemption of their shares, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for such any transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.

 

We may not complete a business combination that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). The agreement for our business combination, however, may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.

 

A public shareholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account (including interest earned on his, her or its portion of the trust account to the extent not previously released to us) only in the event of (1) our redemption of 100% of the outstanding public shares if we have not completed a business combination in the required time period, (2) if that public shareholder elects to redeem ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve our proposed initial business combination or a vote to amend the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity or (3) if that public shareholder sells shares to us in any tender offer in connection with a proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.

 

DIVIDEND POLICY

 

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 our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board of directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we will effect a stock dividend immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain our initial shareholders’ ownership at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

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DILUTION

 

The difference between the public offering price per share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and the private warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private warrants. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed into cash), by the number of outstanding ordinary shares.

 

At February 10, 2017, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of ($53,280), or approximately ($0.01) per share. After giving effect to the sale of 21,000,000 ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, and the deduction of maximum underwriting discounts and estimated expenses of this offering, and the sale of the private warrants, our pro forma net tangible book value at February 10, 2017 would have been $5,000,010, or $0.78 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.79 per share to the initial shareholders and an immediate dilution of 92.2% per share or $9.22 to new investors not exercising their redemption rights. For purposes of presentation, our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering is $198,669,710 less than it otherwise would have been because if we effect a business combination, the ability of public shareholders (but not our sponsor or the lead investors) to exercise redemption rights or sell their shares to us may result in the redemption or tender of up to 19,866,971 shares sold in this offering.

 

The following table illustrates the dilution to the new investors on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units and the private warrants:

 

Public offering price           $ 10.00  
Net tangible book value before this offering   $ (0.01 )        
Increase attributable to new investors and private sales     0.79          
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering             0.78  
Dilution to new investors           $ 9.22  
Percentage of dilution to new investors             92.2 %

 

The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the new investors:

 

    Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average Price  
    Number     Percentage     Amount     Percentage     per Share  
Initial shareholders     5,250,000 (1)     20 %   $ 25,000       0.01 %   $ 0.476  
New investors     21,000,000       80 %     210,000,000       99.99 %   $ 10.00  
      26,250,000       100.0 %   $ 210,025,000       100.0 %        

 

 
(1) Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 787,500 insider shares have been forfeited as a result thereof.

 

The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:

 

Numerator:        
Net tangible book value before the offering   $ (53,280 )
Net proceeds from this offering and private placement of private warrants     211,000,000  
Plus: Offering costs accrued for and paid in advance, excluded from tangible book
value before this offering
    73,000  
Less: Deferred underwriters’ commission     (7,350,000 )
Less: Proceeds held in the trust account subject to redemption/tender (1)     (198,669,710 )
    $ 5,000,010  
Denominator:        
Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering     5,250,000  
Ordinary shares to be sold in this offering     21,000,000  
Less: Shares subject to redemption/tender (1)     (19,866,971 )
      6,383,029  

 

 
(1) These numbers would be reduced to the extent the lead investors purchase shares in this offering since lead investors are not permitted to redeem such shares. 

 

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CAPITALIZATION

 

The following table sets forth our capitalization at February 10, 2017 and as adjusted to give effect (i) the 1.05-for-1 subdivision of our ordinary shares on May 11, 2017, (ii) to the sale of our units offered by this prospectus and the private warrants and (iii) the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:

 

    February 10, 2017  
    Actual     As Adjusted (1)  
Advance from related party (2)   $ 78,280     $  
Deferred underwriting commission           7,350,000  
Ordinary shares subject to redemption (3)           198,669,710  
Shareholders’ equity:                
Ordinary shares, no par value, unlimited shares authorized; 6,037,500
shares issued and outstanding, actual; 6,383,029 shares (4) issued and
outstanding (excluding 19,866,971 shares subject to possible
redemption/tender), as adjusted
    25,000       5,005,290  
Accumulated deficit     (5,280 )     (5,280 )
Total shareholders’ equity:     19,720       5,000,010  
Total capitalization   $ 98,000       211,019,720  

 

 
(1) Includes the full $5,925,000 we may receive from the sale of the private warrants.
(2) The advance from related party is non-interest bearing and is due on demand.
(3) Represents the maximum number of shares that may be redeemed (assumes no shares are purchased by lead investors in this offering).
(4) Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 787,500 insider shares have been forfeited as a result thereof.

 

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

We are a blank check company formed in the British Virgin Islands with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the Company, for the liabilities of the Company over and above the amount paid for their shares) on January 23, 2017 for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more target businesses. Our efforts to identify a target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although we intend to focus our search for target businesses that operate in the energy services industry.

 

We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private warrants, our securities, debt or a combination of cash, securities and debt, in effecting our initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preferred stock in our initial business combination:

 

may significantly dilute the equity interest of our investors in this offering who would not have pre-emption rights in respect of any such issuance;

 

may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if we issue preferred shares with rights senior to those afforded to our ordinary shares;

 

could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and most likely will also result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and

 

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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our securities.

 

Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:

 

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after our initial business combination are insufficient to pay our debt obligations;

 

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we have made all principal and interest payments when due if the debt security contains covenants that required the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves and we breach any such covenant without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

 

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; and

 

our inability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while such security is outstanding.

 

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our entire activity since inception has been to prepare for our proposed fundraising through an offering of our equity securities.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at February 10, 2017, we had $25,000 in cash and a working capital deficit of $53,280. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed above. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

 

Through February 10, 2017, our liquidity needs have been satisfied through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of a portion of the insider shares and an advance from a related party in an aggregate amount of $78,280 that is more fully described below. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $725,000, and the maximum underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion) of $4,200,000 and (2) the sale of the private warrants for a purchase price of $5,925,000, will be $211,000,000 (or $242,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). $210,000,000 (or $241,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account. The remaining $1,000,000 in either case (which amount may be higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors) will not be held in the trust account and will be available for our use.

 

We intend to use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account, to acquire a target business or businesses and to pay our expenses relating thereto. To the extent that our shares are used in whole or in part as consideration to effect our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account as well as any other net proceeds not expended will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’s operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products. Such funds could also be used to repay any operating expenses or finders’ fees which we had incurred prior to the completion of our initial business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust account were insufficient to cover such expenses.

 

We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the $1,000,000 (or higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors) of net proceeds not held in the trust account, plus the interest earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us to fund our tax obligations, which we anticipate will be approximately $80,000, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination. We anticipate that we will incur approximately:

 

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$435,000 of expenses for the search for target businesses and for the legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other third-party expenses attendant to the due diligence investigations, structuring and negotiating of our initial business combination;

 

$25,000 of expenses for Nasdaq and other regulatory fees;

 

$150,000 of expenses in legal and accounting fees relating to our SEC reporting obligations;

 

$240,000 for the payment of the administrative fee to our sponsor (of $10,000 per month for up to 24 months); and

 

$100,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses, liquidation obligations and reserves.

 

If our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating our initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or the amount of interest available to us from the trust account is less than we expect as a result of the current interest rate environment, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to consummate our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only consummate such financing simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business combination. Following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

 

Related Party Transactions

 

As of February 10, 2017, Thomas Wood, our Chief Financial Officer and director, advanced an aggregate of $78,280 to us, on a non-interest bearing basis, for payment of offering expenses on our behalf. The advance is due on demand. The advance will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in the trust account.

 

On February 10, 2017, we entered into a promissory note with the sponsor, whereby the sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used in part for expenses incurred in connection with this offering. The promissory note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of this offering. As of February 10, 2017, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note.

 

We are obligated, commencing on the date of this prospectus, to pay our sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for general and administrative services.

 

Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 11,850,000 private warrants (or 13,110,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $0.50 per private warrant for a total purchase price of $5,925,000 (or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering.

 

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Such loans would be evidenced by non-interest bearing promissory notes. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant. We believe the purchase price of these warrants will approximate the fair value of such warrants when issued. However, if it is determined, at the time of issuance, that the fair value of such warrants exceeds the purchase price, we would record compensation expense for the excess of the fair value of the warrants on the day of issuance over the purchase price in accordance with ASC 718 — Compensation — Stock Compensation.

 

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Controls and Procedures

 

We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:

 

staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;

 

reconciliation of accounts;

 

proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;

 

evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;

 

documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and

 

documentation of accounting policies and procedures.

 

Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.

 

Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.

 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

The net proceeds of this offering, including amounts in the trust account, will be invested in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes having a maturity of 180 days or less, in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in U.S. treasuries, or in demand deposit accounts. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results

 

As of the date of this prospectus, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.

 

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JOBS Act

 

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

 

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

 

PROPOSED BUSINESS

 

Introduction

 

We are a blank check company formed in the British Virgin Islands on January 23, 2017 as a business company with limited liability. This means that our shareholders have no additional liability for our liabilities over and above the amount paid for their shares. We were formed for the purpose of acquiring, engaging in a share exchange, share reconstruction and amalgamation, purchasing all or substantially all of the assets of, entering into contractual arrangements, or engaging in any other similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities as well as activities related to our offering. We have not identified any potential business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although we intend to focus our search on target businesses and assets in the energy services industry, with an emphasis on oil and gas services globally (with an initial focus on North America, Europe, Asia and Africa). Our management believes this area of focus represents a favorable and highly fragmented market opportunity to consummate a business combination.

 

We will seek to capitalize on the 60 years of experience in the oil and gas business of the two executives leading the company: Sherif Foda and Tom Wood. Mr. Foda was an officer of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) with 23 years of experience in managing a variety of businesses and operations globally. He most recently managed a portfolio of $20 billion revenue each year and oversaw 30,000 employees at Schlumberger Limited. Mr. Wood was the Chief Executive Officer of Xtreme Drilling Corp. (TSX: XDC), a leading drilling, workover and coil tubing company, doing business in North America, the Middle East and Asia. Previously, Mr. Wood founded and ran more than six companies. Messrs. Foda and Wood have a wealth of knowledge, client relations, business acumen, and track records of mergers and acquisitions.

 

We intend to identify and acquire businesses that could benefit from the strong operations background of our management team, with the broad expertise they have in oilfield services globally. Since even fundamentally sound companies can often under-perform their potential due to a temporary period of dislocation in the markets in which they operate, inefficient capital allocation, over-levered capital structures, excessive cost structures, incomplete management teams and/or inappropriate business strategies, we believe that we will be able to locate an attractive target business to acquire. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing acquisitions across the global energy market including the upstream and service sectors of the oil and gas services industry. In the past five years, our management team has been involved in over 20 mergers and acquisitions transactions valued at more than $2 billion. In addition, our team has significant hands-on experience working with private investors and international companies. In the event that we elect to pursue an investment outside of the oil and gas services industry, our management’s expertise related to that industry may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding this industry might not be relevant to an understanding of the business or asset that we elect to acquire.

 

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We believe that our management team is well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that their contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, and investment bankers, in addition to the extensive global industry and geographical reach of management’s past experience, will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities. Our management believes that its ability to identify and implement value creation initiatives will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy. However, there is no assurance that we will complete an initial business combination nor is there any guarantee that such initial business combination will be successful. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are concurrently involved with other businesses. There is no guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until our initial business combination is completed, if at all.

 

Our management team’s objective is to generate attractive returns and create value for our stockholders by applying a disciplined strategy of effecting changes in a target business after making an acquisition to unlock value. We favor companies with certain elements of downside protection, for example, companies with multiple year contracts, proven infrastructure, good governance and credibility in the market place in which they operate.

 

Business Strategy

 

Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company in the energy services industry that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their operational expertise. Our acquisition strategy will leverage our team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the energy services industry could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses or properties to improve their overall value proposition.

 

Acquisition Criteria

 

Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and completing an initial business combination with a target entity that has an enterprise value of between $600 million and $1.25 billion, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies that we believe:

 

can utilize the extensive networks and insights we have built in the energy services industry;

 

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

 

are fundamentally sound companies that are underperforming their potential as a result of the current low price of oil and corresponding services;

 

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics that we believe have been misevaluated by the marketplace;

 

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need new technology ideas and/or tools to reveal the full potential of the companies; and

 

can enlarge its base of services and expand its geographical footprint from the current serving platform.

 

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

 

Our Acquisition Process

 

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document review, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience. We will seek opinions from its clients and the industry for the credibility and reputation of the target companies.

 

We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually identified nor considered a target business nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters.

 

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company (other than any such positions held on the date of this prospectus) until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required time frame.

 

Initial Business Combination

 

We will either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we would be deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require that we conduct a tender offer under SEC rules rather than seeking shareholder approval). Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares (unless we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time) or seek to amend our memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval.

 

If we conduct a tender offer, we will file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will only consummate our initial business combination if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted at the meeting at which such approval is sought are voted in favor of the business combination.

 

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We will have until 24 months from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of the redemption of their shares and will cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. In such event, our warrants will expire worthless. We expect the per share redemption price to be $10.00 per ordinary share (regardless of whether the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full or in part), without taking into account any interest earned on such funds. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders.

 

Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, our initial business combination must be with a target business or businesses whose collective fair market value is at least equal to 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for such business combination, although this may entail simultaneous acquisitions of several target businesses. The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). The target business or businesses that we acquire may have a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the trust account balance.

 

We currently anticipate structuring our initial business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination where we merge directly with the target business or where we acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction parent company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we or a newly formed public holding company issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target; however, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of the outstanding shares of the public parent company subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of trust account balance test.

 

Competitive Strengths

 

We believe our competitive strengths to be the following:

 

Status as a public company.  We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses might find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, roadshow and public reporting efforts that will likely be reduced in connection with a business combination with us. Furthermore, once the business combination is consummated, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests than it would have as a privately-held company. Being public can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

 

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While we believe that our status as a public company will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view the inherent limitations in our status as a blank check company as a deterrent and may prefer to effect a business combination with a more established entity or with a private company.

 

Financial position.  With funds held in trust available for our initial business combination initially in the amount of $210,000,000 (or $241,500,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as providing the owners of a target business with shares in a public company and a public means to sell such shares, providing cash for stock, and providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to consummate our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and it may not be available to us.

 

Management Operating and Investing Experience.  Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad international network of contacts and corporate relationships which we believe will serve as a useful source of investment opportunities. We will seek to capitalize on the global network and investing and operating experience of our management team to identify, acquire and operate one or more businesses or assets in the energy sector, although we may pursue a business combination outside of such industry.

 

We believe our management team has the skills and experience to identify, evaluate and consummate a business combination and is positioned to assist businesses we acquire. However, there is no assurance that we will complete an initial business combination nor is there any guarantee that such an initial business combination will be successful. The members of our management team are not required to devote any significant amount of time to our business and are concurrently involved with other businesses. There is no guarantee that our current officers and directors will continue in their respective roles, or in any other role, after our initial business combination, and their expertise may only be of benefit to us until our initial business combination is completed, if at all.

 

If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. See the section titled “Management — Conflicts of Interest” for complete details on the pre-existing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our management team.

 

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

 

General

 

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any substantive commercial business for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of private warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of these in effecting our initial business combination. Although substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering and the private placement of private warrants are intended to be applied generally toward effecting a business combination as described in this prospectus, the proceeds are not otherwise being designated for any more specific purposes. Accordingly, investors in this offering are investing without first having an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any one or more business combinations. Our initial business combination may involve the acquisition of, or merger with, a company which does not need substantial additional capital but which desires to establish a public trading market for its shares, while avoiding what it may deem to be adverse consequences of undertaking a public offering itself. These include time delays, significant expense, loss of voting control and compliance with various Federal and state securities laws. In the alternative, we may seek to consummate a business combination with a company that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth. While we may seek to effect simultaneous business combinations with more than one target business, we will probably have the ability, as a result of our limited resources, to effect only a single business combination.

 

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We Have Not Identified a Target Business

 

We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate such an acquisition candidate. We have also not conducted any research with respect to identifying the number and characteristics of the potential acquisition candidates. As a result, we may not be able to locate a target business, and we may not be able to engage in a business combination with a target business on favorable terms or at all.

 

Subject to the limitation that a target business have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, as described below in more detail, we will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate. We have not established any other specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. Accordingly, there is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete a business combination. To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a financially unstable company or an entity in its early stage of development or growth, including entities without established records of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business and operations of financially unstable and early stage or potential emerging growth companies. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

 

Sources of Target Businesses

 

While we have not yet identified any acquisition candidates, we believe (based on our management’s business knowledge and past experience) that there are numerous acquisition candidates. We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers, venture capital funds, private equity funds, leveraged buyout funds, management buyout funds and other members of the financial community. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. We may also engage professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We have no present intention to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or sponsor. However, we are not restricted from entering into any such transactions and may do so if (1) such transaction is approved by a majority of our disinterested and independent directors (if we have any at that time) and (2) we obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view. As of the date of this prospectus, there are no affiliated entities that we would consider as a business combination target.

 

Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination

 

Subject to the limitation that a target business have a fair market value of at least 80% of the balance in the trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, as described below in more detail, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective target business. Except for the general criteria and guidelines set forth above under the caption “Business Strategy,” we have not established any specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. Furthermore, we do not have any specific requirements with respect to the value of a prospective target business as compared to our net assets or the funds held in the trust account.

 

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Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular business combination will be based, to the extent relevant, on the above factors as well as other considerations deemed relevant by our management in effecting a business combination consistent with our business objective. In evaluating a prospective target business, we will conduct an extensive due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and inspection of facilities, as well as review of financial and other information which is made available to us. This due diligence review will be conducted either by our management or by unaffiliated third parties we may engage.

 

The time and costs required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination remain to be determined. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which a business combination is not ultimately completed will result in a loss to us and reduce the amount of capital available to otherwise complete a business combination.

 

Fair Market Value of Target Business

 

Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, although we may acquire a target business whose fair market value significantly exceeds 80% of the trust account balance. We currently anticipate structuring a business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure a business combination where we merge directly with the target business or where we acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction parent company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we or a newly formed public holding company issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of the outstanding shares of the public parent company subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% trust account balance test. In order to consummate such an acquisition, we may issue a significant amount of our debt or equity securities to the sellers of such businesses and/or seek to raise additional funds through a public or private offering of debt or equity securities. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such fund raising arrangement and have no current intention of doing so. The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, as to the fair market value if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold.

 

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Lack of Business Diversification

 

We expect to complete only a single business combination, although this process may entail the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses. Therefore, at least initially, the prospects for our success may be entirely dependent upon the future performance of a single business operation. Unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations of entities operating in multiple industries or multiple areas of a single industry, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses. By consummating our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

 

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

 

result in our dependency upon the successful development, construction and operation of a single mining asset; and

 

result in our dependency upon the performance of a single operating business or the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

 

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other acquisitions, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the business combination. With multiple acquisitions, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business.

 

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target Business’s Management Team

 

Although we intend to scrutinize the management team of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination, our assessment of the target business’s management team may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management team may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of our officers and directors, if any, in the target business following our initial business combination remains to be determined. While it is possible that some of our key personnel will remain associated in senior management or advisory positions with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that they will devote their full time efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, they would only be able to remain with the company after the consummation of our initial business combination if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for them to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. While the personal and financial interests of our key personnel may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, their ability to remain with the company after the consummation of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. Additionally, our officers and directors may not have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

 

Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We may not have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that any such additional managers we do recruit will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

 

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Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve an Initial Business Combination

 

In connection with any proposed business combination, we will either (1) seek shareholder approval of the business combination at a shareholders’ meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable) or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case, subject to the limitations described herein. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. If we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer, we will conduct redemptions in accordance with the SEC’s tender offer rules.

 

Under NASDAQ’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination (unless we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time) if, for example:

 

we issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then outstanding;

 

any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

 

the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.

 

If we engage in a tender offer, such tender offer will be conducted pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and structured so that each shareholder may tender all of his, her or its shares rather than some pro rata portion of his, her or its shares. In that case, we will file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination.

 

We chose our net tangible asset threshold of $5,000,001 to ensure that we would avoid being subject to Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. However, if we seek to consummate an initial business combination with a target business that imposes any type of working capital closing condition or requires us to have a minimum amount of funds available from the trust account upon consummation of such initial business combination, our net tangible asset threshold may limit our ability to consummate such initial business combination (as we may be required to have a lesser number of shares redeemed or sold to us) and may force us to seek third party financing which may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. As a result, we may not be able to consummate such initial business combination and we may not be able to locate another suitable target within the applicable time period, if at all. Public shareholders may therefore have to wait 24 months from the closing of this offering in order to be able to receive a pro rata share of the trust account.

 

Our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed (1) to vote any ordinary shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination, (2) not to redeem any ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination and (3) not sell any ordinary shares in any tender in connection with a proposed initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 7,875,001 of the 21,000,000 public shares, or 37.5% of the public shares sold in this offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and no shares are purchased by our sponsor and our officers and directors in this offering).

 

Although there is no commitment to do so, our officers, directors, sponsor or their affiliates may purchase units or ordinary shares in this offering or from persons in the open market or in private transactions. In addition, if we hold a meeting to approve a proposed business combination and a significant number of shareholders vote, or indicate an intention to vote, against such proposed business combination, our officers, directors, sponsor or their affiliates could make such purchases in the open market or in private transactions in order to influence the vote. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our officers, directors, sponsor and their affiliates will not make purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act, which are rules designed to stop potential manipulation of a company’s stock.

 

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Redemption Rights

 

At any meeting called to approve an initial business combination, any public shareholder, whether voting for or against such proposed business combination, will be entitled to demand that their ordinary shares be redeemed for a full pro rata portion of the amount then in the trust account (initially $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes). Alternatively, we may provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to sell their ordinary shares to us through a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of his or any other person with whom he is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 20% or more of the ordinary shares sold in this offering. Accordingly, if you purchase more than 20% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering and our proposed business combination is approved, you will not be able to seek redemption rights with respect to the full amount of your shares and may be forced to hold such additional ordinary shares or sell them in the open market. Such a public shareholder would still be entitled to vote against a proposed business combination with respect to all ordinary shares owned by him or his affiliates. We believe this restriction will prevent shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares before the vote held to approve a proposed business combination and attempt to use the redemption right as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a substantial premium to the then current market price.

 

Our sponsor, as well as our officers and directors, will not have redemption rights with respect to any ordinary shares owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether acquired prior to this offering or, except in the case of our liquidation if we do not complete a business combination as described below, purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket.

 

We may also require public shareholders who wish to redeem, whether they are a record holder or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent at any time through the vote on the business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option.

 

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced delivery process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $45.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders to deliver their shares prior to the vote on the business combination in order to exercise redemption rights. This is because a holder would need to deliver shares to exercise redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated. However, in the event we require shareholders to exercise redemption rights prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination and the proposed business combination is not consummated, this may result in an increased cost to shareholders.

 

Any request to redeem such shares once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the vote on the proposed business combination. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered his certificate in connection with an election of their redemption and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, he may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically).

 

If the initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to have their shares redeemed.

 

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Liquidation if No Business Combination

 

If we do not complete a business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs. This redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be done automatically by function of our memorandum and articles of association and prior to any voluntary winding up, although at all times subject to the Companies Act.

 

Following the redemption of public shares, we intend to enter “voluntary liquidation” which is the statutory process for formally closing and dissolving a company under the laws of the British Virgin Islands. Given that we intend to enter voluntary liquidation following the redemption of public shareholders from the trust account, we do not expect that the voluntary liquidation process will cause any delay to the payment of redemption proceeds from our trust account. In connection with such a voluntary liquidation, the liquidator would give notice to creditors inviting them to submit their claims for payment, by notifying known creditors (if any) who have not submitted claims and by placing a public advertisement in at least one newspaper published in the British Virgin Islands and in at least one newspaper circulating in the location where the company has its principal place of business, and taking any other steps he considers appropriate to identify the company’s creditors, after which our remaining assets would be distributed. As soon as the affairs of the company are fully wound-up, the liquidator must complete his statement of account and make a notificational filing with the Registrar. We would be dissolved once the Registrar issues a Certificate of Dissolution.

 

Our sponsor has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its insider shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable period from the closing of this offering.

 

However, if our sponsor, or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the required time period. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination within the 24 month time period. We will pay the costs of our liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. However, the liquidator may determine that he or it requires additional time to evaluate creditors’ claims (particularly if there is uncertainty over the validity or extent of the claims of any creditors). Also, a creditor or shareholder may file a petition with the BVI court which, if successful, may result in our liquidation being subject to the supervision of that court. Such events might delay distribution of some or all of our remaining assets.

 

Additionally, in any liquidation proceedings of the company under British Virgin Islands law, the funds held in our trust account may be included in our estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any such claims deplete the trust account we may not be able to return to our public shareholders the liquidation amounts payable to them.

 

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00 (whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors, which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. The actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00, plus interest (net of any taxes payable).

 

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Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor agreed that it will be liable to us, if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below $10.00 per share (whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. We believe the likelihood of our sponsor having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.

 

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below $10.00 per share (whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy any applicable obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, due to claims of creditors, the actual value of the per-share redemption price may be less than $10.00 per share (whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).

 

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,000,000 (or higher based on lower underwriting discounts for units purchased by lead investors) not placed in the trust account, and the interest income earned on the balance of the trust account (net of taxes payable) with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, up to $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $725,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the amounts not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to hold outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $725,000 the amount of funds we intend to hold outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.

 

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If we are deemed insolvent for the purposes of the Insolvency Act (i.e. (i) we fail to comply with the requirements of a statutory demand that has not been set aside under section 157 of the Insolvency Act; (ii) execution or other process issued on a judgment, decree or order of a British Virgin Islands Court in favor of a creditor of the company is returned wholly or partly unsatisfied; or (iii) either the value of the company’s liabilities exceeds its assets, or the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due), then there are very limited circumstances where prior payments made to shareholders or other parties may be deemed to be a “voidable transaction” for the purposes of the Insolvency Act. A voidable transaction would include, for these purposes, payments made as “unfair preferences” or “transactions at an undervalue”. A liquidator appointed over an insolvent company who considers that a particular transaction or payment is a voidable transaction under the Insolvency Act could apply to the British Virgin Islands Courts for an order setting aside that payment or transaction in whole or in part.

 

Additionally, if we enter insolvent liquidation under the Insolvency Act, the funds held in our trust account will likely be included in our estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account you may not be able to return to our public shareholders the liquidation amounts due them.

 

Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of a redemption to public shareholders prior to any winding up in the event we do not consummate our initial business combination or our liquidation or if they redeem their shares in connection with an initial business combination that we consummate. In no other circumstances shall a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above.

 

Competition

 

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than us and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there may be numerous potential target businesses that we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses may be limited by our available financial resources.

 

The following also may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses:

 

our obligation to seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination or engage in a tender offer may delay the completion of a transaction;

 

our obligation to redeem ordinary shares held by our public shareholders may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination;

 

our outstanding warrants, and the potential future dilution they represent;

 

our obligation to either repay or issue private warrants upon conversion of up to $1,500,000 of working capital loans that may be made to us by our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates; and

 

our obligation to register the resale of the insider shares, as well as the private warrants (and underlying securities) and any securities issued to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans.

 

Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating our initial business combination. Our management believes, however, that our status as a public entity and potential access to the United States public equity markets may give us a competitive advantage over privately-held entities having a similar business objective as ours in acquiring a target business with significant growth potential on favorable terms.

 

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If we succeed in effecting our initial business combination, there will be, in all likelihood, intense competition from competitors of the target business. Subsequent to our initial business combination, we may not have the resources or ability to compete effectively.

 

Facilities

 

We currently maintain our principal executive offices at 777 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per-month fee our sponsor will charge us for general and administrative services commencing upon the date of this prospectus pursuant to a letter agreement between us and our sponsor. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in Houston, Texas, that the fee charged by our sponsor is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.

 

Employees

 

We have two executive officers, neither of whom is paid a salary by us. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters and intend to devote only as much time as they deem necessary to our affairs. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for the business combination and the stage of the business combination process the company is in. Accordingly, once a suitable target business to acquire has been located, management will spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time on our affairs) than had been spent prior to locating a suitable target business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements

 

We will register our units, ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act prior to the completion of this offering and will have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual report will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

 

We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with GAAP, however, they may alternatively be prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with either GAAP or IFRS or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with either GAAP or IFRS. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

 

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

 

Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our business combination.

 

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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

 

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

 

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30 (the end of our second fiscal quarter), and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

There is no material litigation, arbitration, governmental proceeding or any other legal proceeding currently pending or known to be contemplated against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the ten years preceding the date of this prospectus.

 

Comparison to Offerings of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419

 

The following table compares and contrasts the terms of our offering and the terms of an offering of blank check companies under Rule 419 promulgated by the SEC assuming that the gross proceeds, underwriting discounts and underwriting expenses for the Rule 419 offering are the same as this offering and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the terms of a Rule 419 offering will apply to this offering because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 upon the successful consummation of this offering and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact.

 

    Terms of the Offering   Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
Escrow of offering proceeds   $210,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and proceeds from the sale of the private warrants will be deposited into a trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.   $185,220,000 of the offering proceeds would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account.
         
Investment of net proceeds   The $210,000,000 of net offering proceeds and proceeds from the sale of the private warrants held in the trust account will only be invested in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes with a maturity of 180 days or less, in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in U.S. treasuries, or in demand deposit accounts.   Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States.

 

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    Terms of the Offering   Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
         
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business   The initial target business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in our trust account at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination.   We would be restricted from acquiring a target business unless the fair value of such business or net assets to be acquired represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds.
         
Trading of securities
issued
  The units may commence trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52 nd day following the date of this prospectus unless the underwriters inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, provided we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K, which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the proceeds of this offering.   No trading of the ordinary shares would be permitted until the completion of our initial business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account.
         
Election to remain an investor   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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest, which interest shall be net of taxes payable, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our 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 which will 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, we hold a shareholder vote, 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 outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public share irrespective of whether it votes for or against the proposed transaction.   A prospectus containing information required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company, in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of the post-effective amendment, to decide whether he or she elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his or her investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45 th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account would automatically be returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all of the deposited funds in the escrow account must be returned to all investors and none of the securities will be issued.

 

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    Terms of the Offering   Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
         
Business combination deadline   If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will, as soon as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs. This redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be done automatically by function of our memorandum and articles of association and prior to any voluntary winding up.   If an acquisition has not been consummated within 18 months after the effective date of the initial registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account would be returned to investors
         
Interest earned on the funds in the trust account   There can be released to us, from time to time, any interest earned on the funds in the trust account that we may need to pay our tax obligations.   All interest earned on the funds in the trust account will be held in the trust account for the benefit of public shareholders until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect our initial business combination within the allotted time.
         
Release of funds   Except for interest earned on the funds in the trust account that we may need to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and the redemption of public shareholders upon failure to effect our initial business combination within the allotted time.   The proceeds held in the escrow account would not be released until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination or the failure to effect our initial business combination within the allotted time.

 

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M A NAGEMENT

 

Directors and executive officers

 

Our directors and executive officers are as follows:

 

Name   Age   Position
Sherif Foda   47   Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Thomas Wood   60   Chief Financial Officer and Director
Antonio J. Campo Mejia   60   Independent Director
Hala Zeibak   36   Independent Director

 

Sherif Foda has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman since our inception. He has more than 22 years of professional experience in the oil and gas industry working for Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) (“Schlumberger”) around the world, particularly in the Middle East, Europe and the US. Since June 2016, he has served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Schlumberger. From July 2013 through June 2016, he has served as an officer and the President for the Production Group of Schlumberger. From June 2011 to June 2013, he served as the President of Schlumberger Europe and Africa. From June 2009 to June 2011, he served as the Vice President and Managing Director of the Arabian market: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. From July 2007 to May 2009, he served as the Worldwide Vice President for Well Intervention. From 2005 to 2007, he was the Vice President for Europe, Caspian and Africa. From 2002 to 2005, he served as the Managing Director of Schlumberger in Oman. In 2001, he served as the Operations Manager for UAE, Qatar, Yemen and the Arabian Gulf. He started his career in 1993 with Schlumberger, working on the offshore fields in the Red Sea, then transferred to Germany for two years, then as the general manager of operations in Eastern Europe countries (mainly Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Hungary). Prior to working in the oil and gas industry, he worked in the information technology and computer industry for two years in Egypt. He graduated in 1991 from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Faculty of Engineering, and he holds a BSc double major in Electronics and Automatic control. Sherif is a board member of Energy Recovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: ERII), a technology company based in California. Also, he serves on the board of Trustees of Awty International School in Houston, and is a board member for Al Fanar Venture philanthropy in London.

 

We believe that Mr. Foda is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the oil and gas industry.

 

Thomas Wood has served as our Chief Financial Officer and director since our inception. He is an entrepreneur with over 35 years of experience in establishing and growing public and private companies that provide or use oil and gas contract drilling services. Since December 1990, he has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Round Up Resource Service Inc., a private investment company. Mr. Wood founded Xtreme Drilling Corp. (TSX:XDC), an onshore drilling and coil tubing technology company, in May 2005 and served as its Executive Chairman until May 2011 and its Chief Executive Officer and Director from May 2011 through August 2016. He is the founder of Savanna Energy Services Corp. (TSE: SVY), a North American energy services provider, where he served as the Chairman from 2001 to March 2005. He also served as Director at various companies engaged in the exploration and production of junior oil and gas, including Wrangler West Energy Corp. from April 2001 to 2014; New Syrus Capital Corporation from 1998 to 2001 and Player Petroleum Corporation from 1997 to 2001. In addition, Mr. Wood served as the President, Drilling and Wellbore Service, of Plains Energy Services Ltd. from 1997 to 2000 and Wrangler Pressure Control from 1998 to 2001. He served as the President of Round-Up Well Servicing Inc. from 1988 to 1997 and Vice President of Shelby Drilling from 1981 to 1987. Mr. Wood holds a BA in Economics from University of Calgary.

 

We believe that Mr. Wood is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the oil and gas industry.

 

Antonio J. Campo Mejia , who became an independent director of ours as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has been a non-executive director of the Supervisory Board of Fugro N.V. (Euronext: FUR), a company providing geotechnical, survey, subsea and geosciences services, since 2014 and Vice-Chairman of Basin Holdings, a global holding company focused on providing products and services to energy and industrial customers since 2012. From 2012 to 2013, Mr. Campo Mejia served as non-executive director at Integra Group, an oilfield services company, mainly active in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Campo Mejia also served as non-executive director at Basin Supply LP, Basin Tools LP and Basin Energy Services LP from 2009 to 2014. Prior to that, Mr. Campo Mejia spent 28 years of his professional career at Schlumberger, the world’s leading oilfield services company, in a multitude of senior management positions in different parts of the world. Mr. Campo Mejia served as the President of Latin America for Oilfield Services of Schlumberger from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Campo Mejia served as President of Europe & Africa, Schlumberger Oilfield Services from 2003 to 2006. From 2000 to 2006, he was the President of Schlumberger’s Integrated Project Management business responsible for the worldwide operations in this service line. From 1999 to 2000, Mr. Campo Mejia served as Director of Personnel for the Reservoir Management Group in Houston, Texas. From 1997 to 1999, he was the Vice President of Oilfield Services Latin America South managing a full range of services in the region. In his career prior to 1997, Mr. Campo Mejia held a number of senior management and technical positions in Schlumberger’s wireline business. Mr. Campo Mejia received his bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in 1980.

 

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We believe that Mr. Campo Mejia is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the oil and gas industry.

 

Hala Zeibak , who became an independent director of ours as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, is director of investments at Olayan Europe Limited, the investment advisory arm of The Olayan Group for the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. The Olayan Group is a private multinational enterprise with a managed portfolio of international investments and diverse commercial and industrial operations in the Middle East. Ms. Zeibak joined The Olayan Group in July 2005, initially with Olayan America in New York. She transferred to Olayan Europe in London in January 2011. Ms. Zeibak’s focus is on public and private equity investments primarily in the energy and affiliated sectors, including oil, gas, power, commodities and industrials. She is a member of the Oxford Energy Policy Club. Ms. Zeibak received a BA in Economics from Tufts University in 2003, graduating Summa Cum Laude with membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She went on to earn a master’s degree in 2015 from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts. Her concentration was international finance and trade.

 

We believe that Ms. Zeibak is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of her extensive experience in the oil and gas industry.

 

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

 

Our board of directors is divided into two classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of shareholders) serving a two-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Campo Mejia and Ms. Zeibak, will expire at our first annual meeting of shareholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Foda and Wood, will expire at the second annual meeting of shareholders. We do not currently intend to hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.

 

Executive Compensation

 

No executive officer has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus through the acquisition of a target business, we will pay our sponsor, a fee of $10,000 per month for providing us with office space and certain office and secretarial services. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide our officers or directors with compensation in lieu of a salary. Such individuals will also receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations.

 

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in a Current Report on Form 8-K, as required by the SEC.

 

Director Independence

 

Currently Mr. Campo Mejia and Ms. Zeibak would each be considered an “independent director” under the Nasdaq listing rules, which is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship, which, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. As required by the Nasdaq listing rules, within 12 months of our listing on Nasdaq, we will appoint an additional independent director so that the majority of our board of directors will be independent. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

 

We will only enter into a business combination if it is approved by a majority of our independent directors. Additionally, we will only enter into transactions with our officers and directors and their respective affiliates that are on terms no less favorable to us than could be obtained from independent parties. Any related-party transactions must be approved by our audit committee and a majority of disinterested directors.

 

Audit Committee

 

Effective upon the date of this prospectus, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Mr. Campo Mejia and Ms. Zeibak, each of whom is an independent director, and Mr. Wood. The audit committee’s duties, which are specified in our Audit Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:

 

reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditor the annual audited financial statements, and recommending to the board whether the audited financial statements should be included in our Form 10-K;

 

reviewing and discussing with management and our independent auditor our quarterly financial statements prior to the filing of our Form 10-Qs, including the results of the independent auditor’s review of the quarterly financial statements;

 

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discussing with management and the independent auditor significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of our financial statements;

 

discussing with management major risk assessment and risk management policies;

 

monitoring the independence of the independent auditor;

 

verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law;

 

reviewing and approving all related-party transactions;

 

inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

 

pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;

 

appointing or replacing the independent auditor;

 

determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work;

 

establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; and

 

approving reimbursement of expenses incurred by our management team in identifying potential target businesses.

 

Financial Experts on Audit Committee

 

The audit committee will be composed of a majority of “independent directors”, all of whom are “financially literate” as defined under the Nasdaq listing standards. The Nasdaq listing standards define “financially literate” as being able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company’s balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.

 

In addition, we must certify to Nasdaq that the committee has, and will continue to have, at least one member who has past employment experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional certification in accounting, or other comparable experience or background that results in the individual’s financial sophistication. The board of directors has determined that Mr. Campo Mejia qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Nominating Committee

 

Effective upon the date of this prospectus, we will establish a nominating committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Mr. Campo Mejia and Ms. Zeibak, each of whom is an independent director. The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.

 

Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees

 

The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in our Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:

 

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should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service;

 

should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and

 

should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of our shareholders.

 

The Nominating Committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background, integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.

 

Compensation Committee

 

Effective upon the date of this prospectus, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Mr. Campo Mejia and Ms. Zeibak, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. The compensation committee’s duties, which are specified in our Compensation Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:

 

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

 

reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive officers;

 

reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, no compensation of any kind will be paid to our sponsor or officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to or in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

 

Code of Ethics

 

Effective upon consummation of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics that applies to all of our executive officers, directors and employees. The code of ethics codifies the business and ethical principles that govern all aspects of our business.

 

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Conflicts of Interest

 

Investors should be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:

 

None of our officers and directors is required to commit their full time to our affairs and, accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities.

 

As described below, in the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to our company as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

 

Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all may in the future become, affiliated with entities, (except that our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company (other than any such positions held on the date of this prospectus) until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required time frame), engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by our company.

 

Unless we consummate our initial business combination, our officers, directors and sponsor will not receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them to the extent that such expenses exceed the amount of available proceeds not deposited in the trust account.

 

The insider shares and private warrants beneficially owned by our officers and directors will be subject to restrictions on transfer that will not lapse unless our initial business combination is successfully completed. Additionally, our sponsor will not receive liquidation distributions with respect to any of the insider shares. For the foregoing reasons, our board may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate to effect our initial business combination with.

 

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise when our board evaluates a particular business opportunity with respect to the above-listed criteria. The above mentioned conflicts may not be resolved in our favor.

 

Under British Virgin Islands law, the directors owe fiduciary duties at both common law and under statute, including a statutory duty to act honestly, in good faith and with a view to the company’s best interests. When exercising powers or performing duties as a director, the director shall exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the circumstances taking into account, without limitation the nature of the company; the nature of the decision; and the position of the director and the nature of the responsibilities undertaken by him. In exercising the powers of a director, the directors shall exercise their powers for a proper purpose and shall not act or agree to the company acting in a manner that contravenes our memorandum and articles of association or the Companies Act.

 

In certain limited circumstances, a shareholder has the right to seek various remedies against the company in the event the directors are in breach of their duties under the Companies Act. Pursuant to Section 184B of the Companies Act, if a company or director of a company engages in, or proposes to engage in or has engaged in, conduct that contravenes the provisions of the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles of association of the company, the British Virgin Islands Court may, on application of a shareholder or director of the company, make an order directing the company or director to comply with, or restraining the company or director from engaging in conduct that contravenes the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles of association. Furthermore, pursuant to section 184I(1) of the Companies Act a shareholder of a company who considers that the affairs of the company have been, are being or likely to be, conducted in a manner that is, or any acts of the company have been, or are likely to be oppressive, unfairly discriminatory, or unfairly prejudicial to him in that capacity, may apply to the British Virgin Islands court for an order that the Court considers just and equitable which, inter alia, can require the company or any other person to pay compensation to the shareholders.

 

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Below is a table summarizing the companies to which our officers and directors owe fiduciary obligations that could conflict with their fiduciary obligations to us, all of which may have to (i) be presented appropriate potential target businesses by our officers or directors, and (ii) reject the opportunity to acquire such potential target business, prior to their presentation of such target business to us:

 

Name of Individual   Name Affiliated Company   Affiliation
Sherif Foda   Energy Recovery, Inc.   Director
    Awty International School   Member of the Board of the Trustees
Thomas Wood   Round Up Resource Service Inc.   Chief Executive Officer
Antonio J. Campo Mejia   Fugro N.V.   Non-Executive Director of the Supervisory Board
    Basin Holdings   Vice-Chairman
Hala Zeibak   Olayan Europe Limited   Director of Investment

 

Our sponsor, as well as all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote any ordinary shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. In addition, they have agreed to waive their respective rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their insider shares. If they purchase ordinary shares in this offering or in the open market, however, they would be entitled to participate in any liquidation distribution in respect of such shares but have agreed not to redeem such shares in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination.

 

All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions will require prior approval by our audit committee and a majority of our uninterested “independent” directors, or the members of our board who do not have an interest in the transaction, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not enter into any such transaction unless our audit committee and a majority of our disinterested “independent” directors determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties.

 

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate our initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our officers, directors or sponsor, unless we have obtained (i) an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view and (ii) the approval of a majority of our disinterested and independent directors (if we have any at that time). Furthermore, in no event will any of our sponsor, members of our management team or their respective affiliates be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other similar compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

 

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers

 

Our memorandum and articles of association provide that, subject to certain limitations, we shall indemnify our directors and officers against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. Such indemnity only applies if the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. The decision of the directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful and is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the memorandum and articles of association, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entering of a nolle prosequi does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

 

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We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our memorandum and articles of association. Our memorandum and articles of association also will permit us to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any officer or director who at the request of the company is or was serving as a director or officer of, or in any other capacity is or was acting for, another company or a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against the person and incurred by the person in that capacity, whether or not the company has or would have had the power to indemnify the person against the liability as provided in the memorandum and articles of association. We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

 

These provisions may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

 

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is theretofore unenforceable.

 

PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS

 

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus (assuming none of the individuals listed purchase units in this offering), by:

 

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

 

each of our officers and directors; and

 

all of our officers and directors as a group.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record of beneficial ownership of any ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding warrants as such warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.

 

    Prior to the Offering     After the Offering (2)  
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1)   Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
    Approximate
Percentage of
Outstanding
Ordinary Shares
    Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
    Approximate
Percentage of
Outstanding
Ordinary Shares
 
NESR Holdings Ltd. (3)     6,037,500 (3)     100 %     6,037,500       20 %
Sherif Foda     6,037,500 (3)     100 %     6,037,500       20 %
Thomas Wood     6,037,500 (3)     100 %     6,037,500       20 %
Antonio J. Campo Mejia                        
Hala Zeibak                        
All directors and executive officers as a group
(four individuals)
    6,037,500 (3)     100 %     6,037,500       20 %

 

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(1) Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is 777 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056.
(2) Assumes no exercise of the over-allotment option and, therefore, the forfeiture of an aggregate of 787,500 ordinary shares held by our sponsor.
(3) Represents ordinary shares held directly by NESR Holdings Ltd., our sponsor. Sherif Foda and Thomas Wood are shareholders and directors of NESR Holdings Ltd. and share voting and dispositive control over the securities held by our sponsor, and thus share beneficial ownership of such securities. Each of Messrs. Foda and Wood disclaims beneficial ownership over any securities owned by our sponsor in which he does not have any pecuniary interest.

 

Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units offered by this prospectus). None of our sponsor, officers and directors has indicated to us that it or he intends to purchase our units in the offering. Because of the ownership block held by our sponsor, such individuals may be able to effectively exercise influence over all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of our initial business combination.

 

If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of the over-allotment option, an aggregate of up to 787,500 insider shares will be forfeited. Only a number of shares necessary to maintain our sponsor’s 20% ownership interest in our ordinary shares after giving effect to the offering and the exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ over-allotment option will be forfeited.

 

Subject to certain limited exceptions, the insider shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold until the earlier of one year 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 stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period commencing 150 days after our initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these transfer restrictions will be removed earlier if, after our initial business combination, we consummate a (i) liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property or (ii) consolidation, merger or other change in the majority of our management team.

 

During the above-referenced lock-up period, the holders of these shares will not be able to sell or transfer their securities except: (1) amongst themselves, to our officers, directors and employees or to a holder’s officers, directors, members, employees and affiliates, (2) to relatives and trusts for estate planning purposes, (3) by virtue of the laws of descent and distribution upon death, (4) pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, (5) by certain pledges to secure obligations incurred in connection with purchases of our securities, (6) by private sales made at or prior to the consummation of our initial business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares were originally purchased or (7) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination, in each case (except for clause 7) where the transferee agrees to the terms of the lock-up provisions including that the transferees will not be entitled to redeem such shares in connection with a business combination or in connection with a liquidation, but will retain all other rights as our shareholders, including, without limitation, the right to vote their ordinary shares and the right to receive cash dividends, if declared. If dividends are declared and payable in ordinary shares, such dividends will also be subject to the above-referenced lock-up provisions. If we are unable to effect a business combination and liquidate, there will be no liquidation distribution with respect to the insider shares. Our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to receive liquidating distributions with respect to its insider shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.

 

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Our sponsor has committed to purchase the private warrants (for an aggregate purchase price of $5,925,000, or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The private warrants are identical to the warrants included in the units sold in this offering except the private warrants will be non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis so long as they continue to be held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. Additionally, the holders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private warrants or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the insider shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the insider shares must agree to, each as described above) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

 

In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a non-interest bearing promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant. Our shareholders have approved the issuance of the warrants and underlying securities upon conversion of such notes, to the extent the holder wishes to so convert them at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination. If we do not complete a business combination, the loans will not be repaid.

 

Sherif Foda and Thomas Wood are our “promoters,” as that term is defined under the Federal securities laws.

 

CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

 

On February 9, 2017, our sponsor subscribed for an aggregate of 5,750,000 of our ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. On March 11, 2017, we effectuated a 1.05-for-1 subdivision of our ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 6,037,500 ordinary shares being held by our sponsor. If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of their over-allotment option, our initial shareholders will forfeit up to an aggregate of 787,500 insider shares in proportion to the portion of the over-allotment option that was not exercised. If such shares are forfeited, we will record the forfeited shares as treasury stock and simultaneously retire the shares. Upon receipt, such forfeited shares would then be immediately cancelled which would result in the retirement of the treasury shares and a corresponding charge to additional paid-in capital.

 

If the underwriters determine the size of the offering should be increased (including pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act) or decreased, a share dividend (or bonus share issue) or a contribution back to capital, as applicable, would be effectuated in order to maintain our sponsor’s ownership at a percentage of the number of ordinary shares to be sold in this offering. In the event of such an increase in offering size, we expect that either our sponsor will purchase from us an additional number of private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant, or the underwriters will defer a greater amount of underwriting commissions, so that at least $10.00 per share sold to the public in this offering is held in trust.

 

Our sponsor has committed to purchase 11,850,000 private warrants (or 13,110,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) for a total purchase price of $5,925,000 (or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us. Each private warrant entitles the holder to purchase of one-half of one ordinary share at $5.75 per half share. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The private warrants are identical to the warrants included in the units sold in this offering except the private warrants will be non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis, in each case so long as they continue to be held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. Additionally, the holders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private warrants or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the insider shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the insider shares must agree to, each as described above) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

 

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In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors and their respective affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a non-interest bearing promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant. Our shareholders have approved the issuance of the warrants and underlying securities upon conversion of such notes, to the extent the holder wishes to so convert them at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination. If we do not complete a business combination, the loans will not be repaid.

 

The holders of our insider shares issued and outstanding on the date of this prospectus, as well as the holders of the private warrants (and underlying securities) and any securities our sponsor, officers, directors, special advisors or their respective affiliates may be issued in payment of working capital loans made to us, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of a majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our consummation of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

As of February 10, 2017, Thomas Wood, our Chief Financial Officer and director, advanced us an aggregate of $78,280 to cover expenses related to this offering. The advance is payable without interest and due on demand. We intend to repay this advance from the proceeds of this offering not being placed in the trust account.

 

On February 10, 2017, we entered into a promissory note with the sponsor, whereby the sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used in part for expenses incurred in connection with this offering. The promissory note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of this offering. As of February 10, 2017, no amounts were outstanding under the promissory note.

 

Our sponsor has agreed that, commencing on the date of this prospectus through the earlier of our consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation, it will make available to us certain general and administrative services, including office space, utilities and administrative support, as we may require from time to time. We have agreed to pay them $10,000 per month for these services for up to 24 months. Accordingly, our officers and directors will benefit from the transaction to the extent of their interest in our sponsor. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide our officers or directors with compensation in lieu of a salary. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in Houston, Texas, that the fee charged by our sponsor is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person.

 

Other than the fees described above, no compensation or fees of any kind will be paid to any of our sponsor, officers, directors, special advisors or their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, such individuals will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account and the interest income earned on the amounts held in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination.

 

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, board, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in a Current Report on Form 8-K, as required by the SEC.

 

All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions will require prior approval by our audit committee and a majority of our uninterested independent directors, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not enter into any such transaction unless our audit committee and a majority of our disinterested independent directors determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties.

 

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Related Party Policy

 

Our Code of Ethics will require us to avoid, wherever possible, all related party transactions that could result in actual or potential conflicts of interests, except under guidelines approved by the board of directors (or the audit committee). Related-party transactions are defined as transactions in which (1) the aggregate amount involved will or may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year, (2) we or any of our subsidiaries is a participant, and (3) any (a) executive officer, director or nominee for election as a director, (b) greater than 5% beneficial owner of our ordinary shares, or (c) immediate family member of the persons referred to in clauses (a) and (b), has or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than solely as a result of being a director or a less than 10% beneficial owner of another entity). A conflict of interest situation can arise when a person takes actions or has interests that may make it difficult to perform his or her work objectively and effectively. Conflicts of interest may also arise if a person, or a member of his or her family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his or her position.

 

We also require each of our directors and executive officers to annually complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.

 

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

 

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate our initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm and the approval of a majority of our disinterested and independent directors (if we have any at that time) that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view.

 

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

 

General

 

We are a company formed in the British Virgin Islands as a BVI business company (company number 1935445) and our affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the common law of the British Virgin Islands. We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of both ordinary shares of no par value and preferred shares of no par value. The following description summarizes certain terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which will become effective immediately prior to the consummation of this offering. 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 warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one-half of one ordinary share exercisable at $5.75 per half share , subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. For example, if a warrant holder holds two warrants, such warrants will be exercisable for one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Warrants must be exercised for whole ordinary shares.

 

In no event will the ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the consummation of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. The audited balance sheet will include proceeds we received from the exercise of the over-allotment option if such option is exercised prior to the filing of the Current Report on Form 8-K. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

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Ordinary Shares

 

As of the date of this prospectus, there were 6,037,500 ordinary shares outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders. This includes an aggregate of 787,500 ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by our initial shareholders to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full so that our initial shareholders will own 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Upon closing of this offering, 26,250,000 ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option).

 

Under the Companies Act, the ordinary shares are deemed to be issued when the name of the shareholder is entered in our register of members. Our register of members will be maintained by our transfer agent Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, which will enter the name of Cede & Co. in our register of members on the closing of this offering as nominee for each of the respective shareholders. If (a) information that is required to be entered in the register of members is omitted from the register or is inaccurately entered in the register, or (b) there is unreasonable delay in entering information in the register, a shareholder of the company, or any person who is aggrieved by the omission, inaccuracy or delay, may apply to the British Virgin Islands Courts for an order that the register be rectified, and the court may either refuse the application or order the rectification of the register, and may direct the company to pay all costs of the application and any damages the applicant may have sustained.

 

At any general meeting on a show of hands every ordinary shareholder who is present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly authorized representative) or by proxy will have one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Voting at any meeting of the ordinary shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by shareholders present in person or by proxy if the shareholder disputes the outcome of the vote on a proposed resolution and the chairman shall cause a poll to be taken. Prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the rights attaching to ordinary shares (including those provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections to our ordinary shareholders) may only be amended by a resolution of persons holding 65% (or 50% if approved in connection with our initial business combination) of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting on such amendment. Other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may be amended prior to the consummation of our initial business combination if approved by a majority of the votes of shareholders attending and voting on such amendment or by resolution of the directors. Following the consummation of, or in connection with, our initial business combination, the rights and obligations attaching to our ordinary shares and other provisions of our memorandum and articles of association may be amended if approved by a majority of the votes of shareholders attending and voting on such amendment or by resolution of the directors. Our board of directors is divided into three 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 therefore.

 

Unless otherwise required by law or the Nasdaq Capital Market, we do not currently intend to hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after we consummate our initial business combination. Therefore, if our shareholders want us to hold a meeting prior to such consummation, they may requisition the directors to hold one upon the written request of members entitled to exercise at least 30% of the voting rights in respect of the matter for which the meeting is requested. Under British Virgin Islands law, we may not increase the required percentage to call a meeting above such 30% level.

 

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Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares upon the consummation 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, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share, whether or not the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. 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, or if we are deemed to be a foreign private issuer at such time, 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 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, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, and if we will not be a foreign private issuer at such time, 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 outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), 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 outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination.

 

If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their insider shares and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, we would need only 7,875,001 of the 21,000,000 public shares, or 37.5% of the public shares sold in this offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised and no shares are purchased by our initial shareholders in this offering). Each public shareholder (other than our initial shareholders or lead investors) may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a shareholder vote is not required for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our memorandum and articles of association, offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to consummating our initial business combination. Our 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.

 

Pursuant to our memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs. This redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be done automatically by function of our memorandum and articles of association and prior to any formal voluntary liquidation of the company. Our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to receive liquidating distributions with respect to its insider shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to receive liquidating distributions with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the required time period.

 

Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds. In the event of a liquidation or winding up of the company after our initial 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 shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the redemption rights set forth above.

 

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Insider Shares

 

The insider shares are identical to the other ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of insider shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the insider shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, and (ii) our initial shareholders agreed (A) to waive their rights to liquidating distribution with respect to their insider shares and public shares in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination and (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their insider shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within such time period. Our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their insider shares and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination and our officers and directors have also agreed to vote any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.

 

Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the insider shares (except to certain permitted transferees as described below) until the earlier of (i) one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period 150 days after our initial business combination, the insider shares will be released.

 

Preferred Shares

 

Our memorandum and articles of association authorizes the creation and issuance without shareholder approval of an unlimited number of preferred shares divided into five classes, Class A through Class E each with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined by a resolution of our board of directors to amend the memorandum and articles of association to create such designations, rights and preferences. We have five classes of preferred shares to give us flexibility as to the terms on which each Class is issued. Unlike Delaware law, all shares of a single class must be issued with the same rights and obligations. Accordingly, starting with five classes of preference shares will allow us to issue shares at different times on different terms. No preferred shares are currently issued or outstanding. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered, without shareholder approval, to issue preferred shares with dividend, liquidation, redemption, voting or other rights, which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of ordinary shares. However, the underwriting agreement prohibits us, prior to our initial business combination, from issuing preferred shares which participate in any manner in the proceeds of the trust account, or which vote as a class with the ordinary shares on our initial business combination. We may issue some or all of the preferred shares to effect our initial business combination. In addition, the preferred shares could be utilized as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of us. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred shares, we may do so in the future.

 

The rights of preferred shareholders, once the preferred shares are in issue, may only be amended by a resolution to amend our memorandum and articles of association provided such amendment is also approved by a separate resolution of a majority of the votes of preferred shareholders who being so entitled attend and vote at the class meeting of the relevant preferred class. If our preferred shareholders want us to hold a meeting of preferred shareholders (or of a class of preferred shareholders), they may requisition the directors to hold one upon the written request of preferred shareholders entitled to exercise at least 30% of the voting rights in respect of the matter (or class) for which the meeting is requested. Under British Virgin Islands law, we may not increase the required percentage to call a meeting above 30%.

 

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Warrants

 

No warrants are currently outstanding. Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one-half of one ordinary share at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. For example, if a warrant holder holds two warrants, such warrants will be exercisable for one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Warrants must be exercised for whole ordinary shares. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption, as described below.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no public warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares 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 in the same manner as if we called the warrants for redemption and required all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date of exercise. There will be no net cash settlement of the warrants under any circumstances.

 

The private warrants will be identical to the public warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus except that such warrants will be exercisable for cash (even if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants is not effective) or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and will not be redeemable by us, in each case so long as they are still held by the initial purchasers or their affiliates.

 

We may call the warrants for redemption (excluding the private warrants), in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant,

 

at any time while the warrants are 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 ordinary shares equals or exceeds $21.00 per share, for any 20 trading days within a 30-day trading period ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders, and

 

if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants commencing five business days prior to the 30-day trading period and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption.

 

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 substantial 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.

 

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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 ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of ordinary shares 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. In this case, the “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Whether we will exercise our option to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” will depend on a variety of factors including the price of our ordinary shares at the time the warrants are called for redemption, our cash needs at such time and concerns regarding dilutive stock issuances.

 

The warrants will be 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 to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.

 

The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend (or bonus share issue), extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below their respective exercise prices.

 

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 ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive ordinary shares. After the issuance of ordinary shares 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 shareholders.

 

Except as described above, no public warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue ordinary shares unless at the time a holder seeks to exercise such warrant, a prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current and the ordinary shares have been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants.

 

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 9.8% of the ordinary shares outstanding.

 

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 our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our then board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent

 

The transfer agent for our securities and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 1 State Street, 30 th Floor, New York, New York 10004.

 

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Memorandum and Articles of Association

 

Our current initial memorandum and articles of association became effective under the laws of the British Virgin Islands on January 23, 2017. We will file amended and restated memorandum and articles of association immediately prior to the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part to reflect the terms hereof. As set forth in our memorandum of association, the objects for which are established are unrestricted and we shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Companies Act or as the same may be revised from time to time, or any other law of the British Virgin Islands.

 

Our memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections to our ordinary shareholders prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of 65% (or 50% if approved in connection with our initial business combination) of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting on such amendment. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20.0% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Prior to our initial business combination, if we seek to amend any provisions of our memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote on any proposed amendments to our memorandum and articles of association. We and our directors and officers have agreed not to propose any amendment to our memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance and timing of our obligation to redeem our public shares if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to any insider shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with any vote to amend our memorandum and articles of association prior to our initial business combination.

 

Specifically, our memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:

 

if we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs. This redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be done automatically by function of our memorandum and articles of association and prior to commencing any voluntary liquidation ;

 

except in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination, 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 or (ii) vote on any initial business combination;

 

although we do not intend to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or 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 a member of FINRA that such our initial business combination is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view; and

 

we will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

 

In addition, our memorandum and articles of association provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001.

 

Changes in Authorized Shares

 

We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares, which will have rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to them as the shares in issue. We may by resolution of directors or shareholders:

 

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consolidate and divide all or any of our unissued authorized shares into shares of larger or smaller amount than our existing shares;

 

cancel any ordinary shares which, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person; or

 

create new classes of shares with preferences to be determined by resolution of the board of directors to amend the memorandum and articles of association to create new classes of shares with such preferences at the time of authorization, although any such new classes of shares, with the exception of the preferred shares, may only be created with prior shareholder approval.

 

Pre-emption Rights

 

There are no pre-emption rights applicable to the issuance of new shares under our memorandum and articles of association.

 

Variation of Rights of Shares

 

As permitted by the Companies Act and our memorandum of association, we may vary the rights attached to any class of shares only with: (i) in the case of the ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination, the consent of not less than 65% (or 50% if for the purposes of approving, or in connection with, the consummation of our initial business combination) of the votes who are in attendance and vote at a meeting, or (ii) in the case of the preferred shares, 50% of the votes of shareholders who being so entitled attend and vote at a meeting of such shares, except, in each case where a greater majority is required under our memorandum and articles of association or the Companies Act, provided that that for these purposes the creation, designation or issue of preferred shares with rights and privileges ranking in priority to an existing class of shares is deemed not to be a variation of the rights of such existing class and may in accordance with our memorandum and articles of association be effected by resolution of directors without shareholder approval.

 

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY CONSIDERATIONS

 

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and the provisions of applicable British Virgin Islands law, including the Companies Act. The Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of some significant 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. A brief discussion of certain other provisions of the Companies Act and British Virgin Islands law also follows.

 

We cannot predict whether British Virgin Islands Courts would reach the same conclusions based on a particular set of facts as the U.S. courts would be expected to reach. Thus, you may have more difficulty in protecting your interests in the face of actions by the management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a United States jurisdiction, which has developed a substantial body of case law. The following table provides a comparison between the statutory provisions of the Companies Act together with the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association) and the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to shareholders’ rights.

 

British Virgin Islands   Delaware
Shareholder Meetings
 

•    Held at a time and place as determined by the directors

•    May be held within or outside the British Virgin Islands

•    Notice:

Under our memorandum and articles of association, a copy of the notice of any meeting shall be given not fewer than ten (10) days before the date of the proposed meeting to those persons whose names appear in the register of members on the date the notice is given and are entitled to vote at the meeting.

 

•    May be held at such time or place as designated in the charter or the by-laws, or if not so designated, as determined by the board of directors

•    May be held within or without Delaware

•    Notice:

Whenever shareholders are required to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given which shall state the place, if any, date and hour of the meeting, and the means of remote communication, if any

 

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Shareholders’ Voting Rights
 

•    Any person authorized to vote may be represented at a meeting by a proxy who may speak and vote on behalf of the member

•    Quorum is fixed by our memorandum and articles of association, to consist of the holder or holders present in person or by proxy entitled to exercise at least 50% of the voting rights of the shares of each class or series of shares entitled to vote as a class or series thereon

 

•    Any person authorized to vote may authorize another person or persons to act for him by proxy

•    For stock corporations, the charter or by-laws may specify the number to constitute a quorum but in no event shall a quorum consist of less than one-third of shares entitled to vote at a meeting. In the absence of such specifications, a majority of shares shall constitute a quorum

 
Under our memorandum and articles of association, subject to any rights or restrictions attached to any shares, at any general meeting on a show of hands every shareholder who is present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly authorized representative) or by proxy shall have one vote and on a poll every shareholder present in person (or, in the case of a shareholder being a corporation, by its duly appointed representative) or by proxy shall have one vote for each share which such shareholder is the holder. Voting at any meeting of the shareholders is by show of hands unless a poll is demanded. A poll may be demanded by shareholders present in person or by proxy if the shareholder disputes the outcome of the vote on a proposed resolution and the chairman shall cause a poll to be taken.   For non-stock companies, the charter or by-laws may specify the number of shareholders to constitute a quorum. In the absence of this, one-third of the shareholders shall constitute a quorum
     
Changes in the rights attaching to shares as set forth in the memorandum and articles of association require approval of not less than 65% (or 50% if for the purposes of approving, or in connection with, the consummation of our initial business combination) of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting on such amendment prior to the consummation of our initial business combination and a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting at the general meeting following the consummation of our initial business combination, in the case of the ordinary shares, or 50% in the case of the preferred shares of the votes of shareholders who being so entitled attend and vote at a meeting of such class, except, in each case, where a greater majority is required under our memorandum and articles of association or the Companies Act, provided that that for these purposes the creation, designation or issue of preferred shares with rights and privileges ranking in priority to an existing class of shares shall be deemed not to be a variation of the rights of such existing class.   Except as provided in the charter documents, changes in the rights of shareholders as set forth in the charter documents require approval of a majority of its shareholders
 
The memorandum and articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors   The certificate of incorporation may provide for cumulative voting

 

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If we decide to seek shareholder approval in respect of the consummation of our initial business combination, such approval may be by a majority vote of shareholders who being so entitled attend and vote at the general meeting   Approval of our initial business combination may be by a majority of outstanding shares if such transaction involves the merger of such entity
 
All other matters to be decided upon by the shareholders require a majority vote of shareholders who being so entitled attend and vote at the general meeting, unless the Companies Act requires a higher majority. Certain of the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association also may be amended by resolution of directors, including to create the rights, preferences, designations and limitations attaching to any blank check preferred shares.    
 
Directors
 
Board must consist of at least one director   Board must consist of at least one director
 
Maximum and minimum number of directors can be changed by an amendment to the articles of association, with such amendment being passed by a resolution of shareholders or a resolution of directors   Number of board members shall be fixed by the by-laws, unless the charter fixes the number of directors, in which case a change in the number shall be made only by amendment of the charter
     
Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association our directors are to be appointed for two year staggered terms by the shareholders (as described under “Directors” below). However, the directors may by resolution appoint a replacement director to fill a casual vacancy arising on the resignation, disqualification or death of a director. The replacement director will then hold office until the next annual general meeting at which the director he replaces would have been subject to retirement by rotation.    
 
Directors do not have to be independent Under our memorandum and articles of association, a director may not be removed from office by a resolution of our shareholders prior to the consummation of our business combination.   Directors do not have to be independent

 

Fiduciary Duties
     
Directors and officers owe fiduciary duties at both common law and under statute as follows:   Directors and officers must act in good faith, with the care of a prudent person, and in the best interest of the corporation.
     
Duty to act honestly and in good faith in what the directors believe to be in the best interests of the company;   Directors and officers must refrain from self-dealing, usurping corporate opportunities and receiving improper personal benefits.
     
Duty to exercise powers for a proper purpose and directors shall not act, or agree to act, in a matter that contravenes the Companies Act or the memorandum and articles of association;   Decisions made by directors and officers on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action was taken in the best interest of the corporation will be protected by the “business judgment rule.”

 

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Duty to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the circumstances taking into account, without limitation:    
     
(a)   the nature of the company;    
     
(b)   the nature of the decision; and    
     
(c)   the position of the director and the nature of the responsibilities undertaken by him.    
 
The Companies Act provides that, a director of a company shall, immediately after becoming aware of the fact that he is interested in a transaction entered into, or to be entered into, by the company, disclose the interest to the board of the company. However, the failure of a director to disclose that interest does not affect the validity of a transaction entered into by the director or the company, so long as the transaction was not required to be disclosed because the transaction is between the company and the director himself and is in the ordinary course of business and on usual terms and conditions. Additionally, the failure of a director to disclose an interest does not affect the validity of the transaction entered into by the company if (a) the material facts of the interest of the director in the transaction are known by the shareholders and the transaction is approved or ratified by a resolution of shareholders entitled to vote at a meeting of shareholders or (b) the company received fair value for the transaction.   Directors may vote on a matter in which they have an interest so long as the director has disclosed any interests in the transaction.
 
Pursuant to the Companies Act, the company’s memorandum and articles of association, so long as a director has disclosed any interests in a transaction entered into or to be entered into by the company to the board he/she may:    
     
(a)   vote on a matter relating to the transaction; attend a meeting of directors at which a matter relating to the transaction arises and be included among the directors present at the meeting for the purposes of a quorum; and    
     
(b)   sign a document on behalf of the company, or do any other thing in his capacity as a director, that relates to the transaction.    

 

Shareholders’ Derivative Actions
 
Generally speaking, the company is the proper plaintiff in any action. A shareholder may, with the permission of the British Virgin Islands Court, bring an action or intervene in a matter in the name of the company, in certain circumstances. Such actions are known as derivative actions. The British Virgin Islands Court may only grant permission to bring a derivative action where the following circumstances apply:   In any derivative suit instituted by a shareholder of a corporation, it shall be averred in the complaint that the plaintiff was a shareholder of the corporation at the time of the transaction of which he complains or that such shareholder’s stock thereafter devolved upon such shareholder by operation of law.

 

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(a)   the company does not intend to bring, diligently continue or defend or discontinue the proceedings; and   Complaint shall set forth with particularity the efforts of the plaintiff to obtain the action by the board or the reasons for not making such effort.
     
(b)   it is in the interests of the company that the conduct of the proceedings not be left to the directors or to the determination of the shareholders as a whole.   Such action shall not be dismissed or compromised without the approval of the Chancery Court.
     
When considering whether to grant leave, the British Virgin Islands Court is also required to have regard to the following matters:    

•   whether the shareholder is acting in good faith;

•   whether a derivative action is in the interests of the company, taking into account the directors’ views on commercial matters;

•   whether the action is likely to succeed;

•   the costs of the proceedings in relation to the relief likely to be obtained; and

•   whether another alternative remedy to the derivative action is available.

  If we were a Delaware corporation, a shareholder whose shares were canceled in connection with our dissolution, would not be able to bring a derivative action against us after the ordinary shares have been canceled.

 

As noted above, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of some of the significant 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.  The Companies Act provides for mergers as that expression is understood under United States corporate law. Under the Companies Act, two or more companies may either merge into one of such existing companies (the “surviving company”) or consolidate with both existing companies ceasing to exist and forming a new company (the “consolidated company”). The procedure for a merger or consolidation between the company and another company (which need not be a BVI company, and which may be the company’s parent or subsidiary, but need not be) is set out in the Companies Act. The directors of the BVI company or BVI companies which are to merge or consolidate must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation which., with the exception of a merger between a parent company and its subsidiary, must also be approved by a resolution of a majority of the shareholders who are entitled to vote and actually vote at a quorate meeting of shareholders or by written resolution of the shareholders of the BVI company or BVI companies which are to merge. A foreign company which is able under the laws of its foreign jurisdiction to participate in the merger or consolidation is required by the Companies Act to comply with the laws of that foreign jurisdiction in relation to the merger or consolidation. The company must then execute articles of merger or consolidation, containing certain prescribed details. The plan and articles of merger or consolidation are then filed with the Registrar of Corporate Affairs in the British Virgin Islands. The Registrar then registers the articles of merger or consolidation and any amendment to the memorandum and articles of the surviving company in a merger or the memorandum and articles of association of the new consolidated company in a consolidation and issue a certificate of merger or consolidation (which is conclusive evidence of compliance with all requirements of the Companies Act in respect of the merger or consolidation). The merger is effective on the date that the articles of merger are registered with the Registrar or on such subsequent date, not exceeding thirty days, as is stated in the articles of merger or consolidation.

 

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As soon as a merger becomes effective: (a) the surviving company or consolidated company (so far as is consistent with its memorandum and articles of association, as amended or established by the articles of merger or consolidation) has all rights, privileges, immunities, powers, objects and purposes of each of the constituent companies; (b) in the case of a merger, the memorandum and articles of association of any surviving company are automatically amended to the extent, if any, that changes to its amended memorandum and articles of association are contained in the articles of merger or, in the case of a consolidation, the memorandum and articles of association filed with the articles of consolidation are the memorandum and articles of the consolidated company; (c) assets of every description, including choses-in-action and the business of each of the constituent companies, immediately vest in the surviving company or consolidated company; (d) the surviving company or consolidated company is liable for all claims, debts, liabilities and obligations of each of the constituent companies; (e) no conviction, judgment, ruling, order, claim, debt, liability or obligation due or to become due, and no cause existing, against a constituent company or against any member, director, officer or agent thereof, is released or impaired by the merger or consolidation; and (f) no proceedings, whether civil or criminal, pending at the time of a merger by or against a constituent company, or against any member, director, officer or agent thereof, are abated or discontinued by the merger or consolidation; but: (i) the proceedings may be enforced, prosecuted, settled or compromised by or against the surviving company or consolidated company or against the member, director, officer or agent thereof; as the case may be; or (ii) the surviving company or consolidated company may be substituted in the proceedings for a constituent company. The Registrar shall strike off the register of companies each constituent company that is not the surviving company in the case of a merger and all constituent companies in the case of a consolidation.

 

If the directors determine it to be in the best interests of the company, it is also possible for a merger to be approved as a Court approved plan of arrangement or scheme of arrangement in accordance with the Companies Act, however, we do not anticipate the use of such statutory provisions because we expect the required terms of the initial business combination will be capable of being achieved through other means, such as a merger or consolidation (as described above), a share exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.

 

Poison Pill Defenses . Under the Companies Act there are no provisions, which specifically prevent the issuance of preferred shares or any such other ‘poison pill’ measures. The memorandum and articles of association of the company also do not contain any express prohibitions on the issuance of any preferred shares. Therefore, the directors without the approval of the holders of ordinary shares may issue preferred shares that have characteristics that may be deemed to be anti-takeover. Additionally, such a designation of shares may be used in connection with plans that are poison pill plans. However, as noted above under the Companies Act, a director in the exercise of his powers and performance of his duties is required to act honestly and in good faith in what the director believes to be the best interests of the company.

 

Directors . Our directors are appointed by our shareholders and are subject to rotational retirement every two years. The initial terms of office of the Class I and Class II directors have been staggered over a period of two years to ensure that all directors of the company do not face reelection in the same year. However, the directors may by resolution appoint a replacement director to fill a casual vacancy arising on the resignation, disqualification or death of a director. The replacement director will then hold office until the next annual general meeting at which the director he or she replaces would have been subject to retirement by rotation. Under our memorandum and articles of association, a director may not be removed from office by a resolution of our shareholders prior to the consummation of our business combination. There is nothing under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, which specifically prohibits or restricts the creation of cumulative voting rights for the election of our directors. Our memorandum and articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting for such elections.

 

There are no share ownership qualifications for directors.

 

Meetings of our board of directors may be convened at any time by any of our directors.

 

A meeting of our board of directors will be quorate if at least a majority of the directors are present or represented by an alternate director. At any meeting of our directors, each director, whether by his or her presence or by his or her alternate, is entitled to one vote. Questions arising at a meeting of our board of directors are required to be decided by simple majority votes of the directors present or represented at the meeting. In the case of an equality of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a second or deciding vote. Our board of directors also may pass resolutions without a meeting by unanimous written consent.

 

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Indemnification of Directors . Our memorandum and articles of association provide that, subject to certain limitations, the company shall indemnify its directors and officers against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. Such indemnity only applies if the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. The decision of the directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the memorandum and articles of association, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entering of a nolle prosequi does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

 

Directors and Conflicts of Interest . As noted in the table above, pursuant to the Companies Act and the company’s memorandum and articles of association, a director of a company who has an interest in a transaction and who has declared such interest to the other directors, may:

 

(a) vote on a matter relating to the transaction;

 

(b) attend a meeting of directors at which a matter relating to the transaction arises and be included among the directors present at the meeting for the purposes of a quorum; and

 

(c) sign a document on behalf of the company, or do any other thing in his capacity as a director, that relates to the transaction.

 

Shareholders’ Suits.  Our British Virgin Islands counsel is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a British Virgin Islands court. The enforcement of the company’s rights will ordinarily be a matter for its directors.

 

In certain limited circumstances, a shareholder has the right to seek various remedies against the company in the event the directors are in breach of their duties under the Companies Act. Pursuant to Section 184B of the Companies Act, if a company or director of a company engages in, or proposes to engage in or has engaged in, conduct that contravenes the provisions of the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles of association of the company, the British Virgin Islands Court may, on application of a shareholder or director of the company, make an order directing the company or director to comply with, or restraining the company or director from engaging in conduct that contravenes the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles. Furthermore, pursuant to section 184I(1) of the Companies Act a shareholder of a company who considers that the affairs of the company have been, are being or likely to be, conducted in a manner that is, or any acts of the company have been, or are likely to be oppressive, unfairly discriminatory, or unfairly prejudicial to him in that capacity, may apply to the British Virgin Islands Court for an order which, inter alia, can require the company or any other person to pay compensation to the shareholders.

 

The Companies Act provides for a series of remedies available to shareholders. Where a company incorporated under the Companies Act conducts some activity, which breaches the Act or the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the court can issue a restraining or compliance order. Under the Companies Act, a shareholder of a company may bring an action against the company for breach of a duty owed by the company to him as a member. A shareholder also may, with the permission of the British Virgin Islands Court, bring an action or intervene in a matter in the name of the company, in certain circumstances. Such actions are known as derivative actions. As noted above, the British Virgin Islands Court may only grant permission to bring a derivative action where the following circumstances apply:

 

the company does not intend to bring, diligently continue or defend or discontinue proceedings; and

 

it is in the interests of the company that the conduct of the proceedings not be left to the directors or to the determination of the shareholders as a whole.

 

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When considering whether to grant leave, the British Virgin Islands Court is also required to have regard to the following matters:

 

whether the shareholder is acting in good faith;

 

whether a derivative action is in the company’s best interests, taking into account the directors’ views on commercial matters;

 

whether the action is likely to proceed;

 

the costs of the proceedings; and

 

whether an alternative remedy is available.

 

Any member of a company may apply to the British Virgin Islands Court under the Insolvency Act for the appointment of a liquidator to liquidate the company and the court may appoint a liquidator for the company if it is of the opinion that it is just and equitable to do so.

 

The Companies Act provides that any shareholder of a company is entitled to payment of the fair value of his shares upon dissenting from any of the following: (a) a merger if the company is a constituent company, unless the company is the surviving company and the member continues to hold the same or similar shares; (b) a consolidation if the company is a constituent company; (c) any sale, transfer, lease, exchange or other disposition of more than 50 per cent in value of the assets or business of the company if not made in the usual or regular course of the business carried on by the company but not including: (i) a disposition pursuant to an order of the court having jurisdiction in the matter, (ii) a disposition for money on terms requiring all or substantially all net proceeds to be distributed to the members in accordance with their respective interest within one year after the date of disposition, or (iii) a transfer pursuant to the power of the directors to transfer assets for the protection thereof; (d) a compulsory redemption of 10 per cent, or fewer of the issued shares of the company required by the holders of 90 percent, or more of the shares of the company pursuant to the terms of the Act; and (e) a plan of arrangement, if permitted by the British Virgin Islands Court.

 

Generally any other claims against a company by its shareholders must be based on the general laws of contract or tort applicable in the British Virgin Islands or their individual rights as shareholders as established by the company’s memorandum and articles of association. There are common law rights for the protection of shareholders that may be invoked, largely derived from English common law. Under the general English company law known as the rule in Foss v. Harbottle, a court will generally refuse to interfere with the management of a company at the insistence of a minority of its shareholders who express dissatisfaction with the conduct of the company’s affairs by the majority or the board of directors. However, every shareholder is entitled to seek to have the affairs of the company conducted properly according to law and the constituent documents of the corporation. As such, if those who control the company have persistently disregarded the requirements of company law or the provisions of the company’s memorandum and articles of association, then the courts may grant relief. Generally, the areas in which the courts will intervene are the following:

 

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 only be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained;

 

the individual rights of the plaintiff shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed; or

 

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

 

Under the law of Delaware, the rights of minority shareholders are similar to that which will be applicable to the shareholders of the company.

 

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Compulsory Acquisition . Under the Companies Act, subject to any limitations in a company’s memorandum or articles, members holding 90% of the votes of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, and members holding 90% of the votes of the outstanding shares of each class of shares entitled to vote, may give a written instruction to the company directing the company to redeem the shares held by the remaining members. Upon receipt of such written instruction, the company shall redeem the shares specified in the written instruction, irrespective of whether or not the shares are by their terms redeemable. The company shall give written notice to each member whose shares are to be redeemed stating the redemption price and the manner in which the redemption is to be effected. A member whose shares are to be so redeemed is entitled to dissent from such redemption, and to be paid the fair value of his shares, as described under “Shareholders’ Suits” above.

 

Share Repurchases and Redemptions . As permitted by the Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association, shares may be repurchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired by us. Depending on the circumstances of the redemption or repurchase, our directors may need to determine that immediately following the redemption or repurchase we will be able to satisfy our debts as they fall due and the value of our assets exceeds our liabilities. Our directors may only exercise this power on our behalf, subject to the Companies Act, our memorandum and articles of association and to any applicable requirements imposed from time to time by the SEC, the Nasdaq Capital Market or any other stock exchange on which our securities are listed.

 

Dividends . Subject to the Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association, our directors may declare dividends at a time and amount they think fit if they are satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that, immediately after distribution of the dividend, the value of our assets will exceed our liabilities and we will be able to pay our debts as they fall due. No dividend shall carry interest against us.

 

Rights of Non-resident or Foreign Shareholders and Disclosure of Substantial Shareholdings . There are no limitations imposed by our memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.

 

Untraceable Shareholders . Under our memorandum and articles of association, we are entitled to sell any shares of a shareholder who is untraceable, as long as: (a) all checks, not being less than three in total number, for any sums payable in cash to the holder of such shares have remained uncashed for a period of 12 years; (b) we have not during that time or before the expiry of the three-month period referred to in (c) below received any indication of the existence of the shareholder or person entitled to such shares by death, bankruptcy or operation of law; and (c) upon expiration of the 12-year period, we have caused an advertisement to be published in newspapers, giving notice of our intention to sell these shares, and a period of three months or such shorter period has elapsed since the date of such advertisement. The net proceeds of any such sale shall belong to us, and when we receive these net proceeds we shall become indebted to the former shareholder for an amount equal to such net proceeds.

 

Transfer of Shares . Subject to any applicable restrictions set forth in our memorandum and articles of association, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her shares by an instrument of transfer in the usual or common form or in any other form which our directors may approve.

 

Inspection of Books and Records . Under the Companies Act, members of the general public, on payment of a nominal fee, can obtain copies of the public records of a company available at the office of the Registrar which will include the company’s certificate of incorporation, its memorandum and articles of association (with any amendments) and records of license fees paid to date and will also disclose any articles of dissolution, articles of merger and a register of charges if the company has elected to file such a register.

 

A member of a company is entitled, on giving written notice to the company, to inspect:

 

(a) the memorandum and articles;

 

(b) the register of members;

 

(c) the register of directors; and

 

(d) the minutes of meetings and resolutions of members and of those classes of members of which he is a member; and to make copies of or take extracts from the documents and records referred to in (a) to (d) above.

 

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Subject to the memorandum and articles of association, the directors may, if they are satisfied that it would be contrary to the company’s interests to allow a member to inspect any document, or part of a document, specified in (b), (c) or (d) above, refuse to permit the member to inspect the document or limit the inspection of the document, including limiting the making of copies or the taking of extracts from the records.

 

Where a company fails or refuses to permit a member to inspect a document or permits a member to inspect a document subject to limitations, that member may apply to the British Virgin Islands Court for an order that he should be permitted to inspect the document or to inspect the document without limitation.

 

Dissolution; Winding Up . As permitted by the Companies Act and our memorandum and articles of association, we may be voluntarily liquidated under Part XII of the Companies Act by resolution of directors and resolution of shareholders if we have no liabilities or we are able to pay our debts as they fall due.

 

We also may be wound up in circumstances where we are insolvent in accordance with the terms of the Insolvency Act.

 

Anti-Money Laundering Laws

 

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. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we also may 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 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.

 

If any person resident in the British Virgin Islands knows or suspects that another person is engaged in money laundering or terrorist financing and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business the person will be required to report his belief or suspicion to the Financial Investigation Agency of the British Virgin Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Criminal Conduct Act 1997 (as amended). 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.

 

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

 

Immediately after this offering, we will have 26,250,000 ordinary shares outstanding, or 30,187,500 ordinary shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares, the 21,000,000 ordinary shares sold in this offering, or 24,150,000 ordinary shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining shares are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.

 

Rule 144

 

A person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months would be entitled to sell their shares provided that (1) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (2) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale. Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:

 

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1% of the number of shares then outstanding, which will equal 262,500 ordinary shares immediately after this offering (or 301,875 ordinary shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full); and

 

the average weekly trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.

 

Sales under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

 

Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies

 

Historically, the SEC staff had taken the position that Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by companies that are, or previously were, blank check companies, like us. The SEC has codified and expanded this position in the amendments discussed above by prohibiting the use of Rule 144 for resale of securities issued by any shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or any issuer that has been at any time previously a shell company. The SEC has provided an important exception to this prohibition, however, if the following conditions are met:

 

the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;

 

the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;

 

the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and

 

at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.

 

As a result, it is likely that pursuant to Rule 144, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their insider shares and private warrants freely without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination assuming they are not an affiliate of ours at that time.

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of our insider shares issued and outstanding on the date of this prospectus, as well as the holders of the private warrants and any securities our sponsor, officers, directors or their respective affiliates may be issued in payment of working capital loans made to us, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of a majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our consummation of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

TAXATION

 

The following discussion of the material British Virgin Islands and U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our units, ordinary shares and warrants to acquire our ordinary shares, sometimes referred to individually or collectively in this section as our “securities,” is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This discussion does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our securities, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.

 

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British Virgin Islands Taxation

 

The Government of the British Virgin Islands does not, under existing legislation, impose any income, corporate or capital gains tax, estate duty, inheritance tax, gift tax or withholding tax upon our company or our security holders who are not tax resident in the British Virgin Islands.

 

Our company and all distributions, interest and other amounts paid by our company to persons who are not tax resident in the British Virgin Islands will not be subject to any income, withholding or capital gains taxes in the British Virgin Islands, with respect to the shares in our company owned by them and dividends received on such shares, nor will they be subject to any estate or inheritance taxes in the British Virgin Islands.

 

No estate, inheritance, succession or gift tax, rate, duty, levy or other charge is payable by persons who are not tax resident in the British Virgin Islands with respect to any shares, debt obligations or other securities of our company.

 

Except to the extent that we have any interest in real property in the British Virgin Islands, all instruments relating to transactions in respect of the shares, debt obligations or other securities of our company and all instruments relating to other transactions relating to the business of our company are exempt from the payment of stamp duty in the British Virgin Islands.

 

There are currently no withholding taxes or exchange control regulations in the British Virgin Islands applicable to our company or our security holders.

 

United States Federal Income Taxation

 

General

 

The following are the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to an investor of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our securities issued pursuant to this offering. The discussion below of the U.S. federal income tax consequences with respect to actual holders of ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying ordinary shares and warrants that comprise the units).

 

The discussion below of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to “U.S. Holders” will apply to a beneficial owner of our securities that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

 

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

an estate whose income is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or

 

a trust if (i) a U.S. court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more U.S. persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person.

 

If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The material U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable specifically to Non-U.S. Holders are described below under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders.”

 

This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, its legislative history, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect. These authorities are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

 

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This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to any particular holder based on such holder’s individual circumstances. In particular, this discussion considers only holders that purchased units pursuant to this offering and own and hold our securities as capital assets within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code, and does not address the potential application of the alternative minimum tax. In addition, this discussion does not address the U.S. federal income tax consequences to holders that are subject to special rules, including:

 

financial institutions or financial services entities;

 

broker-dealers;

 

taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules under Section 475 of the Code;

 

tax-exempt entities;

 

governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;

 

insurance companies;

 

regulated investment companies;

 

real estate investment trusts;

 

expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;

 

persons that actually or constructively own 5 percent or more of our voting shares;

 

persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;

 

persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated transaction;

 

persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;

 

controlled foreign corporations; or

 

passive foreign investment companies.

 

This discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift or estate tax laws, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws or, except as discussed herein, any tax reporting obligations of a holder of our securities. Additionally, this discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. This discussion also assumes that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. In addition, this discussion assumes that a holder will own a sufficient amount of warrants such that upon exercise of the warrants, the holder will acquire only a whole number of ordinary shares.

 

We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the descriptions herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.

 

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EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS, AS WELL AS U.S. FEDERAL TAX LAWS AND ANY APPLICABLE TAX TREATIES.

 

Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit

 

While not free from doubt, each unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as an investment unit consisting of one ordinary share and one warrant to acquire one half of one ordinary share. If this is the case, then for U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price of a unit between the ordinary share and warrant that comprise the unit based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each ordinary share or warrant will be the holder’s tax basis in such share or warrant, as the case may be.

 

The foregoing treatment of our ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each holder is advised to consult its own tax advisor regarding the risks associated with an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit) and regarding an allocation of the purchase price between the ordinary share and the warrant that comprise a unit. The balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

U.S. Holders

 

Tax Reporting

 

Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return of a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult with its own tax advisor regarding this reporting obligation.

 

Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares

 

Subject to the passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as ordinary income the amount of any cash dividend paid on our ordinary shares. A cash distribution on such shares will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations.

 

Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares.

 

With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax law currently in effect, dividends will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rates (see “— Taxation on the Disposition of Our Securities” below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met, including whether we are a PFIC. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.

 

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Possible Constructive Distributions

 

The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, the U.S. Holders of the warrants would be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of our ordinary shares which is taxable to the U.S. Holders of such ordinary shares as described under “— Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.

 

Taxation on the Disposition of Our Securities

 

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our securities which, in general, would include a redemption of ordinary shares as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the securities. See “— Acquisition of Ordinary Shares Pursuant to the Exercise of Warrants” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in an ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of warrants.

 

The regular U.S. federal income tax rate on capital gains recognized by U.S. Holders generally is the same as the regular U.S. federal income tax rate on ordinary income, except that under tax law currently in effect and subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax at a preferred rate. The maximum regular long-term capital gain rate is presently 20%. Capital gain or loss will constitute long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our securities exceeds one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to various limitations. U.S. Holders who recognize losses with respect to a disposition of our securities should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax treatment of such losses.

 

Redemption of Ordinary Shares

 

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, if a U.S. Holder redeems ordinary shares for the right to receive cash pursuant to the exercise of a shareholder redemption right, such redemption will be subject to the following rules. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, the tax treatment of such redemption will be as described under “— Taxation on the Disposition of Our Securities” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, a U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a distribution with the tax consequences described below. Whether a redemption of our shares qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our ordinary shares treated as held by such U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned as a result of, among other things, owning warrants). The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution) if the receipt of cash upon the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to a U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of such holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to such holder. These tests are explained more fully below.

 

In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder must take into account not only our ordinary shares actually owned by such holder, but also our ordinary shares that are constructively owned by such holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to our ordinary shares owned directly, ordinary shares owned by related individuals and entities in which such holder has an interest or that have an interest in such holder, as well as any ordinary shares such holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by a U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of our ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting and ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our ordinary shares actually owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed and such holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives, in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by family members and such holder does not constructively own any other shares. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if such redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” U.S. Holders should consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of an exercise of the redemption right.

 

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If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption may be treated as a distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis a U.S. Holder has in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the adjusted tax basis in such holder’s remaining ordinary shares. If the U.S. Holder has no remaining ordinary shares, such U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisors as to the allocation of any remaining basis.

 

Certain U.S. Holders may be subject to special reporting requirements with respect to a redemption of ordinary shares, and such holders should consult with their own tax advisors with respect to their reporting requirements.

 

Acquisition of Ordinary Shares Pursuant to the Exercise of Warrants

 

Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of an ordinary share pursuant to the exercise of warrants for cash. An ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of warrants for cash will have a tax basis equal to the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants, increased by the amount paid to exercise the warrants. The holding period of such ordinary share generally would begin on the day after the date of the exercise of the warrants and will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If warrants are allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrants.

 

The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either tax-free situation, a U.S. Holder’s basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrants. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a gain realization event, a U.S. Holder’s holding period in the ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise of the warrants. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants. It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants equal to the number of half-shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised. A U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would commence on the date following the date of exercise of the warrant. Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.

 

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Additional Medicare Taxes

 

Under current law, U.S. Holders that are individuals, estates or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds generally will be subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on unearned income, including, among other things, dividends on, and capital gains from the sale or other taxable disposition of, our securities, subject to certain limitations and exceptions. Under applicable regulations, in absence of a special election, such unearned income generally would not include income inclusions under the qualified electing fund, or QEF, rules, discussed below under “— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules,” but would include distributions of earnings and profits from a QEF. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of such tax on their ownership and disposition of our securities.

 

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

 

A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation (or non-U.S. entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year of such foreign corporation, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than certain rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.

 

Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2017. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the foreign corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year ending December 31, 2017. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year December 31, 2017. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year ending December 31, 2017 or any future taxable year.

 

If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our securities and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, a QEF election along with a “purging” election, or a “mark-to-market” election (in each case as described below), such holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to:

 

any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of our securities; and

 

any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of our securities during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for such securities).

 

Under these rules,

 

the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our securities;

 

the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;

 

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the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and

 

the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.

 

In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely QEF election (or a QEF election along with a purging election). Pursuant to the QEF election, a U.S. holder will be required to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends if we are treated as a PFIC for that taxable year. A U.S. Holder may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.

 

A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants), any gain recognized will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above, if we were a PFIC at any time during the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares, but the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election. The purging election creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. The gain recognized by the purging election will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. Holder will have a new basis and holding period in the ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants for purposes of the PFIC rules.

 

The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A QEF election may not be made with respect to our warrants. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.

 

In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.

 

If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described below ), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed. As discussed above, for regular U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. Holders of a QEF generally are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. Holders. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. Similar basis adjustments apply to property if by reason of holding such property the U.S. Holder is treated under the applicable attribution rules as owning shares in a QEF.

 

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Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held our securities while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any of our taxable years that end within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described below, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period. A “purging election” creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. The gain recognized by the purging election will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. Holder will have a new basis and holding period in the ordinary shares for purposes of the PFIC rules.

 

Alternatively, if a U.S. Holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable stock, the U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its ordinary shares as long as such shares continue to be treated as marketable stock. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income for each year that we are treated as a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares in a taxable year in which we are treated as a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income. Special tax rules may also apply if a U.S. holder makes a mark-to-market election for a taxable year after the first taxable year in which the U.S. holder holds (or is deemed to hold) its ordinary shares and for which we are treated as a PFIC. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to our warrants.

 

The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC, including the Nasdaq Capital Market, or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.

 

If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to such lower-tier PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.

 

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A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621(whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is or has been made) with such U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax return and provide such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.

 

The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our securities should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.

 

Non-U.S. Holders

 

Dividends (including constructive dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect to our securities generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains or maintained in the United States).

 

In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our securities unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains or maintained in the United States) or the Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate).

 

Dividends and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.

 

The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s receipt of an ordinary share upon the exercise of warrants held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the receipt of a share or exercise of warrants by a U.S. Holder, as described under “U.S. Holders — Acquisition of Ordinary Shares Pursuant to the Exercise of Warrants,” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holder’s gain on the sale or other disposition of our securities.

 

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

 

In general, information reporting for U.S. federal income tax purposes should apply to distributions made on our ordinary shares within the United States to a U.S. Holder, subject to certain exceptions, and to the proceeds from sales and other dispositions of our ordinary shares or warrants by a U.S. Holder to or through a U.S. office of a broker. Payments made (and sales and other dispositions effected at an office) outside the United States will be subject to information reporting in limited circumstances. In addition, certain information concerning a U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its securities and whether any gain or loss with respect to its securities is long-term or short-term may be required to be reported to the IRS, and certain holders may be required to file an IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Assets) to report their interest in our securities.

 

Moreover, backup withholding of U.S. federal income tax, currently at a rate of 28%, generally will apply to dividends paid on our securities to a U.S. Holder and the proceeds from sales and other dispositions of our securities by a U.S. Holder, in each case who:

 

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fails to provide an accurate taxpayer identification number;

 

is notified by the IRS that backup withholding is required; or

 

fails to comply with applicable certification requirements.

 

A Non-U.S. Holder may eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.

 

We will withhold all taxes required to be withheld by law from any amounts otherwise payable to any holder of our securities, including tax withholding required by the backup withholding rules. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the amount of any backup withholding will be allowed as a credit against a U.S. Holder’s or a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the requisite information is timely furnished to the IRS. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of backup withholding and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding in their particular circumstances.

 

NOTES REGARDING OUR CHOICE OF BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS AND
THE ENFORCEABILITY OF CIVIL LIABILITIES

 

Reasons for our Choice of Incorporating in the British Virgin Islands

 

We are formed in the British Virgin Islands because of the following benefits found there:

 

political and economic stability;

 

an effective and sophisticated judicial system with a dedicated Commercial Court;

 

tax neutral treatment, with no tax being levied against companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, or their operations, by the local British Virgin Islands tax authorities (provided such company does not have a permanent establishment or employees in the BVI);

 

the absence of exchange control or currency restrictions; and

 

the availability of professional and support services.

 

In addition to the benefits listed above, incorporation in the British Virgin Islands offers investors the following benefits:

 

commitment of the British Virgin Islands to implement best international practice and to comply with the requirements of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF); and

 

the adoption of the English law concept of corporate separateness to mitigate the risk of the assets of a shareholder being used to satisfy the liabilities of the company.

 

However, there are certain disadvantages accompanying incorporation in the British Virgin Islands. These disadvantages include:

 

the British Virgin Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides significantly less protection to investors; and

 

British Virgin Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.

 

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We believe the disadvantages of incorporating in the British Virgin Islands are outweighed by the benefits to us and our investors of such incorporation.

 

Enforceability of Civil Liabilities

 

We are a BVI business company formed in the British Virgin Islands and therefore, located outside of the United States. The proceeds we receive from this offering will be held in U.S. Dollars and deposited in a trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., in the United States maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. The trust account will be governed by an Investment Management Trust Agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

 

The courts of the British Virgin Islands will not necessarily enter judgments in original actions brought in those courts predicated on U.S. federal or state securities laws. Additionally, there is no statutory enforcement in the British Virgin Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, however, the courts of the British Virgin Islands will in certain circumstances recognize such a foreign judgment and treat it as a cause of action in itself which may be sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary provided that the U.S. judgment:

 

provided that:

 

the U.S. court issuing the judgment had jurisdiction in the matter and the company either submitted to such jurisdiction or was resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and was duly served with process;

 

is final and for a liquidated sum;

 

the judgment given by the U.S. court was not in respect of penalties, taxes, fines or similar fiscal or revenue obligations of the company;

 

in obtaining judgment there was no fraud on the part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on the part of the court;

 

recognition or enforcement of the judgment in the BVI would not be contrary to public policy; and

 

the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice.

 

In appropriate circumstances, the British Virgin Islands Court may give effect in the British Virgin Islands to other kinds of final foreign judgments such as declaratory orders, orders for performance of contracts and injunctions.

 

We expect that in the event of a voluntary liquidation of the company, after payment of the liquidation costs and any sums then due to creditors, that the liquidator would distribute our remaining assets on a pari passu basis.

 

Although we will seek to have all third parties such as vendors and prospective target businesses enter into agreements with us waiving any interest to any assets held in the trust account, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us, if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement reduce the amounts in the trust account to below $10.00 per share, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, such persons will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and, therefore, our existing shareholders may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of our sponsor having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.

 

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Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if any of our sponsor, officers, directors or affiliates acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to receive liquidating distributions with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the required time period.

 

We will pay the costs of our liquidation of the trust account from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. In addition, our sponsor has agreed to indemnify us for all claims of creditors to the extent that we fail to obtain executed waivers from such entities in order to protect the amounts held in trust and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

 

Under British Virgin Islands law, the directors owe fiduciary duties at both common law and under statute, including a statutory duty to act honestly, in good faith and with a view to our best interests. When exercising powers or performing duties as a director, the director is required to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonable director would exercise in the circumstances taking into account, without limitation the nature of the company, the nature of the decision and the position of the director and the nature of the responsibilities undertaken by him. In exercising the powers of a director, the directors must exercise their powers for a proper purpose and shall not act or agree to the company acting in a manner that contravenes our memorandum and articles of association or the Companies Act.

 

In certain limited circumstances, a shareholder has the right to seek various remedies against the company in the event the directors are in breach of their duties under the Companies Act. Pursuant to Section 184B of the Companies Act, if a company or director of a company engages in, proposes to engage in or has engaged in, conduct that contravenes the provisions of the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles of association of the company, the courts of the British Virgin Islands may, on application of a shareholder or director of the company, make an order directing the company or director to comply with, or restraining the company or director from engaging in conduct that contravenes the Companies Act or the memorandum or articles. Furthermore, pursuant to section 184I(1) of the Companies Act a shareholder of a company who considers that the affairs of the company have been, are being or likely to be, conducted in a manner that is, or any acts of the company have been, or are likely to be oppressive, unfairly discriminatory, or unfairly prejudicial to him in that capacity, may apply to the courts of the British Virgin Islands for an order which, inter alia, can require the company or any other person to pay compensation to the shareholders.

 

If we are deemed insolvent for the purposes of the Insolvency Act (i.e. (i) it fails to comply with the requirements of a statutory demand that has not been set aside under section 157 of the Insolvency Act; (ii) the execution or other process issued on a judgment, decree or order of a British Virgin Islands Court in favor of a creditor of the company is returned wholly or partly unsatisfied; or (iii) either the value of the company’s liabilities exceeds its assets, or the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due), there are very limited circumstances where prior payments made to shareholders or other parties may be deemed to be a “voidable transaction” for the purposes of the Insolvency Act. A voidable transaction would include, for these purposes, payments made as “unfair preferences” or “transactions at an undervalue”. A liquidator appointed over an insolvent company who considers that a particular transaction or payment is a voidable transaction under the Insolvency Act could apply to the British Virgin Islands Courts for an order setting aside that payment or transaction in whole or in part.

 

UNDERWRITING

 

Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters named below, through their representative, Maxim Group LLC, have severally agreed to purchase from us on a firm commitment basis the following respective number of units at a public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and as further described in this section:

 

Underwriter   Number of
Units
 
Maxim Group LLC     12,600,000  
National Bank of Canada Financial Inc.     8,400,000  
Total     21,000,000  

 

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units.

 

Introduction of Investors

 

We have agreed to introduce the underwriters in this offering to lead investors that are interested in purchasing up to an aggregate of $100,000,000 of the units being offered hereby. An investor will be deemed to be introduced by us to the underwriters if such investor is referred by us to the underwriters and has not previously invested in any similarly structured blank check companies through the underwriter. However, our failure to introduce such investors will not provide a base to relieve the underwriters from their obligation under the underwriting agreement. The underwriters’ obligation to purchase the units under the underwriting agreement is not contingent upon $100,000,000 of units offered being purchased by investors introduced by us.

 

To the extent that such individuals or entities have an interest in investing in our securities, we will introduce them to the underwriters so that they can confirm they have not previously invested in any similarly structured blank check companies through the underwriters. If lead investors introduced by us do not purchase the full $100,000,000 of units, the underwriters will sell the remaining amount to investors pursuant to the terms of this prospectus.

 

Over-allotment Option

 

If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 3,150,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.

 

Restrictions on Transfer

 

Our initial shareholders, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the insider shares (except to certain permitted transferees as described under “Principal Shareholders” above) until the earlier of (i) one year after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period 150 days after our initial business combination, the insider shares will be released.

 

The private warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described above).

 

Pricing of Securities

 

Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount from the initial public offering price not to exceed $0.12 per unit. If all of the units are not sold at the initial offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The underwriters have advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the representative.

 

The determination of our per unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. Among the factors considered in determining initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.

 

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NASDAQ Listing

 

Our units have been approved for listing on Nasdaq under the symbol “NESRU” and we anticipate that, once the ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, they will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “NESR” and “NESRW”, respectively.

 

Commissions and Discounts

 

The following table shows the maximum underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

    No Exercise     Full Exercise  
Per Unit (1)   $ 0.55     $ 0.55  
Total (1)   $ 11,550,000     $ 13,282,500  

 

 
(1) Includes deferred underwriting discounts and commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. At the closing of the offering, the initial underwriting discounts and commissions shall be equal to, in cash, (i) 1.0% of up to $100 million of gross proceeds received from investors first introduced to the underwriters by our sponsor, referred to as Sponsor Raised Capital, and (ii) 2.0% of all other gross proceeds in this offering. The underwriters shall defer the following additional discounts and commissions until completion of the initial business combination: (a) for gross proceeds that remained in the trust in connection with the initial business combination that were not Sponsor Raised Capital, (i) 3.5% in cash and (ii) 1.0% in ordinary shares (210,000 ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share); (b) for gross proceeds that were not Sponsor Raised Capital and do not remain in the trust in connection with the initial business combination, 2.0% in ordinary shares (420,000 ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share); and (c) for Sponsor Raised Capital, (i) 1.75% of gross proceeds in cash and (ii) 0.5% of gross proceeds in ordinary shares (105,000 ordinary shares at a price of $10.00 per share).

 

To date, we paid the underwriters an advance of $50,000 toward its anticipated out-of-pocket expenses to be incurred in connection with the offering. In the event the offering is not successfully completed, any portion of the advance not offset by actual out-of-pocket expenses shall be returned to us. We also have agreed to pay certain out-of-pocket actual expenses related to this offering. Total reimbursements are subject to a maximum aggregate amount of $150,000 less the $50,000 advance previously paid.

 

The ordinary shares to be issued to the underwriters have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of FINRA’s NASD Conduct Rules. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these ordinary shares will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their bona fide officers or partners. All ordinary shares received by the underwriters as deferred compensation have demand and “piggy back” rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part with respect to the registration under the Securities Act of the securities directly and indirectly issuable upon exercise of the option. We will bear all fees and expenses attendant to registering the ordinary shares, other than underwriting commissions, which will be paid for by the holders themselves.

 

If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account, and (ii) that the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.

 

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Private Warrants

 

Our sponsor has committed to purchase from us an aggregate of 11,850,000 private warrants (or 13,110,000 private warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $0.50 per warrant, for a total purchase price of $5,925,000 (or $6,555,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). These purchases of private warrants will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. Each private warrant is exercisable to purchase one-half of one ordinary share at $5.75 per half share. All of the proceeds we receive from this private placement will be placed in the trust account.

 

Price Stabilization; Short Positions

 

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, and stabilizing purchases.

 

Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering.

 

“Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

“Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.

 

Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions.

 

To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of shares to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units

 

Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.

 

Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.

 

We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $725,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

Indemnification

 

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.

 

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Right of Participation

 

For a period of twelve (12) months from the closing of the initial business combination, we granted Maxim Group LLC right of participation to act as a joint book running manager with at least 30% of the economics for any and all future public equity offerings of ours or any successor of ours, during such twelve (12) month period, (each, a “Subject Transaction”) so long as Maxim Group LLC agrees to match the exact terms provided by the lead manager. The right of participation shall also encompass the time period leading up to the closing of the initial business combination. During this time period, National Bank of Canada Financial Inc. will have a right of participation to act as a co-manager for any and all future public equity offerings of ours with future economic consideration to be negotiated at a later date between us and National Bank of Canada Financial Inc. If Maxim Group LLC fails to exercise its right of participation with respect to the Subject Transaction within one business day after receiving the written notice, then the underwriters shall have no further claim or right with respect to the Subject Transaction. If Maxim Group LLC fails to exercise its right of participation with respect to any two Subject Transactions within one business day after receiving the applicable written notice, then the underwriters shall have no further claim or right with respect to such Subject Transactions and all future and other Subject Transactions.

 

Conflict of Interest

 

Except as set forth in the preceding paragraph, we are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.

 

Affiliations

 

In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia

 

No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or ASIC, in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Corporations Act”), and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.

 

Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons (the “Exempt Investors”) who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.

 

The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.

 

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This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre

 

This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or DFSA. This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area

 

In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “relevant member state”), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the “relevant implementation date”), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:

 

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

to fewer than 100, or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or

 

in any other circumstances that do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.

 

For the purpose of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the PD 2010 Amending Directive to the extent implemented by the relevant member state) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state, and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.

 

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We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of units through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriters.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland

 

The shares may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the shares or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.

 

Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company, the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of shares has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes, or CISA. The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom

 

This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as a “relevant person”). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in France

 

Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or by the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units has been or will be:

 

released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or

 

used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the units to the public in France.

 

Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:

 

to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, Article L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier;

 

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to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or

 

L.411-2-II-1°-or-2°-or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des marchés financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à l’épargne).

 

The units may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong

 

The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan

 

The units have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese Person” shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.

 

Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore

 

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.

 

Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:

 

shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:

 

113

 

 

to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than S$200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA;

 

where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or

 

where the transfer is by operation of law.

 

LEGAL MATTERS

 

The validity of the securities offered in this prospectus is being passed upon for us by Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP, New York, with respect to the units and warrants and Ogier, British Virgin Islands, with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of British Virgin Islands law. Loeb & Loeb LLP, New York is acting as counsel to the underwriters in connection with this offering.

 

EXPERTS

 

The financial statements of National Energy Services Reunited Corp. as of February 10, 2017 and for the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) to February 10, 2017 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of National Energy Services Reunited Corp. to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given on the authority of such firm as an experts in auditing and accounting.

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the units we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.

 

Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at its public reference facility at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

 

You may also obtain copies of the documents at prescribed rates by writing to the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the operation of the public reference facilities.

 

114

 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

    Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm   F-2
Financial Statements    
Balance Sheet   F-3
Statement of Operations   F-4
Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity   F-5
Statement of Cash Flows   F-6
Notes to Financial Statements   F-7 - F-15

 

F- 1
 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholder of

National Energy Services Reunited Corp.

 

We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of National Energy Services Reunited Corp. (the “Company”) as of February 10, 2017, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) through February 10, 2017. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of National Energy Services Reunited Corp., as of February 10, 2017, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) through February 10, 2017 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company has no present revenue, its business plan is dependent on the completion of a financing and the Company’s cash and working capital as of February 10, 2017, are not sufficient to complete its planned activities for the upcoming year. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

/s/ Marcum LLP

 

Marcum LLP

New York, NY

February 22, 2017 (Except for Note 8 As to which the date is May 12, 2017)

 

F- 2
 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.

BALANCE SHEET

As of February 10, 2017

 

ASSETS        
Current asset – cash   $ 25,000  
Deferred offering costs     73,000  
Total Assets   $ 98,000  
         
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY        
Current liabilities        
Advance from related party   $ 78,280  
Total Current Liabilities     78,280  
         
Commitments        
         
Shareholder’s Equity        
Preferred shares, no par value; unlimited shares authorized, none issued and outstanding      
Ordinary shares, no par value; unlimited shares authorized; 6,037,500 shares issued and outstanding (1)     25,000  
Accumulated deficit     (5,280 )
Total Shareholder’s Equity     19,720  
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY   $ 98,000  

 

 
(1) Includes an aggregate of 787,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

F- 3
 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

For the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) through February 10, 2017

 

Formation and operating costs   $ 5,280  
Net Loss   $ (5,280 )
         
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted (1)     5,250,000  
         
Basic and diluted net loss per common share   $ (0.00 )

 

 
(1) Excludes an aggregate of 787,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

F- 4
 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY

For the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) through February 10, 2017

 

    Ordinary Shares (1)     Accumulated     Total
Shareholder’s
 
    Shares     Amount     Deficit     Equity  
Balance – January 23, 2017 (inception)         $     $     $  
                                 
Issuance of ordinary shares to Sponsor (1)     6,037,500       25,000             25,000  
                                 
Net loss                 (5,280 )     (5,280 )
                                 
Balance – February 10, 2017     6,037,500     $ 25,000     $ (5,280 )   $ 19,720  

 

 
(1) Includes an aggregate of 787,500 shares held by the initial shareholder that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full (Note 7).

 

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

 

F- 5
 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the period from January 23, 2017 (inception) through February 10, 2017

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:        
Net loss   $ (5,280 )
Net cash used in operating activities     (5,280 )
         
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:        
Proceeds from issuance of ordinary shares to initial shareholders     25,000  
Proceeds from advance from related party     78,280  
Payment of offering costs     (73,000 )
Net cash provided by financing activities     30,280  
         
Net Change in Cash     25,000  
Cash – Beginning      
Cash – Ending   $ 25,000  

 

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

 

F- 6
 

 

NATIONAL ENERGY SERVICES REUNITED CORP.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 23, 2017 THROUGH FEBRUARY 10, 2017

 

1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

 

National Energy Services Reunited Corp. (the “Company”), is a newly organized blank check company formed in the British Virgin Islands on January 23, 2017. The Company was formed for the purpose of acquiring, engaging in a share exchange, share reconstruction and amalgamation, purchasing all or substantially all of the assets of, entering into contractual arrangements, or engaging in any other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities that the Company has not yet identified (a “Business Combination”). Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus on businesses that operate in the energy services industry, with an emphasis on oil and gas services globally.

 

At February 10, 2017, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity through February 10, 2017 relates to the Company’s formation and the Proposed Offering (as defined below), which is described below. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

 

The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 21,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 24,150,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Units”), which is discussed in Note 3 (the “Proposed Offering”) and the sale of 11,850,000 warrants (or 13,110,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Private Warrants”) at a price of $0.50 per warrant in a private placement to NESR Holdings Ltd (the “Sponsor”), that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Offering. The Company has agreed to introduce the underwriters in the Proposed Offering to investors, who are referred as the “lead investors”, that are interested in purchasing up to an aggregate of $100,000,000 of the units being offered. In addition the lead investors will agree to hold their shares underlying the Units through the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination and not seek redemption in connection therewith. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering and Private Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) rules provide that the Company’s initial Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing an agreement to enter into a Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering and the proceeds from the sale of the Private Warrants will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company or in demand deposit accounts, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

 

F- 7
 

 

The Company will provide its shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares included in the Units sold in the Proposed Offering (the “Public Shares”) upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to shareholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The ordinary shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, or if the Company is deemed to be a foreign private issuer (“FPI”) at such time the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 a Business Combination. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, and if the Company will not be an FPI at such time, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, officers and directors (the “Initial Shareholders”) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares held by them in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company’s 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to an aggregate of 20% or more of the ordinary shares sold in the Proposed Offering.

 

The Company will have until 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding 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 (net of taxes payable and less interest to pay dissolution expenses up to $100,000), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish 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 remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law.

 

F- 8
 

 

The Initial Shareholders have agreed (i) to waive their liquidation rights with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period, (ii) to waive their redemption rights from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the consummation of a Business Combination and (iii) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares in conjunction with any such amendment. However, the Initial Shareholders will be entitled to liquidating distributions with respect to Public Shares if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination or liquidates within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to deferred underwriting commissions held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the $10.00 per Unit in the Proposed Offering. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

 

Going Concern Consideration

 

At February 10, 2017, the Company had $25,000 in cash and a working capital deficit of $53,280. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. One of the Company’s officers has advanced the Company $78,280 to be used, in part, for transaction costs incurred in connection with the Proposed Offering. The advances are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand (see Note 5). In addition, the Company entered into a $300,000 promissory note with the Sponsor to be used, in part, for transaction costs incurred in connection with the Proposed Offering. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

F- 9
 

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of presentation

 

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Emerging growth company

 

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

 

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

 

Use of estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

 

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

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of February 10, 2017.

 

Deferred offering costs

 

Deferred offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering. Should the Proposed Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.

 

Income taxes

 

The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740 “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

 

F- 10
 

 

ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the British Virgin Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of February 10, 2017, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

 

The Company may be subject to potential examination by U.S. federal, U.S. states or foreign taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with U.S. federal, U.S. state and foreign tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

 

The provision for income taxes was deemed to be immaterial for the period ended February 10, 2017.

 

Net loss per share

 

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the Initial Shareholders. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 787,500 ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 7). At February 10, 2017, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods.

 

Concentration of credit risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. At February 10, 2017, the Company had not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.

 

Fair value of financial instruments

 

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

 

Recently issued accounting standards

 

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

 

F- 11
 

 

3. PROPOSED OFFERING

 

In the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale 21,000,000 units, (or 24,150,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one ordinary share and one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one-half of one ordinary share at an exercise price of $5.75 per half share (see Note 7).

 

4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT

 

In connection with the Proposed Offering, the Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 11,850,000 Private Warrants (or 13,110,000 Private Warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $0.50 per Private Warrant ($5,925,000 in the aggregate, or $6,555,000 in the aggregate if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the consummation of the Proposed Offering.

 

The proceeds from the Private Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Private Warrants.

 

The Private Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants except that the Private Warrants (i) will not be redeemable by the Company and (ii) may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis, so long as they are held by the initial purchaser or their permitted transferees. In addition, the Private Warrants and their component securities may not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.

 

5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

Founder Shares

 

On February 9, 2017, the Company issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 ordinary shares to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On May 11, 2017, the Company effectuated a 1.05-for-1 subdivision of its ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 6,037,500 ordinary shares being held by the sponsor (the “Founder Shares”). All shares and per share amount have been retroactively restated to reflect the subdivision of the ordinary shares. The 6,037,500 Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 787,500 ordinary shares subject to forfeiture by the Initial Shareholders to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Initial Shareholders will collectively own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering.

 

The Initial Shareholders have agreed that, subject to certain limited exceptions, their Founder Shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold until one year after the date of the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier if, subsequent to a Business Combination, the last sales price of the Company’s ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 150 days after a Business Combination.

 

Related Party Advances

 

As of February 10, 2017, one of the Company’s officers advanced an aggregate of $78,280 for costs associated with the Proposed Offering. The advances are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand. The Company intends to repay the advances from the proceeds of the Proposed Offering not being placed in the Trust Account.

 

F- 12
 

 

Promissory Note — Related Party

 

On February 10, 2017, the Company entered into a promissory note with the Sponsor, whereby the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate of $300,000 (the “Promissory Note”) to be used in part for expenses incurred in connection with the Proposed Offering. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of June 30, 2017 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. As of February 10, 2017, no amounts were outstanding under the Promissory Note.

 

Administrative Service Fee

 

The Company has agreed, commencing on the effective date of the Proposed Offering through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, to pay the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support.

 

Related Party Loans

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, the Company’s officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds from time to time or at any time, as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Each Working Capital Loan would be evidenced by a promissory note. The Working Capital Loans would either be paid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the holder’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be converted into Private Warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant.

 

6. COMMITMENTS & CONTINGENCIES

 

Registration Rights

 

The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Warrants (and their underlying securities) and the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and their underlying securities) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Offering. The holders of a majority these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

 

Underwriters Agreement

 

The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,150,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Proposed Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of (i) 1.0% of up to $100 million of gross proceeds received from investors first introduced to the underwriters by the Sponsor, referred to as Sponsor Raised Capital, and (ii) 2.0% of all other gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering. The underwriters will defer the following fees until the completion of a Business Combination: (a) for gross proceeds that remain in the Trust Account in connection with a Business Combination that are not Sponsor Raised Capital, (i) 3.5% in cash and (ii) 1.0% in ordinary shares (at a price of $10.00 per share); (b) for gross proceeds that were not Sponsor Raised Capital and do not remain in the Trust Account in connection with the initial business combination, 2.0% in ordinary shares (at a price of $10.00 per share); and (c) for Sponsor Raised Capital, (i) 1.75% of gross proceeds in cash and (ii) 0.5% of gross proceeds in ordinary shares (at a price of $10.00 per share).

 

F- 13
 

 

The ordinary shares to be issued to the underwriters have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of FINRA’s NASD Conduct Rules. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these ordinary shares will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the Proposed Offering, nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the Proposed Offering except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the Proposed Offering and their bona fide officers or partners.

 

7. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

Preferred Shares — The Company is authorized to issue an unlimited number of no par value preferred shares, divided into five classes, Class A through Class E, each with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined by a resolution of the Company’s board of directors to amend the Memorandum and Articles of Association to create such designations, rights and preferences. The Company has five classes of preferred shares to give the Company flexibility as to the terms on which each Class is issued. All shares of a single class must be issued with the same rights and obligations. Accordingly, starting with five classes of preferred shares will allow the Company to issue shares at different times on different terms. At February 10, 2017, there are no preferred shares designated, issued or outstanding.

 

Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue an unlimited number of no par value ordinary shares. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At February 10, 2017, there were 6,037,500 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which 787,500 are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full, so that the Initial Shareholders will own 20% of the issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering (assuming the Initial Shareholders do not purchase any Units in the Proposed Offering).

 

Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Offering. No Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such ordinary shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of a Business Combination, the warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise the Public Warrants on a cashless basis in the same manner as if the Company called the warrants for redemption and required all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis.” The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

 

The Company may call the warrants for redemption (excluding the Private Warrants):

 

in whole and not in part;

 

at a price of $.01 per warrant;

 

at any time during the exercise period;

 

upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;

 

if, and only if, the last sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $21.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third business day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and

 

if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the ordinary shares underlying such warrants commencing five business days prior to the 30-day trading period and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption.

 

F- 14
 

 

If the Company calls the warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement.

 

The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

 

8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.

 

On May 11, 2017, the Company effectuated a 1.05-for-1 subdivision of its ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 6,037,500 founder shares being outstanding.

 

As a result of the execution of the underwriters agreement on May 12, 2017, the financial statements have been modified to reflect the final terms of the agreement. See Notes 1 through 7.

 

F- 15
 

 

 

 

$210,000,000

 

National Energy Services Reunited Corp.

 

21,000,000 Units

 

Joint Book Running Managers 

 

Maxim Group LLC National Bank of Canada Financial Inc.

 

 

 

Prospectus

 

 

 

May 11, 2017

 

Until June 5, 2017 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.