As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28, 2007
File No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
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| Delaware | 6770 | 26-0443717 | ||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
2200 Fletcher Avenue, 4th floor
Fort Lee NJ 07024
(201) 242-3500
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
Marc V. Byron, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Polaris Acquisition Corp.
2200 Fletcher Avenue, 4th floor
Fort Lee NJ 07024
(201) 242-3500
(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service)
Copies to:
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| David Alan Miller, Esq. Jeffrey M. Gallant, Esq. Graubard Miller The Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10174 (212) 818-8800 (212) 818-8881 - Facsimile |
Steve Wolosky, Esq. Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky LLP Park Avenue Tower 65 East 55th Street New York, New York 10022 (212) 451-2300 (212) 451-2222 – Facsimile |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. x
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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| Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered | Amount Being Registered |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) |
Amount of Registration Fee |
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| Units, each consisting of one share of Common Stock, $.0001 par value, and one Warrant (2) | 17,250,000 Units | $ | 10.00 | $ | 172,500,000 | $ | 5,295.75 | |||||||||
| Shares of Common Stock included as part of the Units(2) | 17,250,000 Shares | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||
| Warrants included as part of the Units(2) | 17,250,000 Warrants | — | — | — | (3) | |||||||||||
| Shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants included in the Units(4) | 17,250,000 Shares | $ | 7.50 | $ | 129,375,000 | $ | 3,971.82 | |||||||||
| Total | $ | 301,875,000 | $ | 9,267.57 | ||||||||||||
| (1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
| (2) | Includes 2,250,000 Units and 2,250,000 shares of Common Stock and 2,250,000 Warrants underlying such Units, which may be issued on exercise of a 45-day option granted to the Underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any. |
| (3) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g). |
| (4) | Pursuant to Rule 416, there are also being registered such additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in the Warrants. |
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
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| PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS | SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, AUGUST 28, 2007 |
PROSPECTUS
$150,000,000
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
15,000,000 units
Polaris Acquisition Corp. is a newly formed blank check company organized for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry. We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) 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 securities. Each unit that we are offering has a price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our common stock and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our common stock at a price of $7.50. Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of our completion of a business combination and , 2008 [one year from the date of this prospectus], and will expire on , 2011 [four years from the date of this prospectus],or earlier upon redemption.
We have granted Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., the representative of the underwriters for this offering, a 45-day option to purchase up to 2,250,000 units (over and above the 15,000,000 units referred to above) solely to cover over-allotments, if any. The over-allotment will be used only to cover the net syndicate short position resulting from the initial distribution.
Our initial stockholders, including our officers and directors, have committed to purchase from us an aggregate of 3,240,000 warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for a total purchase price of $3,240,000). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. All of the proceeds we receive from the purchases will be placed in the trust fund described below. The “insider warrants” to be purchased by these individuals will be identical to warrants underlying the units being sold in this offering except that if we call the warrants for redemption, the insider warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are still held by the purchasers or their affiliates. The insider warrants to be sold to these purchasers have been registered for resale under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, but the purchasers have agreed that the insider warrants will not be sold or transferred by them until 30 days after we have completed our initial business combination. Accordingly, the insider warrants will be placed in escrow and will not be released until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
There is presently no public market for our units, common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to have the units listed on the American Stock Exchange. Assuming that the units are listed on the American Stock Exchange, the units will be listed under the symbol .U on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Assuming that the units are listed on the American Stock Exchange, once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the common stock and warrants will be listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbols
and .WS, respectively. We cannot assure you that our securities will be listed or will continue to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission 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.
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| Public Offering Price |
Underwriting Discountand Commissions(1) |
Proceeds, Before Expenses, to Us |
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| Per unit | $ | 10.00 | $ | 0.70 | $ | 9.30 | ||||||
| Total | $ | 150,000,000 | $ | 10,500,000 | $ | 139,500,000 | ||||||
| (1) | Of the underwriting discounts and commissions, $4,500,000 ($0.30 per unit) is being deferred by the underwriters and will not be payable by us to them unless and until we consummate a business combination. |
$143,250,000 of the net proceeds of this offering (including the $4,500,000 of underwriting discounts and commissions payable to the underwriters in this offering which are being deferred by them until we consummate our initial business combination), plus the additional aggregate $3,240,000 we will receive from the purchase of the insider warrants by certain of our initial stockholders simultaneously with the consummation of this offering, for an aggregate of $146,490,000, or approximately $9.77 per unit sold to the public in this offering (or $168,090,000, or approximately $9.74 per unit if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised
in full), will be deposited into a trust account at Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. These funds will not be released to us until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation (which may not occur until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus]).
We are offering the units for sale on a firm-commitment basis. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., acting as representative of the underwriters, expects to deliver our securities to investors in the offering on or about , 2007.
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
, 2007
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. For a more complete understanding of this offering, you should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the risk factors and the financial statements. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus:
| • | references to “we,” “us” or “our company” refer to Polaris Acquisition Corp.; |
| • | references to “initial stockholders” or “existing stockholders” refer to all of our stockholders prior to this offering; |
| • | references to “initial shares” refer to the 4,312,500 shares of common stock that our initial stockholders originally purchased from us for $25,000 in June 2007; |
| • | references to “insider warrants” refer to the 3,240,000 warrants we are selling privately to our initial stockholders upon consummation of this offering; |
| • | references to the term “public stockholders” refer to the holders of the shares of common stock that are being sold as part of the units in the public offering (whether they are purchased in the initial public offering or in the secondary market), including any of our existing stockholders to the extent that they purchase such shares; and |
| • | the information in this prospectus assumes that the representative of the underwriters will not exercise its over-allotment option. |
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. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer 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.
We are a blank check company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware on June 18, 2007. We were formed with the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities.
We intend to focus mainly on identifying a company in one of the sectors within business services where the team has a deep and successful operating and relationship history. There are three distinct segments within this business services focus:
| • | business-to-consumer service businesses; |
| • | business-to-business service businesses; and |
| • | technology and infrastructure services. |
There are a myriad of companies within these categories that we believe may be attractive to us. These include but may not be limited to product or service companies built upon direct marketing (distinct from companies that provide direct marketing as a service provider) including continuity or subscription based products or services models, marketing and or media services firms including digital marketing and or advertising services, information based services, technology and related infrastructure services, general and or specialty finance services, ecommerce businesses, software and or software as services solutions, information processing services, payment processing services and other technology driven service platforms.
We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with our company. 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 any such acquisition candidate.
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We will have until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus] to consummate a business combination. If we are unable to consummate a business combination by such date, our corporate existence will cease by operation of corporate law (except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating). Our initial business combination must be with a target business whose fair market value is at least equal to 80% of our net assets (all of our assets, including the funds then held in the trust account, less our liabilities) at the time of such acquisition, although this may entail
simultaneous acquisitions of several operating 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 (which may include actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). We anticipate structuring a business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business. We may, however, structure a business combination to acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business but will not acquire less than a controlling interest (meaning not less than 50% of the voting securities of the target business). If we acquire only a controlling interest in a target business or businesses, the portion of such business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account. 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 our initial 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 integration of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies into a single operating business.
The target business that we acquire may have a fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of our net assets. In order to consummate such a business combination, we may issue a significant amount of debt or equity securities to the sellers of such business and/or seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities. There are no limitations on our ability to incur debt or issue securities in order to consummate a business combination. If we issue securities in order to consummate a business combination, our stockholders could end up owning a minority of the combined company, as there is no requirement that our stockholders own a certain percentage of our company after our business combination. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not entered into any such arrangement to issue our debt or equity securities and have no current intention of doing so.
Our principal executive offices are located at 2200 Fletcher Avenue, 4th floor, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024 and our telephone number is (201) 242-3500.
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THE OFFERING
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. In addition, this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, therefore, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 14 of this prospectus.
| Securities offered |
| 15,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
• one share of common stock; and |
• one warrant. |
| Trading commencement and separation of common stock and warrants |
| The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Each of the common stock and warrants may trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. determines that an earlier date is acceptable (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular). In no event will Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. allow separate trading of the common stock and warrants until we file an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file our first Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, 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 prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. If the over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise and consummation of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, or amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K, information indicating if Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus. |
| Securities being purchased by insiders |
| 3,240,000 insider warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for a total purchase price of approximately $3,240,000) will be sold to our initial stockholders, including our officers and directors, pursuant to letter agreements between us, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. and such purchasers. These purchases will take place on |
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| a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The insider warrants will be identical to the warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus except that if we call the warrants for redemption, the insider warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are still held by such purchasers or their affiliates. The purchasers have agreed, pursuant to the letter agreements, that the insider warrants will not be sold or transferred by them until 30 days after we have completed a business combination. Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. has no intention of waiving these restrictions. Accordingly, the insider warrants will be placed in escrow and will not be released until 30 days after the completion of a business combination. |
| Common Stock: |
| Number outstanding before this offering |
| 4,312,500 shares(1) |
| Number to be outstanding after this offering |
| 18,750,000 shares(2) |
| Warrants: |
| Number outstanding before this offering |
| 0 |
| Number to be sold to insiders |
| 3,240,000 warrants |
| Number to be outstanding after this offering and sale to insiders |
| 18,240,000 warrants |
| Exercisability |
| Each warrant is exercisable for one share of common stock. |
| Exercise price |
| $7.50 |
| Exercise period |
| The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
• the completion of a business combination with a target business; and |
• [ |
| The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [], 2011 [four years from the date of this prospectus] or earlier upon redemption. |
| Redemption |
| We may redeem the outstanding warrants (including any of the insider warrants): |
• in whole and not in part; |
• at a price of $.01 per warrant at any time |
| (1) | This number includes an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock that are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters. |
| (2) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock have been forfeited by our initial stockholders. |
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| while the warrants are exercisable (which will occur only if a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and current); |
• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and |
• if, and only if, the last sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $14.25 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption. |
| We may redeem the warrants without the consent of the underwriters. 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 common stock may fall below the $14.25 trigger price as well as the $7.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued. |
| The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price that is intended to provide warrant holders with a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing common stock price and the warrant exercise price so that if the stock price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the stock price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants. |
| If we call our warrants for redemption, the purchasers of the insider warrants would still be entitled to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis. |
| Proposed American Stock Exchange symbols for our: |
| Units |
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| Common Stock |
| [] |
| Warrants |
| [] |
| Offering proceeds to be held in trust |
| $143,250,000 of the proceeds of this offering plus the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants (for an aggregate of $146,490,000 or approximately $9.77 per unit sold to the public in this offering) will be placed in a trust account at Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee pursuant to an agreement to be signed on the date of this prospectus. This amount includes $4,500,000 of underwriting discounts and commissions payable to |
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| the underwriters in the offering. The underwriters have agreed that such amount will not be paid unless and until we consummate a business combination. Except as set forth below, these proceeds will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation. Therefore, unless and until a business combination is consummated, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be available for our use for any deferred 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 interest earned on the funds in the trust account (i) up to an aggregate of $1,800,000 to fund expenses related to investigating and selecting a target business and our other working capital requirements and (ii) any amounts we may need to pay our income or other 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 (initially $100,000). |
| None of the warrants may be exercised until after the consummation of a business combination and, thus, after the proceeds of the trust account have been disbursed. Accordingly, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
| Limited payments to insiders |
| There will be no fees or other cash payments paid to our existing stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is) other than: |
• repayment of an aggregate of $100,000 non-interest bearing loan made by Trivergance, LLC, an affiliate of Marc V. Byron, our chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Lowell D. Kraff, our president, and David Palmer and Jerry Stone, each a vice president of ours; |
• payment of $7,500 per month to Trivergance, LLC for office space and related services; and |
• reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on our behalf, such as |
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| identifying and investigating possible business targets and business combinations. |
| Certificate of Incorporation |
| As discussed below, there are specific provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that may not be amended prior to our consummation of a business combination, including our requirements to seek stockholder approval of such a business combination and to allow our stockholders to seek conversion of their shares if they do not approve of such a business combination. While we have been advised that such provisions limiting our ability to amend our certificate of incorporation may not be enforceable under Delaware law, we view these provisions, which are contained in Article Seventh of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as obligations to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive these provisions. |
| Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also provides that we will continue in existence only until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus]. If we have not completed a business combination by such date, our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating, pursuant to Section 278 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. This has the same effect as if our board of directors and stockholders had formally voted to approve our dissolution pursuant to Section 275 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Accordingly, limiting our corporate existence to a specified date as permitted by Section 102(b)(5) of the Delaware General Corporation Law removes the necessity to comply with the formal procedures set forth in Section 275 (which would have required our board of directors and
stockholders to formally vote to approve our dissolution and liquidation and to have filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State). In connection with any proposed business combination we submit to our stockholders for approval, we will also submit to stockholders a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to provide for our perpetual existence, thereby removing this limitation on our corporate existence. We will only consummate a business combination if stockholders vote both in favor of such business combination and our amendment to provide for our perpetual existence. The approval of the proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to provide for our perpetual existence would require the affirmative vote of a majority of |
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| our outstanding shares of common stock. We view this provision terminating our corporate existence by , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus] as an obligation to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive this provision to allow us to exist for a longer period of time except in connection with the consummation of a business combination. |
| Stockholders must approve business combination |
| Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we will seek stockholder approval before we effect any business combination, even if the nature of the acquisition would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law. We view this requirement as an obligation to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive this provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote the shares of common stock owned by them immediately before this offering in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders. We will proceed with a business combination only if (i) a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination (provided that a quorum is in attendance at the meeting, in person or by proxy) and (ii) public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights described below. Accordingly, it is our understanding and intention in every case to structure and consummate a business combination in which public stockholders owning approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering may exercise their conversion rights and the business combination will still go forward. |
| Conversion rights for stockholders voting to reject a business combination |
| Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, public stockholders voting against a business combination will be entitled to convert their stock into a pro rata share of the trust account (initially approximately $9.77 per share), plus any interest earned on their portion of the trust account but less any interest that has been released to us as described above to fund our working capital requirements and pay any of our tax obligations, if the business combination is approved and completed. We view this requirement as an obligation to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive this provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our existing |
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| stockholders will not have such conversion rights with respect to any shares of common stock owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether included in or underlying their initial shares or purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their pro-rata share of the trust account will continue to have the right to exercise any warrants they may hold. |
| An eligible stockholder may request conversion at any time after the mailing to our stockholders of the proxy statement and prior to the vote taken with respect to a proposed business combination at a meeting held for that purpose, but the request will not be granted unless the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Additionally, we may require public stockholders, 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 $35 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the converting holder. |
| The proxy solicitation materials that we will furnish to stockholders in connection with the vote for any proposed business combination will indicate whether we are requiring stockholders to satisfy such certification and delivery requirements. Accordingly, a stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy statement through the vote on the business combination to deliver his shares if he wishes to seek to exercise his conversion rights. This time period varies depending on the specific facts of each transaction. However, as the delivery process can be accomplished by the stockholder, whether or not he is a record holder or his shares are held in “street name,” in a matter of hours by simply contacting the transfer agent or his broker and requesting delivery of his shares through the DWAC System, we believe this time period is sufficient for an average investor. |
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| Any request for conversion, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date of the meeting. Furthermore, if a stockholder delivered his certificate for conversion and subsequently decided prior to the meeting not to elect conversion, he may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). |
| If a vote on our initial business combination is held and the business combination is not approved, we may continue to try to consummate a business combination with an alternate target until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus]. If the initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then public stockholders voting against our initial business combination who exercised their conversion rights would not be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. In such case, if we have required public stockholders to deliver their certificates prior to the meeting, we will promptly return such certificates to the public stockholder. |
| Investors in this offering who do not sell, or who receive less than an aggregate of approximately $0.23 of net sales proceeds for, the warrants included in the units, and persons who purchase common stock in the aftermarket at a price in excess of $9.77 per share, may have a disincentive to exercise their conversion rights because the amount they would receive upon conversion could be less than their original or adjusted purchase price. |
| Liquidation if no business combination |
| As described above, if we have not consummated a business combination by , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus], our corporate existence will cease by operation of law and we will promptly distribute only to our public stockholders the amount in our trust account (including any accrued interest then remaining in the trust account) plus any remaining net assets. |
| We cannot assure you that the per-share distribution from the trust account, if we liquidate, will not be less than $9.77, plus interest then held in the trust account for the following reasons: |
• Prior to liquidation, pursuant to Section 281 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, we will adopt a plan that will provide for our payment, based on facts known to us at such time, of (i) all existing claims, (ii) all pending claims and (iii) all claims that may be |
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| potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. Accordingly, we would be required to provide for any creditors known to us at that time as well as provide for any claims that we believe could potentially be brought against us within the subsequent 10 years prior to distributing the funds held in the trust to our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims of creditors to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more). |
• While we will seek to have all vendors and service providers (which would include any third parties we engaged to assist us in any way in connection with our search for a target business) and prospective target businesses execute agreements 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, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Nor is there any guarantee that, even if such entities execute such agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account or that a court would not conclude that such agreements are not legally enforceable. Marc V. Byron, our chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and Lowell D. Kraff, our president, have agreed that they will be personally 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. However, we cannot assure you that they will be able to satisfy those obligations, if they are required to do so. |
| We anticipate the distribution of the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders will occur by , 2009 [10 business days from the date our corporate existence ceases]. Our existing stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares. We will pay the costs of liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, |
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| certain of our initial stockholders have agreed to advance us the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than approximately $15,000) and have agreed not to seek repayment for such expenses. |
| Escrow of initial shares and insider warrants |
| On the date of this prospectus, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, will place their initial shares into an escrow account maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions (such as (i) transfers to an entity’s members upon its liquidation, (ii) to relatives and trusts for estate planning purposes or (iii) by private sales made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares were originally purchased, in each case where the transferee agrees to the terms of the escrow agreement), these shares will not be transferable during the escrow period and will not be released from escrow until the earlier of: |
• one year after the consummation of a business combination; |
• the last sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $16.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period; or |
• we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. |
| Additionally, on the date of this prospectus, the purchasers of the insider warrants will place such warrants into a separate escrow account maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Subject to certain limited exceptions, (such as transfers to relatives and trusts for estate planning purposes, while remaining in escrow), the insider warrants will not be transferable during the escrow period and will not be released from escrow until 30 days after the completion of our business combination. |
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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, so only balance sheet data is presented.
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| August 14, 2007 | ||||||||
| Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||
| Balance Sheet Data: |
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| Working capital (deficiency) | $ | (25,851 | ) | $ | 142,114,149 | |||
| Total assets | 138,012 | 146,614,149 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 113,863 | 4,500,000 | ||||||
| Value of common stock which may be converted to cash | — | 43,946,990 | ||||||
| Stockholders’ equity | 24,149 | 98,167,159 | ||||||
| (1) | Includes the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants. Additionally, if a business combination is consummated, public stockholders who voted against the business combination and exercised their conversion rights would be entitled to receive approximately $9.77 per share, which amount represents approximately $9.47 per share from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement and $0.30 per share of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
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.
The working capital excludes $50,000 of costs related to this offering which were paid or incurred prior to August 14, 2007. These deferred offering costs have been recorded as a long-term asset and are reclassified against stockholders’ equity in the “as adjusted” information.
The “as adjusted” working capital includes $141,990,000 to be held in the trust account, which will be available to us only upon the consummation of a business combination within the time period described in this prospectus. The “as adjusted” total assets includes an additional $4,500,000 (or $0.30 per share) to be placed in trust relating to deferred underwriting discounts and commissions payable to the underwriters in the offering only if we consummate a business combination. If a business combination is not so consummated, the trust account, and all accrued interest earned thereon less (i) up to $1,800,000 that may be released to us to fund our expenses and other working capital requirements and (ii) any amounts released to us to pay our income or other tax obligations, will be distributed solely to our public stockholders (subject to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors).
We will not proceed with a business combination if public stockholders owning 30% or more of the shares sold in this offering vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights. Accordingly, we may effect a business combination if public stockholders owning up to approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. If this occurred, we would be required to convert to cash up to approximately 29.99% of the 15,000,000 shares sold in this offering, or 4,499,999 shares of common stock, at an initial per-share conversion price of approximately $9.77 (for a total of approximately $43,946,990), without taking into account interest earned on the trust account. The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to:
| • | the amount in the trust account, including all accrued interest after distribution of interest income on the trust account balance to us as described above, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of the business combination, |
| • | divided by the number of shares of common stock underlying the units sold in this offering. |
Because converting stockholders will receive their proportionate share of the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions and the underwriters wil be paid the full amount of their deferred underwriting compensation at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination, the Company (and, therefore, the non-converting stockholders) will bear the financial effect of such payments to both the converting stockholders and the underwriters.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the material risks described below, which we believe represent all 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.
Risks Associated With Our Business
We are a development stage 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 recently incorporated development stage company with no operating results to date. Therefore, our ability to commence operations is dependent upon obtaining financing through the public offering of our securities. 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 operating revenues until, at the earliest, after the consummation of a business combination.
If we are forced to liquidate before a business combination and distribute the trust account, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we are unable to complete a business combination within the prescribed time frames and are forced to liquidate our assets, the per-share liquidation distribution may be less than $10.00 because of the expenses of this offering, our general and administrative expenses and the anticipated costs of seeking a business combination. Furthermore, there will be no distribution with respect to our outstanding warrants which will expire worthless if we liquidate before the completion of a business combination.
If we are unable to consummate a business combination, our public stockholders will be forced to wait the full 24 months before receiving liquidation distributions.
We have 24 months in which to complete a business combination. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to such date unless we consummate a business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought conversion of their shares. Only after the expiration of this full time period will public stockholders be entitled to liquidation distributions if we are unable to complete a business combination. Accordingly, investors’ funds may be unavailable to them until such date.
If the net proceeds of this offering not being held in trust are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, we may be unable to complete a business combination.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, plus the interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be available to us, 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. However, we cannot assure you that our estimates will be accurate. We could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in a letter of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right of exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
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We may proceed with a business combination even if public stockholders owning approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights.
We may proceed with a business combination as long as public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering exercise their conversion rights. Accordingly, approximately 29.99% of the public stockholders may exercise their conversion rights and we could still consummate a proposed business combination. We have set the conversion percentage at a maximum of 30% in order to reduce the likelihood that a small group of investors holding a block of our stock will be able to stop us from completing a business combination that is otherwise approved by a large majority of our public stockholders. While there are a few other offerings similar to ours that include conversion provisions greater than 20%, the 20% threshold is customary and standard for offerings similar to ours.
Our business combination may require us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price. In such a case, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Additionally, even if our business combination does not require us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, if a significant number of stockholders exercise their conversion rights, we will have less cash available to use in furthering our business plans following a business combination and may need to arrange third party financing. We have not taken any steps to secure third party financing for either situation. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such third party financing on terms favorable to us or at all.
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 a business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, since our securities will be listed on the American Stock Exchange, a national securities exchange, and we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 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 in blank check companies such as Rule 419 under the Securities Act. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Because the SEC has taken the position that we are not subject to Rule 419, our units will be immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete a business combination than we would if we were subject to such rule.
Because there are numerous companies with a business plan similar to ours seeking to effectuate a business combination, it may be more difficult for us to do so.
Since August 2003, based upon publicly available information, approximately similarly structured blank check companies have completed initial public offerings in the United States. Of these companies, only companies have consummated a business combination, while other companies have announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination, but have not consummated such business combination, and
companies have failed to complete business combinations and have either dissolved or announced their intention to dissolve and return trust proceeds to their stockholders. Accordingly, there are approximately blank check companies with more than $ billion in trust that are seeking to carry out a business plan similar to our business plan. Furthermore, there are a number of additional offerings for blank check companies that are still in the registration process but have not completed initial public offerings and there are likely to be more blank check companies filing registration statements for initial public offerings after the date of this prospectus and prior to our completion of a business combination. While some of those companies must complete a business combination in specific industries, a number of them may consummate a business combination in any industry
they choose. Therefore, we may be subject to competition from these and other companies seeking to consummate a business plan similar to ours. Because of this competition, we cannot assure you that we will be able to effectuate a business combination within the required time periods.
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We will depend on interest earned on the trust account to fund our search for a target business or businesses, to pay our tax obligations and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only $100,000 will 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 provide us with additional working capital we will need to identify one or more target businesses and to complete our initial business combination, as well as to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. While we are entitled to have released to us for such purposes certain interest earned on the funds in the trust account, a substantial decline in interest rates may result in our having insufficient funds available with which to structure, negotiate or close an initial business combination. In such event, we would need to borrow funds from our initial stockholders to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Our initial stockholders are under no obligation to advance funds in such circumstances.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in trust could be reduced and the per-share liquidation price received by stockholders will be less than $9.77 per share.
Our placing of funds in trust may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors and service providers we engage and prospective target businesses we negotiate with, 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 stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that, even if such entities execute such agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account. Nor is there any guarantee that a court would uphold the validity of such agreements. Accordingly, the proceeds held in trust could be subject to claims that could take priority over those of our public stockholders. If we liquidate before the completion of a business combination and distribute the proceeds held in trust to our public stockholders, Marc V. Byron and Lowell D. Kraff have agreed that they will be personally 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. However, the agreement entered into by Messrs. Byron and Kraff specifically provides for two exceptions to this indemnity: there will be no liability (1) as to any claimed amounts owed to a third party who executed a waiver (even if such waiver is subsequently found to be invalid and unenforceable) or (2) as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Furthermore, there could be claims from parties other than vendors or target businesses that would not be covered by the indemnity from Messrs. Byron and Kraff, such as stockholders and other claimants who are not parties in contract with us who file a claim for damages against us. Because we will seek to have all vendors and prospective target businesses execute agreements 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 believe the likelihood of Messrs. Byron and Kraff having any such obligations is minimal. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have questioned Messrs. Byron and Kraff on their financial net worth and reviewed their financial information and believe they will be able to satisfy any indemnification obligations that may arise. However, we cannot assure you that he will be able to satisfy those obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that the per-share distribution from the trust fund, if we liquidate, will not be less than $9.77, plus interest, due to such claims.
Additionally, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which 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 stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return to our public stockholders at least $9.77 per share.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will continue in existence only until 24 months from the date of this prospectus. If we have not completed a business combination by such date and amended this provision in connection thereto, pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating. Under Sections 280 through 282 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution.
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If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the Delaware General Corporation Law intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to make liquidating distributions to our stockholders as soon as reasonably possible after the expiration of the 24 month period and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. Because we will not be complying with those procedures, we are required, pursuant to Section 281 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, to adopt a plan that will provide for our payment, based on facts known to us at such time, of (i) all existing claims, (ii) all pending claims and (iii) all claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. Accordingly, we would be required to provide for any creditors known to us at that time or those that we believe could be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years prior to distributing the funds held in the trust to stockholders. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of the date of distribution. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that third parties will not seek to recover from our stockholders amounts owed to them by us.
If we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, because we intend to distribute the proceeds held in the trust account to our public stockholders promptly after , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus],
this may be viewed or interpreted as giving preference to our public stockholders over any potential creditors with respect to access to or distributions from our assets. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
An effective registration statement may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise his, her or its warrants and causing such warrants to be practically worthless.
No warrant held by public stockholders will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless at the time a holder seeks to exercise such warrant, a prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant is current. 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 common stock 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, and if we do not maintain a current prospectus related to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will be unable to exercise their warrants and we will not be required to settle any such warrant exercise, whether by net cash settlement or otherwise. If the prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is not current, the warrants may have no value, the market for the warrants may be limited and the warrants may expire worthless. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the insider warrants may be exercisable for unregistered shares of common stock even if the prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not current.
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An investor will only be able to exercise a warrant if the issuance of common stock 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 warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless the common stock issuable upon such exercise has 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 (following our completion of a business combination), 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 common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current. However, we cannot assure you of this fact. As a result, the warrants may be deprived of any value, the market for the warrants may be limited and the holders of warrants may not be able to exercise their warrants if the common stock issuable upon such exercise is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside.
Since we have not yet selected a particular industry or target business with which to complete a business combination, we are unable to currently ascertain the merits or risks of the industry or business in which we may ultimately operate.
We may consummate a 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 a 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 a 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 cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a target business.
We may issue shares of our capital stock or debt securities to complete a business combination, which would reduce the equity interest of our stockholders and likely cause a change in control of our ownership.
Our certificate of incorporation offering authorizes the issuance of up to 55,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering and the purchase of the insider warrants (assuming no exercise of the over-allotment option), there will be 18,010,000 authorized but unissued shares of our common stock available for issuance (after appropriate reservation for the issuance of the shares upon full exercise of our outstanding warrants) and all of the 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock available for issuance. Although we have no commitment as of the date of this offering, we may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our common or preferred stock, or a combination of common and preferred stock, to complete a business combination. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock or any number of shares of our preferred stock:
| • | may significantly reduce the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if we issue preferred stock with rights senior to those afforded to our common stock; |
| • | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock 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 common stock. |
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Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a 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. |
Our ability to successfully effect a 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 a business combination.
Our ability to successfully effect a business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel such as Marc V. Byron or Lowell D. Kraff may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following a business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will 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 that 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 a 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 a business combination only 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 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. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination.
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 a 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 do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination. All of our executive officers 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 a business combination. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. As a result, a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may miss out on a potential transaction.
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Our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
None of our officers or directors has been or currently is a principal of, or affiliated with, a blank check company. However, our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with entities, including other “blank check” companies, engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Additionally, our officers and directors may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe fiduciary duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. We cannot assure you that these conflicts will be resolved in our favor. As a result, a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may miss out on a potential transaction.
All of our officers and directors own shares of our common stock issued prior to the offering and some of them will own warrants following this offering. These shares and warrants 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 a business combination.
All of our officers and directors own shares of our common stock that were issued prior to this offering and are purchasing insider warrants upon consummation of this offering. Such individuals have waived their right to receive distributions with respect to their initial shares upon our liquidation if we are unable to consummate a business combination. Accordingly, the shares acquired prior to this offering, as well as the insider warrants, and any warrants purchased by our officers or directors in this offering or in the aftermarket will be worthless if we do not consummate a business combination. The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers 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 stockholders’ best interest.
The American Stock Exchange 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.
We anticipate that our securities will be listed on the American Stock Exchange, a national securities exchange, upon consummation of this offering. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the American Stock Exchange in the future prior to a business combination. Additionally, in connection with our business combination, it is likely that the American Stock Exchange may require us to file a new initial listing application and meet its initial listing requirements as opposed to its more lenient continued listing requirements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the American Stock Exchange 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; |
| • | a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules, possibly resulting in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our common stock; |
| • | 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. |
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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 that may have a limited number of products or services.
Our business combination must be with a business with a fair market value of at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition, although this may entail the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses at the same time. 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 that 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, 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 a 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 stockholders to exercise their conversion rights may not allow us to effectuate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
When we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder (but not our existing stockholders) the right to have his, her or its shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Such holder must both vote against such business combination and then exercise his, her or its conversion rights to receive a pro rata portion of the trust account. Accordingly, if our business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, because we will not know how many stockholders may exercise such conversion rights, we may either need to reserve part of the trust account for possible payment upon such conversion, or we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their conversion rights than we expect. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing. Therefore, we may not be able to consummate a business combination that requires us to use all of the funds held in the trust account as part of the purchase price, or we may end up having a leverage ratio that is not optimal for our business combination. This may limit our ability to effectuate the most attractive business combination available to us.
We may require stockholders who wish to convert their shares in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for conversion that may make it more difficult for them to exercise their conversion rights prior to the deadline for exercising their rights.
We may require public stockholders who wish to convert their 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 stockholder 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 stockholder’s broker and/or clearing broker, DTC and our transfer agent will need to act to facilitate this request. It is our understanding that stockholders should generally allot at least two weeks to obtain physical certificates from the transfer agent. However, because we do not
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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, we cannot assure you of this fact. Accordingly, if it takes longer than we anticipate for stockholders to deliver their shares, stockholders who wish to convert may be unable to meet the deadline for exercising their conversion rights and thus may be unable to convert their shares.
Because of our limited resources and structure, 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 venture capital funds, leveraged buyout 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, the obligation we have to seek stockholder approval of a business combination may delay the consummation of a transaction. Additionally, our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. Because only of the blank check companies that have gone public in the United States since August 2003 have either consummated a business combination
or entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination, it may indicate that there are fewer attractive target businesses available to such entities like our company or that many privately held target businesses are not inclined to enter into these types of transactions with publicly held blank check companies like ours. If we are unable to consummate a business combination with a target business within the prescribed time periods, we will be forced to liquidate.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing, if required, to complete a 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, we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. 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 convert into cash a significant number of shares from dissenting stockholders, we will be required to seek additional financing. We cannot assure you that such financing will 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 stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after a business combination.
Our existing stockholders, including our officers and directors, control a substantial interest in us and thus may influence certain actions requiring a stockholder vote.
Upon consummation of our offering, our existing stockholders (including all of our officers and directors) will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Our board of directors is and will be divided into threeclasses, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. It is unlikely that there will be an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of a business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the consummation of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election
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and our existing stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our existing stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the consummation of a business combination.
Our existing stockholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.006 per share, for their initial shares and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to the investors in this offering. Our existing stockholders acquired their initial shares of common stock at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Assuming the offering is completed, you and the other new investors will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 31.1% or $3.11 per share (the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $6.89, and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit).
Our outstanding warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 15,000,000 shares of common stock as part of the units offered by this prospectus and the insider warrants to purchase 3,240,000 shares of common stock. To the extent we issue shares of common stock 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 shares of our common stock 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.
If our existing stockholders or the purchasers of the insider warrants exercise their registration rights with respect to their initial shares or insider warrants and underlying securities, it may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
Our existing stockholders are entitled to make a demand that we register the resale of their initial shares at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which their shares are released from escrow. Additionally, the purchasers of the insider warrants are entitled to demand that we register the resale of their insider warrants and underlying shares of common stock at any time after we consummate a business combination. Assuming the underwriters do not exercise the over-allotment option, if such individuals exercise their registration rights with respect to all of their securities, then there will be an additional 3,750,000 shares of common stock and 3,240,000 warrants (as well as 3,240,000 shares of common stock underlying the warrants) eligible for trading in the public market. The presence of these additional shares of common stock trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of these rights may make it more difficult to effectuate a 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 common stock.
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 a 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 fund, 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 trust may be invested by the trustee only
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in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. 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.
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 a 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.
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 and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between the representative of the underwriters and us. Factors considered in determining the prices and terms of the units, including the common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| • | our capital structure; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
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.
If we effect a 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.
We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States. If we did, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ home jurisdiction, including any of the following:
| • | rules and regulations or currency conversion or corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
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| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; and |
| • | employment regulations. |
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. 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. 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. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.
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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 “anticipates,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predicts,” “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; |
| • | potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete an 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; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | listing or delisting of our securities from the American Stock Exchange or the ability to have our securities listed on the American Stock Exchange following our initial business combination; |
| • | 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. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will 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.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, in addition to the funds we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants (all of which will be deposited into the trust fund), will be as set forth in the following table:
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|
|
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| Without Over-Allotment Option |
Over-Allotment Option Exercised |
|||||||
| Gross proceeds |
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| From offering | $ | 150,000,000 | $ | 172,500,000 | ||||
| From private placement of insider warrants | 3,240,000 | 3,240,000 | ||||||
| Total gross proceeds | $ | 153,240,000 | $ | 175,740,000 | ||||
| Offering expenses(1) |
||||||||
| Underwriting discount (7% of gross proceeds from Offering — includes 4% which is payable at closing and excludes 3% which is payable upon consummation of a business combination) |
6,000,000 | (2) | 6,900,000 | (2) | ||||
| Legal fees and expenses | 305,000 | 305,000 | ||||||
| Miscellaneous expenses | 75,044 | 75,044 | ||||||
| Printing and engraving expenses | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
| American Stock Exchange filing and listing fee | 80,000 | 80,000 | ||||||
| Accounting fees and expenses | 50,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
| SEC registration fee | 9,268 | 9,268 | ||||||
| NASD filing fee | 30,688 | 30,688 | ||||||
| Net proceeds before payment of deferred underwriting fees |
||||||||
| Held in trust | 146,490,000 | 168,090,000 | ||||||
| Not held in trust. | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
| Total net proceeds | $ | 146,590,000 | $ | 168,190,000 | ||||
| Use of net proceeds not held in trust and amounts available from interest income earned on the trust fund(3) |
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| Legal, accounting and other third-party expenses attendant to the due diligence investigation, structuring and negotiation of a business combination | $ | 800,000 | (42.1%) | |||||
| Due diligence of prospective target businesses by our officers, directors or existing stockholders | 200,000 | (10.5%) | ||||||
| Legal and accounting fees relating to SEC reporting obligations | 200,000 | (10.5%) | ||||||
| Payment of administrative fee to Trivergance, LLC ($7,500 per month for 24 months) | 180,000 | (9.5%) | ||||||
| Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses, D&O insurance, general corporate purposes and reserves | 520,000 | (27.4%) | ||||||
| Total | $ | 1,900,000 | (100.0%) | |||||
| (1) | Approximately $ of the offering expenses, including the SEC registration fee, the NASD filing fee, the non-refundable portion of the American Stock Exchange filing fee and a portion of the legal and audit fees, have been or will be paid from the funds we received from Trivergance, LLC described below. These funds will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering available to us. |
| (2) | No discounts or commissions will be paid with respect to the purchase of the insider warrants. For purposes of presentation, the underwriting discounts are reflected as the amount payable to the underwriters upon consummation of the offering. An additional $4,500,000, or $5,175,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, all of which will be deposited in trust following the consummation of the offering, is payable to the underwriters only if and when we consummate a business combination. |
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| (3) | The amount of proceeds not held in trust will remain constant at $100,000 even if the over-allotment is exercised. In addition, $1,800,000 of interest income earned on the amounts held in the trust account will be available to us to pay for our working capital requirements. For purposes of presentation, the full amount available to us is shown as the total amount of net proceeds available to us immediately following the offering. |
In addition to the offering of units by this prospectus, our initial stockholders have committed to purchase the insider warrants (for an aggregate purchase price of $3,240,000) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. We will not pay any discounts or commissions with respect to the purchase of the insider warrants. All of the proceeds we receive from this purchase will be placed in the trust fund described below.
$143,250,000, or $164,850,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of net proceeds of this offering before payment of deferred underwriting fees, plus the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants, will be placed in a trust account at Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, New York, New York, as trustee. This amount includes a portion of the underwriting discounts and commissions payable to the underwriters in this offering. The underwriters have agreed that such amount will not be paid
unless and until we consummate a business combination and have waived their right to receive such payment upon our liquidation if we are unable to complete a business combination. The funds held in trust will be invested only in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 having a maturity of 180 days or less, or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so that we are not deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Except with respect to interest income that may be released to us of (i) up to $1,800,000 to fund expenses related to investigating and selecting a target business and our other working capital requirements and (ii) any additional amounts we may need to pay our income or other tax obligations, the proceeds held in trust will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of the
completion of a business combination or our liquidation. The proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete a 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.
The payment to Trivergance, LLC, an affiliate of each of Marc V. Byron, Lowell D. Kraff, David Palmer and Jerry Stone, of a monthly fee of $7,500 is for general and administrative services including office space, utilities and secretarial support. This arrangement is being agreed to by Trivergance, LLC for our benefit and is not intended to provide Messrs. Byron, Kraff, Palmer and Stone compensation in lieu of a salary. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the New Jersey metropolitan area, that the fee charged by Trivergance is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. This arrangement will terminate upon completion of a business combination or the distribution of the trust account to our public stockholders. Other than the $7,500 per month administrative fee, no compensation of any kind (including finder’s, consulting or other similar fees) will be paid to any of our existing officers, directors, stockholders, or any of their affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of the 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. Reimbursement for such expenses will be paid by us out of the funds not held in trust and currently allocated to “Legal, accounting and other third-party expenses attendant to the due diligence investigation, structuring and negotiation of a business combination,” “Due diligence of prospective target businesses by our officers, directors or existing stockholders” and “Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses, D&O insurance, general corporate purposes and reserves.” Since the role of present management after a business combination is uncertain, we have no ability to determine what remuneration, if any, will be paid to those persons after a business combination.
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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 search for a business combination will be approximately $100,000. In addition, interest earned on the funds held in the trust account, up to $1,800,000, may be released to us to fund our working capital requirements. These funds will be used by us for director and officer liability insurance premiums, due diligence, legal, accounting and other expenses of structuring and negotiating business combinations, as well as for reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by our existing stockholders in connection with activities on our behalf as described above. We will also be entitled to have interest earned on the funds held in the trust account released to us to pay any tax obligations that we may owe. We believe these funds will be sufficient to cover the foregoing expenses and reimbursement costs. We could also use a portion of these funds to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or to use as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right of exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, potential target businesses.
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.
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 capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a 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’ 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 that we had incurred prior to the completion of our business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust fund were insufficient to cover such expenses.
To the extent we are unable to consummate our initial business combination, we will pay the costs of liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, our initial stockholders have agreed to advance us the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than approximately $15,000) and have agreed not to seek repayment of such expenses.
Trivergance, LLC has advanced to us a total of $100,000 which was used to pay a portion of the expenses of this offering referenced in the line items above for SEC registration fee, NASD filing fee, the non-refundable portion of the American Stock Exchange listing fee, and a portion of the legal and audit fees and expenses. The loan will be payable without interest on the earlier of July 12, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. The loan will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering available to us for payment of offering expenses.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, we will have sufficient available funds (which includes amounts that may be released to us from the trust account) to operate for the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account (including interest earned on his, her or its portion of the trust account) only in the event of our liquidation or if that public stockholder converts such shares into cash in connection with a business combination which the public stockholder voted against and which we consummate. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per share of common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and the insider warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock 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 insider 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 common stock which may be converted into cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock.
At August 14, 2007, our net tangible book value was a deficiency of $25,851, or approximately $(0.01) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 15,000,000 shares of common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, and the deduction of underwriting discounts and estimated expenses of this offering, and the sale of the insider warrants, our pro forma net tangible book value at August 14, 2007 would have been $98,167,159 or $6.89 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $6.89 per share to the existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $3.11 per share or 31.1% to new investors not exercising their conversion rights. For purposes of presentation, our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering is approximately $43,946,990 less than it otherwise would have been because if we effect a business combination, the conversion rights to the public stockholders (but not our existing stockholders) may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 29.99% of the aggregate number of the shares sold in this offering at a per-share conversion price equal to the amount in the trust account (a portion of which is made up of $4,500,000 in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions) as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination, inclusive of any interest, divided by the number of 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 insider warrants:
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|
|
||||||
| Public offering price | $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering | (0.01 | ) | ||||||
| Increase attributable to new investors and private sales | 6.90 | |||||||
| Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering | $ | 6.89 | ||||||
| Dilution to new investors | $ | 3.11 | ||||||
The following table sets forth information with respect to our existing stockholders and the new investors:
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| Shares Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price Per Share |
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| Number | Percentage | Amount | Percentage | |||||||||||||||||
| Existing stockholders | 3,750,000 | (1) | 20.0 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.02 | % | $ | 0.01 | ||||||||||
| New investors | 15,000,000 | 80.0 | % | $ | 150,000,000 | 99.98 | % | $ | 10.00 | |||||||||||
| 18,750,000 | 100.0 | % | $ | 150,025,000 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock have been forfeited by our initial stockholders as a result thereof. |
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The pro forma net tangible book value after the offering is calculated as follows:
|
|
|||
| Numerator: |
||||
| Net tangible book value (deficit) before this offering | $ | (25,851 | ) | |
| Proceeds from this offering including subtraction of deferred costs | 142,090,000 | |||
| Offering costs excluded from net tangible book value before this offering | 50,000 | |||
| Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to conversion to cash ($146,490,000 x 29.99%)(1) | (43,946,990 | ) | ||
| $ | 98,167,159 | |||
| Denominator: |
||||
| Shares of common stock outstanding prior to this offering | 3,750,000 | (2) | ||
| Shares of common stock included in the units offered | 15,000,000 | |||
| Less: Shares subject to conversion | (4,499,999 | ) | ||
| 14,250,001 | ||||
| (1) | Includes the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions (approximately $0.30 per share), which may be distributed to public stockholders if they seek conversion of their shares upon consummation of a business combination. |
| (2) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock have been forfeited by our initial stockholders as a result thereof. |
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at August 14, 2007 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and insider warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
|
|
|
||||||
| August 14, 2007 | ||||||||
| Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||
| Note payable to affiliate | $ | 100,000 | $ | — | ||||
| Total debt | $ | 100,000 | $ | — | ||||
| Common stock, $.0001 par value, -0- and 4,499,999 shares which are subject to possible conversion, shares at conversion value. | — | $ | 43,946,990 | |||||
| Stockholders’ equity: |
||||||||
| Preferred stock, none authorized, actual; $.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued or outstanding, as adjusted. | — | — | ||||||
| Common stock, $.0001 par value, 55,000,000 shares authorized; 4,312,500 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 14,250,001(2) shares issued and outstanding (excluding 4,499,999 shares subject to possible conversion), as adjusted | 431 | 1,425 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 24,569 | 98,166,585 | ||||||
| Deficit accumulated during the development stage | (851 | ) | (851 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ equity: | $ | 24,149 | $ | 98,167,159 | ||||
| Total capitalization | $ | 124,149 | $ | 142,114,149 | ||||
| (1) | Includes the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants. |
| (2) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock have been forfeited by our initial stockholders as a result thereof. |
If we consummate a business combination, the conversion rights afforded to our public stockholders (but not our existing stockholders)may result in the conversion into cash of up to approximately 29.99% of the aggregate number of shares sold in this offering at a per-share conversion price equal to the amount in the trust account (a portion of which is made up of $4,500,000 in deferred underwriting discounts and commissions), inclusive of any interest thereon and not previously released to us for working capital requirements, as of two business days prior to the proposed consummation of a business combination divided by the number of shares sold in this offering.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We were formed on June 18, 2007 to serve as a vehicle to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an operating business. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, capital stock and debt, in effecting a business combination. The issuance of additional shares of our capital stock:
| • | may significantly reduce the equity interest of our stockholders; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if we issue preferred stock with rights senior to those afforded to our common stock; |
| • | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of our shares of common stock 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 |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a 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.
We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the units, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $650,000 and underwriting discounts of approximately $10,500,000, or $12,075,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be approximately $138,850,000, or approximately $159,775,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. However, the underwriters have agreed that 3% of the underwriting discounts and commissions will not be payable unless and until we consummate a business combination. Accordingly, $143,250,000, or $164,850,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of the net proceeds of this offering will be held in trust. An additional $3,240,000 will also be deposited into trust upon consummation of this offering from the sale of the insider warrants described below. We intend to use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting discounts and commissions), to acquire a target business and to pay our expenses relating thereto. To the extent that our capital stock is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a 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’ 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 that we had incurred prior to the completion of our business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust fund were insufficient to cover such expenses.
We believe that, upon consummation of this offering, the $100,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account plus the up to $1,800,000 of interest earned on the trust account balance that may be released to us will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, assuming that a business combination
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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:
| • | $800,000 of expenses for legal, accounting and other third-party expenses attendant to the due diligence investigations, structuring and negotiating of a business combination; |
| • | $200,000 of expenses in legal and accounting fees relating to our SEC reporting obligations; |
| • | $200,000 of expenses for the due diligence and investigation of a target business by our officers, directors and existing stockholders; |
| • | $180,000 for the administrative fee payable to Trivergance, LLC ($7,500 per month for 24 months); and |
| • | $520,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves, including approximately $115,000 for director and officer liability insurance premiums. |
We are obligated, commencing on the date of this prospectus, to pay to Trivergance, LLC, an affiliate of each of Marc V. Byron, Lowell D. Kraff, David Palmer and Jerry Stone, a monthly fee of $7,500 for general and administrative services.
On July 12, 2007, Trivergance, LLC advanced an aggregate of $100,000 to us for payment of offering expenses on our behalf. The loan is payable without interest on the earlier of July 12, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. The loan will be repaid out of the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust.
Our initial stockholders have committed to purchase an aggregate of 3,240,000 warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for a total purchase price of $3,240,000) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
Introduction
We are a recently organized Delaware blank check company incorporated on June 18, 2007 in order to serve as a vehicle for the acquisition of an operating business. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry.
We intend to focus mainly on identifying a company in one of the sectors within business services where the team has a deep and successful operating and relationship history. There are three distinct segments within this business services focus:
| • | business-to-consumer service businesses; |
| • | business-to-business service businesses; and |
| • | technology and infrastructure services. |
There are a myriad of companies within these categories that we believe may be attractive to us. These include, but may not be limited to, product or service companies built upon direct marketing (distinct from companies that provide direct marketing as a service provider) including continuity or subscription based products or services models, marketing and or media services firms including digital marketing and/or advertising services, information based services, technology and related infrastructure services, general and or specialty finance services, ecommerce businesses, software and or software as services solutions, information processing services, payment processing services and other technology driven service platforms.
We will focus our efforts on seeking a business combination from corporate divestitures, private businesses and portfolio companies currently held by private equity and/or venture capital firms. We believe that there are opportunities to effect middle market acquisitions and that, as a well-financed public entity possessing broad investment, acquisition and operating experience, we are well positioned to identify target acquisitions and to effect a business combination. We intend to seek a business combination through one of the following sources:
| • | Corporate Restructurings. Corporate restructurings may present opportunities to acquire operating divisions or subsidiaries from companies that divest non-core assets. |
| • | Privately Held Companies. Owners of privately held middle market companies may seek to realize the value of their investments through a sale or recapitalization of their company or to merge into a public company to order to access capital to fund the company’s growth. |
| • | Portfolio Companies of Private Equity Firms. Because most private equity funds must distribute the fund assets following a fixed term of years, they typically seek transactions for their portfolio companies that result in the receipt of cash or marketable securities. |
Business Strategy
We have identified the following guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these guidelines in evaluating business combination opportunities. However, we may decide to enter into a business combination with a target business or businesses that do not meet all of these guidelines.
Established companies with positive cash flow. We will generally seek to acquire established companies with a history of positive cash earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We do not intend to acquire start-up companies, companies with speculative business plans or companies that we believe have significant technology risk. However, we may acquire companies in which we believe we can significantly improve the companies’ existing operations through the introduction of improved technology and processes.
Strong competitive position in industry. We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of target businesses relative to their competitors. The factors we will consider include product quality, customer loyalty, cost impediments associated with customers switching to competitors, patent protection, brand positioning and capitalization. We will seek to acquire businesses that have developed strong positions within their respective markets, are well positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities and operate businesses or in industries with
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significant barriers to entry. We will seek to acquire businesses that demonstrate advantages when compared to their competitors, which may help to protect their market position and profitability or situations in which we believe we assist companies achieve such advantages in the near term.
Experienced management team. We will seek to acquire businesses that have experienced management teams with a proven track record for delivering growth and profits. We believe that the operating expertise of our management team will complement, not replace, the target’s management team.
Diversified customer and supplier base. We will seek to acquire businesses that have a diversified customer and supplier base. We believe that companies with a diversified customer and supplier base are generally better able to endure economic downturns, industry consolidation, changing business preferences and other factors that may negatively impact their customers, suppliers and competitors.
Competitive Strengths
We believe that we will succeed in consummating a business combination with a target business or businesses as a result of the following:
| • | Our management is experienced transaction investors. Our management team, including our officers and directors, have extensive experience in identifying and evaluating businesses, performing in-depth due diligence, negotiating with owners and management, structuring, financing and closing transactions in both the public and private markets. |
| • | Our management team has extensive deal sourcing network. Our management team has an extensive network of business relationships with executives and board members of privately and publicly held companies, as well as with private equity funds, venture capital funds and hedge funds. We believe that these contacts will provide us with significant business acquisition opportunities, particularly opportunities of an exclusive or near exclusive nature not being marketed to the broader market. |
| • | Our management has strong operating experience. Our officers and directors have acquisition and operating experience in the various sectors of the business service industries in which we intend to focus our efforts on identifying a prospective business target. We believe that this experience provides us with a competitive advantage in evaluating businesses and acquisition opportunities in these sectors. In addition, our officers and directors have provided management oversight and served on the boards of directors of both acquiring as well as acquired private and public companies. We believe this experience will also assist us in evaluating whether acquisition targets have the human and other resources necessary to compete successfully as publicly traded companies. |
Based upon the foregoing, we believe that as a well-financed public entity possessing broad investment, acquisition and operating expertise, we are well qualified to identify target businesses and to complete a business combination.
Effecting a 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, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these in effecting a business combination. Although substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering 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. A 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
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early stages of development or growth. While we may seek to effect 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.
We have not identified a target business or target industry
To date, we have not selected any target business, nor have we definitely selected any target industry, on which to concentrate our search for a business combination. None of our officers, directors, promoters and other affiliates has engaged in discussions on our behalf with representatives of other companies regarding the possibility of a potential merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with us, nor have we, nor any of our agents or affiliates, been approached by any candidates (or representatives of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us. 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 cannot assure you that we will be able to locate a target business or that we will be able to engage in a business combination with a target business on favorable terms.
Subject to the limitations that a target business have a fair market value of at least 80% of our net assets at the time of the acquisition, 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 a 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 cannot assure you that we will 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 they think we may be interested in 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. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals 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. In no event, however, will any of our existing officers, directors or stockholders, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). If we determine to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our officers, directors, special advisors or stockholders, we would do so only if we obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated stockholders from a financial point of view. However, as of the date of this prospectus, there are no affiliated entities that we would consider as a business combination target.
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Selection of a target business and structuring of a business combination
Our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective target business. We have not established any other specific attributes or criteria (financial or otherwise) for prospective target businesses. In evaluating a prospective target business, our management may consider a variety of factors, including one or more of the following:
| • | financial condition and results of operation; |
| • | growth potential; |
| • | experience and skill of management and availability of additional personnel; |
| • | capital requirements; |
| • | competitive position; |
| • | regulatory or technical barriers to entry; |
| • | stage of development of the products, processes or services; |
| • | degree of current or potential market acceptance of the products, processes or services; |
| • | proprietary features and degree of intellectual property or other protection of the products, processes or services; |
| • | regulatory environment of the industry; and |
| • | costs associated with effecting the business combination. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. 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, although we have no current intention to engage any such third parties. We are also required to have all prospective target businesses execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. If any prospective target business refused to execute such agreement, we would cease negotiations with such target business.
The time and costs required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete the business combination cannot presently be ascertained with any degree of certainty. 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
The target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of our net assets at the time of such acquisition, although we may acquire a target business whose fair market value significantly exceeds 80% of our net assets. We anticipate structuring a business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business. We may, however, structure a business combination to acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business. However, we will not acquire less than a controlling interest in such target business (meaning not less than 50% of the voting securities of such target business). If we acquire only a controlling interest in a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of our net assets. 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 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
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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 and 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 with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that fair market value meets the 80% of net assets threshold, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our stockholders, although copies will be provided to stockholders who request it. We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an investment banking firm as to the fair market value if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold.
Lack of business diversification
Our business combination must be with a target business or businesses that collectively satisfy the minimum valuation standard at the time of such acquisition, as discussed above, although this process may entail the simultaneous acquisitions of several operating businesses at the same time. Therefore, at least initially, the prospects for our success may be entirely dependent upon the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that 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 a business combination with only a single entity, our 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 a business combination, 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’ management
Although we intend to scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of the target business’ management will prove to be correct. In addition, we cannot assure you that the future management will 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 a business combination cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that some of our key personnel, such as Messrs. Byron and Kraff will remain in a senior management or advisory position with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that they will devote their full time efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, they would only be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a 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 a 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, we cannot assure you that our officers and directors will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit
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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.
Opportunity for stockholder approval of business combination
Prior to the completion of a business combination, we will submit the transaction to our stockholders for approval, even if the nature of the acquisition is such as would not ordinarily require stockholder approval under applicable state law. In connection with any such transaction, we will also submit to our stockholders for approval a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to provide for our corporate existence to continue perpetually following the consummation of such business combination. Any vote to extend our corporate life to continue perpetually following the consummation of a business combination will be taken only if the business combination is approved. We will only consummate a business combination if stockholders vote both in favor of such business combination and our amendment to extend our corporate existence.
In connection with seeking stockholder approval of a business combination, we will furnish our stockholders with proxy solicitation materials prepared in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which, among other matters, will include a description of the operations of the target business and audited historical financial statements of the business.
In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective initial shares in accordance with the majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders. This voting arrangement shall not apply to shares included in units purchased in this offering or purchased following this offering in the open market by any of our existing stockholders, officers and directors. Accordingly, they may vote these shares on a proposed business combination any way they choose. We will proceed with the business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering both exercise their conversion rights and vote against the business combination.
Conversion rights
At the time we seek stockholder approval of any business combination, we will offer each public stockholder the right to have such stockholder’s shares of common stock converted to cash if the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Our existing stockholders will not have such conversion rights with respect to any shares of common stock owned by them, directly or indirectly, whether included in or underlying their initial shares or purchased by them in this offering or in the aftermarket. The actual per-share conversion price will be equal to the amount in the trust account, inclusive of any interest (calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the proposed business combination), divided by the number of shares sold in this offering. Without taking into account any interest earned on the trust account, the initial per-share conversion price would be approximately $9.77.
An eligible stockholder may request conversion at any time after the mailing to our stockholders of the proxy statement and prior to the vote taken with respect to a proposed business combination at a meeting held for that purpose, but the request will not be granted unless the stockholder votes against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Additionally, we may require public stockholders, 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. The proxy solicitation materials that we will furnish to stockholders in connection with the vote for any proposed business combination will indicate whether we are requiring stockholders to satisfy such certification and delivery requirements. Accordingly, a stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy statement through the vote on the business combination to tender his shares if he wishes to seek to exercise his conversion rights. This time period varies depending on the specific facts of each transaction. However, as the delivery process can be accomplished by the stockholder, whether or not he is a record holder or his shares are held in “street name,” in a matter of hours by simply contacting the transfer agent or his broker and requesting delivery of his shares through the DWAC System, we believe
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this time period is sufficient for an average investor. However, because we do not have any control over this process, it may take significantly longer than we anticipated. Traditionally, in order to perfect conversion rights in connection with a blank check company’s business combination, a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to convert. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him to deliver his certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the consummation of the business combination during which he could monitor the price of the stock in the market. If the price rose above the conversion price, he could sell his shares in the open market before actually delivering his shares to the company for cancellation. Thus, the conversion right, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become a “put” right surviving past the consummation of the business combination until the converting holder delivered his certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a converting holder’s election to convert is irrevocable once the business combination is approved. There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced 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 $35 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the converting holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise conversion rights to tender their shares prior to the meeting — the need to deliver shares is a requirement of conversion regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated. Accordingly, this would not result in any increased cost to shareholders when compared to the traditional process.
Any request for conversion, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the vote taken with respect to the proposed business combination. Furthermore, if a stockholder delivered his certificate for conversion and subsequently decided prior to the meeting not to elect conversion, he may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to stockholders entitled to convert their shares who elect conversion will be distributed promptly after completion of a business combination. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust account still have the right to exercise any warrants they still hold.
If a vote on our initial business combination is held and the business combination is not approved, we may continue to try to consummate a business combination with an alternate target until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus]. If the initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then public stockholders voting against our initial business combination who exercised their conversion rights would not be entitled to convert their shares of common stock into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. In such case, if
we have required public stockholders to tender their certificates prior to the meeting, we will promptly return such certificates to the tendering public stockholder. Public stockholders would be entitled to receive their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit in the trust account only in the event that the initial business combination they voted against was duly approved and subsequently completed, or in connection with our liquidation.
We will not complete any business combination if public stockholders owning 30% or more of the shares sold in this offering both exercise their conversion rights and vote against the business combination. Accordingly, it is our understanding and intention in every case to structure and consummate a business combination in which public stockholders owning up to approximately 29.99% of the shares sold in this offering may exercise their conversion rights and the business combination will still go forward. We have set the conversion percentage at 30% in order to reduce the likelihood that a small group of investors holding a block of our stock will be able to stop us from completing a business combination that is otherwise approved by a large majority of our public stockholders.
Investors in this offering who do not sell, or who receive less than an aggregate of approximately $0.23 of net sales proceeds for, the warrants included in the units, or persons who purchase common stock in the aftermarket at a price in excess of $9.77 per share, may have a disincentive to exercise their conversion rights because the amount they would receive upon conversion could be less than their original or adjusted purchase price.
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Liquidation if no business combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will continue in existence only until , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus]. This provision may not be amended except in connection with the consummation of a business combination. If we have not completed a business combination by such date, our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating, pursuant to Section 278 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. This has the same effect as if our board of directors and stockholders had formally voted to approve
our dissolution pursuant to Section 275 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Accordingly, limiting our corporate existence to a specified date as permitted by Section 102(b)(5) of the Delaware General Corporation Law removes the necessity to comply with the formal procedures set forth in Section 275 (which would have required our board of directors and stockholders to formally vote to approve our dissolution and liquidation and to have filed a certificate of dissolution with the Delaware Secretary of State). We view this provision terminating our corporate existence by , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus] as an obligation to our stockholders and will not take any action to amend or waive this provision to allow us to exist for a longer period of time except in connection with the consummation of a business combination.
If we are unable to complete a business combination by , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus], we will distribute to all of our public stockholders, in proportion to their respective equity interests, an aggregate sum equal to the amount in the trust account, inclusive of any interest, plus any remaining net assets (subject to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors as described below). We anticipate notifying the trustee of the trust account to begin liquidating such assets promptly after such date and anticipate it will take no more than 10
business days to effectuate such distribution. Our initial stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares. There will be no distribution from the trust account with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless. We will pay the costs of liquidation from our remaining assets outside of the trust fund. If such funds are insufficient, our initial stockholders have agreed to advance us the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than approximately $15,000) and have agreed not to seek repayment of such expenses.
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 initial per-share liquidation price would be $9.77. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors (which could include vendors and service providers we have engaged to assist us in any way in connection with our search for a target business and that are owed money by us, as well as target businesses themselves) which could have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. Marc
V. Byron and Lowell D. Kraff have personally agreed, pursuant to agreements with us and Ladenburg
Thalmann & Co. that, if we liquidate prior to the consummation of a business combination, they will be personally liable to pay debts and obligations to target businesses or vendors or other entities that are owed money by us for services rendered or contracted for or products sold to us in excess of the net proceeds of this offering not held in the trust account. However, the agreement entered into by Messrs. Byron and Kraff specifically provides for two exceptions to this indemnity: there will be no liability (1) as to any claimed amounts owed to a third party who executed a waiver (even if such waiver is subsequently found to be invalid and unenforceable) or (2) as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Furthermore, there could be claims from parties other than vendors or
target businesses that would not be covered by the indemnity from Messrs. Byron and Kraff, such as stockholders and other claimants who are not parties in contract with us who file a claim for damages against us.We cannot assure you that they will be able to satisfy their indemnification obligations. Accordingly, the actual per-share liquidation price could be less than $9.77, plus interest, due to claims of creditors. Additionally, if we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which 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 stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return to our public stockholders at least $9.77 per share.
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Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only in the event of the expiration of our corporate existence and our liquidation or if they seek to convert their respective shares into cash upon a business combination which the stockholder voted against and which is completed by us. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the Delaware General Corporation Law intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are
made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, as stated above, it is our intention to make liquidating distributions to our stockholders as soon as reasonably possible after , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus] and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date. Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law requires us to adopt a plan
that will provide for our payment, based on facts known to us at such time, of (i) all existing claims, (ii) all pending claims and (iii) all claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. Accordingly, we would be required to provide for any claims of creditors known to us at that time or those that we believe could be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years prior to our distributing the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors and service providers (such as accountants, lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) and potential target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers and
prospective target businesses execute agreements 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. As a result, the claims that could be made against us will be limited, thereby lessening the likelihood that any claim would result in any liability extending to the trust. We therefore believe that any necessary provision for creditors will be reduced and should not have a significant impact on our ability to distribute the funds in the trust account to our public stockholders. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you of this fact as there is no guarantee that vendors, service providers and prospective target businesses will execute such agreements. Nor is there any guarantee that, even if they execute such agreements with us, they will not seek recourse against the trust account. A court could also conclude that such agreements are not legally enforceable. As a result, if we liquidate, the per-share distribution from
the trust account could be less than $9.77 due to claims or potential claims of creditors.
If we are forced to file a bankruptcy case or an involuntary bankruptcy case is filed against us which is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, because we intend to distribute the proceeds held in the trust account to our public stockholders promptly after , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus],
this may be viewed or interpreted as giving preference to our public stockholders over any potential creditors with respect to access to or distributions from our assets. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours. There are approximately blank check companies
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that have completed initial public offerings in the United States with more than $ billion in trust that are seeking to carry out a business plan similar to our business plan. Furthermore, there are a number of additional offerings for blank check companies that are still in the registration process but have not completed initial public offerings and there are likely to be more blank check companies filing registration statements for initial public offerings after the date of this prospectus and prior to our completion of a business combination. Additionally, we may be subject to competition
from entities other than blank check companies having a business objective similar to ours, including venture capital firms, leverage buyout firms and operating businesses looking to expand their operations through the acquisition of a target business. 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 will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Further, the following may
not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses:
| • | our obligation to seek stockholder approval of a business combination may delay the completion of a transaction; |
| • | our obligation to convert into cash shares of common stock held by our public stockholders to such holders that both vote against the business combination and exercise their conversion rights may reduce the resources available to us for a business combination; and |
| • | our outstanding warrants, and the potential future dilution they represent. |
Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a 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.
If we succeed in effecting a business combination, there will be, in all likelihood, intense competition from competitors of the target business. We cannot assure you that, subsequent to a business combination, we will have the resources or ability to compete effectively.
Facilities
We maintain our principal executive offices at 2200 Fletcher Avenue, 4th floor, Fort Lee New Jersey 07024. The cost for this space is included in the $7,500 per-month fee Trivergance, LLC will charge us for general and administrative services commencing on the effective date of this prospectus pursuant to a letter agreement between us and Trivergance, LLC. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the New Jersey metropolitan area, that the fee charged by Trivergance, LLC 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 four executive officers. 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 management locates a suitable target business to acquire, they will spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time on our affairs) than they would prior to locating a suitable target business. We presently expect our executive officers to each devote an average of approximately 10 hours per week to our business. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination.
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Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We have registered our units, common stock and warrants under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. 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 United States generally accepted accounting principles or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. 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.
Comparison to Offerings of Blank Check Companies
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.
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| Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Escrow of offering proceeds | $143,250,000 of the net offering proceeds plus the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants will be deposited into a trust account at Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., maintained by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. |
$125,550,000 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 $143,250,000 of net offering proceeds plus the $3,240,000 we will receive from the sale of the insider warrants held in trust will only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. | 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 Our 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 our net assets at the time of such acquisition. |
We would be restricted from acquiring a target business unless the fair value of such business or net assets to be acquired represented at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
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| Trading of securities issued | The units may commence trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin to trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular), 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, including any proceeds we receive 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 over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, an amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K, information indicating if Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus. | No trading of the units or the underlying common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
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| Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Exercise of the warrants | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of the completion of a business combination and one year from the date of this prospectus and, accordingly, will be exercised only after the trust account has been terminated and distributed. | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | ||
| Election to remain an investor | We will give our stockholders the opportunity to vote on the business combination. In connection with seeking stockholder approval, we will send each stockholder a proxy statement containing information required by the SEC. A stockholder following the procedures described in this prospectus is given the right to convert his or her shares into his or her pro rata share of the trust account. However, a stockholder who does not follow these procedures or a stockholder who does not take any action would not be entitled to the return of any funds. | 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 stockholder 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 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account would automatically be returned to the stockholder. 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. | ||
| Business combination deadline | Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our corporate existence will cease 24 months from the date of this prospectus except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and we will liquidate. However, if we complete a business combination within this time period, we will amend this provision to allow for our perpetual existence following such business combination. | 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. |
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| Terms of Our Offering | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
| Interest earned on the funds in the trust account | There can be released to us, from time to time, interest earned on the funds in the trust account of up to an aggregate of $1,800,000 to fund expenses related to investigating and selecting a target business and our other working capital requirements, as well as any amounts that we may need to pay our tax obligations. The remaining interest earned on the funds in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
All interest earned on the funds in the trust account will be held in trust for the benefit of public stockholders until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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| Release of funds | Except for (i) up to $1,800,000 we may need to fund expenses related to investigating and selecting a target business and our other working capital requirements and (ii) any amounts that we may need to pay our tax obligations that may be released to us from the interest earned on the trust account balance, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | The proceeds held in the escrow account would not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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MANAGEMENT
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
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| Name | Age | Position | ||
| Marc V. Byron | 43 | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Lowell D. Kraff | 46 | President and Director | ||
| David Palmer | 45 | Vice President | ||
| Jerry Stone | 49 | Vice President | ||
| Brian B. Boorstein | 47 | Director | ||
| Stuart I. Oran | 57 | Director | ||
| David Moore | 51 | Director |
Marc V. Byron has served as our chairman of the board and chief executive officer since our inception. Mr. Byron co-founded Trivergance, LLC, a middle market merchant banking and investment firm, in June 2006, and has served as a Managing Member since its formation. Trivergance acted as a strategic and financial advisor in the $750 million transaction in which Sunterra Corporation went private. Since May 2003, Mr. Byron has also served as chairman of MG, LLC, d/b/a Tranzact, a marketing services firm that helps companies acquire customers and manage complex transactions by combining expertise in developing customer acquisition strategies with experience in applying technology. He has also served as an advisor to Apollo Management on large marketing and media related transactions, a consultant and partner to Halyard Capital on mid-size media and marketing transactions, and an investor in and advisor to Sonostar Capital related to smaller media and marketing transactions. In 1997, Mr. Byron founded Paradigm Direct and served as its chief executive officer until its sale to Mosaic Group, Inc., a Canadian marketing services firm. After the sale, Paradigm Direct changed its name to Mosaic Performance Solutions North America and Mr. Byron served as its chief executive officer until December 2001. From January 2002 to June 2003, Mr. Byron served as chief executive officer for Mosaic Group, Inc. At the time Mr. Byron became chief executive officer of Mosaic Group, Mosaic Group was highly leveraged and was ultimately required to file for restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, or CCAA, in Canada in December 2002. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Byron served as president of National Market Share Inc., an outbound telemarketing firm. Mr. Byron's experience includes marketing consultation at the senior-most levels in corporate America, creation and execution of nationwide direct marketing efforts on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, as well as the effective management of rapid corporate growth. He has strategic and tactical experience in brand extensions, data aggregation, direct marketing, packaging and promotion, telecommunications and many other consumer-focused marketing services businesses. Mr. Byron received a B.A. from Emory University.
Lowell D. Kraff has served as our president and a member of our board of directors since our inception. Mr. Kraff has spent his career in the private equity, merchant banking and investment banking fields. He has been a principal equity investor for over 13 years participating in leveraged buyouts, growth equity, and early stage venture capital transactions. Mr. Kraff co-founded Trivergance, LLC in June 2006, and has served as a managing member since its formation. Trivergance acted as a strategic and financial advisor in the $750 million transaction in which Sunterra Corporation went private. From July 2001 to June 2006, Mr. Kraff was a founding principal of Connecting Capital & Partners, LLC, a merchant banking company organized to make principal investments in alternative assets and provide limited strategic investment banking advice. During that time period, Connecting Capital & Partners participated in and provided strategic investment banking advice for transactions aggregating approximately $2.5 billion, including the acquisition of Creekstone Farms Premium Beef by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners in March 2005, the acquisition of the Marketing Service Division of Cendant Corporation by an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P. in October 2005 and the acquisition of SourceCorp Inc. by an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P. in July 2006. From June 1996 to July 2001, Mr. Kraff was founding principal of Vision Capital Partners, an early stage venture capital/private equity business. At Vision Capital, Mr. Kraff and his partners sourced proprietary deals and invested in several early stage and growth capital opportunities. He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of Smart Pack Solutions, LLC, an internet-based retail sales firm. Mr. Kraff received a B.S. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
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David Palmer has served as our vice president since our inception. Mr. Palmer has served as a managing director at Trivergance since its formation in June 2006. Mr. Palmer has also been a member of the board of directors and executive vice president of finance of Sunterra Corporation, one of the largest global vacation ownership companies with 99 resorts in 13 countries, since April 2007. From September 2002 to December 2006, he served as a partner of Onyx Capital Ventures, LLC, a private equity firm that specializes in investing in minority business enterprises. From 1996 to 2002, he was a principal of Vision Capital Partners, LLC, and was a founder of Velocity Capital, LLC, both merchant banking partnerships focused on early stage venture capital and private equity investments. From 1989 to 1999, Mr. Palmer served as vice president of corporate development for Farley Industries, Inc., a diversified holding company with interests in the automotive, industrial and apparel industries. He recently completed his service as Chairman of the board of directors of CiDRA Corporation. Mr. Palmer received an A.B. in physical chemistry from Hamilton College and an M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Jerry Stone has served as our vice president since our inception. Mr. Stone is a highly seasoned senior operating executive with a deep and diverse 25 year background in advertising, direct marketing and business operations. Since its inception in June 2006, Mr. Stone has also served as a managing director of Trivergance. From June 1998 to April 2002, Mr. Stone served as chief information officer and president of Intergies, the Internet Division of Paradigm Direct. He also oversaw the design and implementation of the entire IT infrastructure, including all marketing, sales and fulfillment tracking. From May 2002 to November 2003, Mr. Stone served as managing director of Mosaic Group UK where he was involved in the roll-up of 5 separate marketing entities with over 1,200 employees. From 1985 to 1991, Mr. Stone was partner and creative director of Christopher Stone Advertising, SFS Advertising and Downey Stone, advertising agencies that Mr. Stone formed.
Brian B. Boorstein has served as a member of our board of directors since our inception. Since May 2005, Mr. Boorstein has served as the managing partner of Granite Creek Partners, L.L.C. (formerly Gordian Investment Partners, LLC), a private equity investment fund that Mr. Boorstein co-founded that makes equity and debt investments in middle-market companies. From June 2003 to May 2005, Mr. Boorstein served as a principal of Montana Street Holdings, L.L.C., a private holding company formed to invest in leveraged buyouts and growth equity investments in industrial and business services companies and to actively participate in the operations of such investments. From July 2001 to June 2003, Mr. Boorstein served as managing member of Connecting Capital & Partners, L.L.C., a merchant banking company organized to make principal investments in alternative assets and provide limited strategic investment banking advice. In January 1995, Mr. Boorstein founded Dakota Capital Partners, L.L.C., a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyouts and growth equity investments in the industrial and business service industries, and acted as its principal until July 2001. From 1988 to 1995, Mr. Boorstein served as a principal of Heller Equity Capital Corporation, a subsidiary of Heller Financial, Inc. As a founding member of this Small Business Investment Company, he was responsible for overseeing the entire portfolio of investments. Prior to this, he was an investment banking associate with Merrill Lynch Capital Markets from 1987 to 1988, an associate with Golder, Thoma & Cressey from 1986 to 1987 and a consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co. from 1982 to 1985. Mr. Boorstein received a B.S. from Stanford University and a M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business of the University of Chicago.
Stuart I. Oran has been a member of our board of directors since our inception. Since April 2002, Mr. Oran has been the founder and managing member of Roxbury Capital Group LLC, a merchant banking firm engaged in advisory and private equity investment activities relating to acquisitions, capital formation, corporate restructurings and oversight of portfolio companies. In addition, Mr. Oran has served as an operating advisor to Pegasus Investors, a consultant to Perry Capital, a member of the Board of Advisors of Oaktree Capital Principal Opportunities Funds, and an advisor to and director of Spirit Airlines. From July 1994 to March 2002, Mr. Oran held a number of senior executive positions at UAL Corporation and its operating subsidiary, United Airlines, including executive vice president–corporate affairs, senior vice president–international (responsibility for all of United’s business and operations outside the United States and Canada), and president and chief executive officer of Avolar, a UAL-owned brand and service driven “ultra-luxury” business aviation business, for which he led the conceptualization, development and operation. On December 9, 2002, UAL Corporation and its subsidiaries, including United Airlines, filed a voluntary petition under
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Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Prior to joining UAL and United, Mr. Oran was a corporate partner at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP from 1974 to 1994, where he specialized in private equity transactions. Mr. Oran is a member of the board of directors of Wendy’s International, Inc. (NYSE:WEN), the fast food chain operating, developing and franchising a system of distinctive quick-service restaurants serving high quality food. Mr. Oran received a B.S. from Cornell University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.
David Moore has been a member of our board of directors since our inception. Mr. Moore is an experienced senior operating executive and transactional entrepreneur with a strong background in direct marketing and service businesses. He has been the chairman of Moore Holdings, LLC, a holding company he founded which owns six businesses and has over 200 employees, since January 2005. He has also been chairman of Garden State Brickface, one of the largest remodeling firms in the United States, since 1992. From June 2005 to November 2006 he served as chief executive officer of Register.com (NASDAQ: RCOM), a business services company with 500 employees and one million small business customers. From 1997 to June 2005, he was also chairman of Sonostar Ventures, LLC, a private equity/venture capital firm he co-founded. From November 2001 to January 2004, he was on the board of Marquis Jet, Inc., serving as its vice chairman during 2003 and 2004. He is the president of the City Parks Foundation (managing programs for 600,000 New Yorkers in over 700 parks throughout New York City), and serves on the boards of Young Presidents' Organization, Central Synagogue and the Eldridge Street Project. He is also the co-chair of Amherst College's Annual Fund. Mr. Moore received a BA in Economics, magna cum laude, from Amherst College and an MBA from Harvard University.
Our board of directors is currently divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of David Moore, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Stuart I. Oran and Brian B. Boorstein, will expire at the second annual meeting. The term of the third class of directors, consisting of Marc V. Byron and Lowell D. Kraff, will expire at the third annual meeting. Upon consummation of a business combination, this classified board feature will terminate and we will then have only one class of directors, with each director elected annually.
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 Trivergance, LLC, an affiliate of each of Messrs. Byron, Kraff, Palmer and Stone, a fee of $7,500 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 Messrs. Byron, Kraff Palmer or Stone compensation in lieu of a salary. Other than the $7,500 per month administrative fee, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, including our directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination. However, such individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of these out-of-pocket expenses and there will be no review of the reasonableness of the expenses by anyone other than our board of directors, which includes persons who may seek reimbursement, or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged. Because of the foregoing, we will generally not have the benefit of independent directors examining the propriety of expenses incurred on our behalf and subject to reimbursement.
Director Independence
The American Stock Exchange requires that a majority of our board must be composed of “independent directors,” 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.
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Upon consummation of this offering, Brian B. Boorstein, Stuart I. Oran and David Moore will be our independent directors, constituting a majority of our board. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Any affiliated transactions will be on terms no less favorable to us than could be obtained from independent parties. Any affiliated transactions must be approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors.
Audit Committee
Effective upon consummation of this offering, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors, which will consist of David Moore, as chairman, Brian B. Boorstein and Stuart I. Oran, each of whom is an independent director under the American Stock Exchange’s listing standards. 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; |
| • | 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; and |
| • | 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. |
Financial Experts on Audit Committee
The audit committee will at all times be composed exclusively of “independent directors” who are “financially literate” as defined under the American Stock Exchange listing standards. The American Stock Exchange 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 the American Stock Exchange 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 David Moore satisfies the American Stock Exchange’s definition of financial sophistication and also qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under rules and regulations of the SEC.
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Nominating Committee
Effective upon consummation of this offering, we will establish a nominating committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Brian B. Boorstein, as chairman, and David Moore, each of whom is an independent director under the American Stock Exchange’s listing standards. 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 the Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
| • | 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 the stockholders. |
The Nominating Committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and 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. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.
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.
Conflicts of Interest
Potential 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. |
| • | 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 management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | Our officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with entities, including other blank check companies, engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by our company. |
| • | The initial shares owned by our officers and directors will be released from escrow only if a business combination is successfully completed, and our officers and directors may own warrants, including the insider warrants, which will expire worthless if a business combination is not consummated. Additionally, our directors will not receive liquidation distributions with respect to any of their initial shares. Furthermore, the purchaser of the insider warrants has agreed that such securities will not be sold or transferred by it until after we have completed a business combination. For the foregoing reasons, our board may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate to effect a business combination with. |
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| • | Our directors and officers may purchase shares of common stock as part of this offering or in the open market. If they did, they would be entitled to vote such shares as they choose on a proposal to approve a business combination. |
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| • | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
| • | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| • | it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
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. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In order to minimize potential conflicts of interest which may arise from multiple corporate affiliations, each of our officers has agreed, until the earliest of a business combination, our liquidation or such time as he or she ceases to be an officer, to present to our company for our consideration, prior to presentation to any other entity, any business opportunity which may reasonably be required to be presented to us under Delaware law, subject to any pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations he might have.
In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stockholders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective initial shares in accordance with the vote of the public stockholders owning a majority of the shares of our common stock sold in this offering. In addition, they have agreed to waive their respective rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares. Any common stock acquired by existing stockholders in the offering or aftermarket will be considered part of the holdings of the public stockholders. Except with respect to the conversion rights afforded to public stockholders, these existing stockholders will have the same rights as other public stockholders with respect to such shares, including voting rights in connection with a potential business combination. Accordingly, they may vote such shares on a proposed business combination any way they choose.
To further minimize potential conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate a business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our existing stockholders unless we obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated stockholders from a financial point of view. We currently do not anticipate entering into a business combination with an entity affiliated with any of our existing stockholders. Furthermore, in no event will any of our existing officers, directors, stockholders or advisors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination.
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PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of August 28, 2007 and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus (assuming none of the individuals or entities listed below purchase units offered by this prospectus), by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
| • | each of our officers and directors; and |
| • | all 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 shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
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| Prior to Offering | After Offering(2) | |||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
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| Marc V. Byron | 1,488,700 | (3) | 34.5 | % | 1,294,522 | 6.9 | % | |||||||||
| Lowell D. Kraff | 1,488,700 | (4) | 34.5 | % | 1,294,522 | 6.9 | % | |||||||||
| David Moore | 349,916 | (5) | 8.1 | % | 304,275 | 1.6 | % | |||||||||
| David Palmer | 257,175 | 6.0 | % | 223,630 | 1.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Jerry Stone | 257,175 | (6) | 6.0 | % | 223,630 | 1.2 | % | |||||||||
| Brian B. Boorstein | 92,500 | (7) | 2.1 | % | 80,435 | * | ||||||||||
| Stuart I. Oran | 63,750 | (8) | 1.5 | % | 55,435 | * | ||||||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (seven individuals) | 3,997,916 | (9) | 92.7 | % | 3,476,449 | 18.5 | % | |||||||||
| * | Less than 1%. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is 2200 Fletcher Avenue, 4th floor, Fort Lee, New Jersey 07024. |
| (2) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock have been forfeited by our initial stockholders as a result thereof |
| (3) | Represents shares held by Byron Business Ventures XX, LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Byron. Does not include 1,080,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Byron that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
| (4) | Represents shares held by Praesumo Partners, LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Kraff. Does not include 1,080,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Kraff that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
| (5) | Represents shares held by Moore Holdings, LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Moore. Does not include 360,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Moore that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
| (6) | Represents shares held by Vinco Vincere Vici Victum LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Stone. Does not include 54,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Stone that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
| (7) | Represents shares held by Granite Creek Partners, L.L.C., an entity controlled by Mr. Boorstein. Does not include 108,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Boorstein that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
| (8) | Represents shares held by Roxbury Capital Group LLC Incentive Savings Plan, of which Mr. Oran is sole trustee and beneficiary. Does not include 54,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants held by Mr. Oran that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
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| (9) | Does not include 2,736,000 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of insider warrants that are not currently exercisable and will not become exercisable within 60 days. |
Immediately after this offering, our existing stockholders, which include all of our officers and directors, collectively, will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming none of them purchase any units offered by this prospectus). None of our existing stockholders, officers and directors has indicated to us any intent to purchase our securities in the offering. Because of the ownership block held by our existing stockholders, such individuals may be able to effectively exercise control over all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of a business combination.
If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of the over-allotment option, our initial stockholders will be required to forfeit up to an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock. Our initial stockholders will be required to forfeit only a number of shares necessary to maintain their collective 20% ownership interest in our common stock after giving effect to the offering and the exercise, if any, of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
All of the initial shares outstanding prior to the date of this prospectus will be placed in escrow with Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as escrow agent, until the earliest of:
| • | one year after our consummation of a business combination; |
| • | the last sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $16.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period; or |
| • | we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. |
During the escrow period, the holders of these securities will not be able to sell or transfer their securities except (i) to an entity’s members upon its liquidation, (ii) to relatives and trusts for estate planning purposes or (iii) by private sales made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares were originally purchased, in each case where the transferee agrees to the terms of the escrow agreement, but will retain all other rights as our stockholders, including, without limitation, the right to vote their shares of common stock and the right to receive cash dividends, if declared. If dividends are declared and payable in shares of common stock, such dividends will also be placed in escrow. If we are unable to effect a business combination and liquidate, none of our existing stockholders will receive any portion of the liquidation proceeds with respect to their initial shares.
Our initial stockholders have committed to purchase the insider warrants (for a total purchase price of $3,240,000) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The insider warrants will be identical to the warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus except that if we call the warrants for redemption, the insider warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by the purchasers or their affiliates. The purchasers have agreed that the insider warrants will not be sold or transferred by it until 30 days after we have completed a business combination. Accordingly, the insider warrants will be placed in escrow and will not be released until 30 days after the completion of a business combination.
Marc V. Byron and Lowell D. Kraff are our “promoters” as that term is defined under the Federal securities laws.
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CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
In June 2007, we issued 4,312,500 shares of our common stock to the individuals set forth below for an aggregate of $25,000 in cash, for a purchase price of approximately $0.006 per share, as follows:
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| Name | Number of Shares |
Relationship to Us | ||||||
| Byron Business Ventures XX, LLC(1) | 1,488,700 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Praesumo Partners, LLC(2) | 1,488,700 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Moore Holdings, LLC(3) | 349,916 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Vinco Vincere Vici Victum LLC(4) | 257,175 | Stockholder | ||||||
| David Palmer | 257,175 | Vice President | ||||||
| Meritage Farms LLC | 194,792 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Cloobeck Companies, LLC | 119,792 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Granite Creek Partners, L.L.C.(5) | 92,500 | Stockholder | ||||||
| Roxbury Capital Group LLC Incentive Savings Plan(6) | 63,750 | Stockholder | ||||||
| (1) | This entity is controlled by Marc V. Byron, our chairman of the board and chief executive officer. |
| (2) | This entity is controlled by Lowell D. Kraff, our president and a director of ours. |
| (3) | This entity is controlled by David Moore, a director of ours. |
| (4) | This entity is controlled by Jerry Stone, a vice president of ours. |
| (5) | This entity is controlled by Brian B. Boorstein, a director of ours. |
| (6) | Stuart I. Oran, a director of ours, is sole trustee and beneficiary of this entity. |
If the underwriters determine to not exercise their over-allotment option in full, our initial stockholders have agreed to forfeit an aggregate of 562,500 shares of common stock. If such shares are forfeited, we would record the aggregate fair value of the shares forfeited and reacquired to treasury stock and a corresponding credit to additional paid-in capital based on the difference between the fair market value of the shares of common stock forfeited and the price paid to us for such forfeited shares (which would be an aggregate total of approximately $3,000 for all 562,500 shares). Upon receipt, such forfeited shares would then be immediately cancelled which would result in the retirement of the treasury stock and a corresponding charge to additional paid-in capital.
If the underwriters determine the size of the offering should be increased or decreased, a stock dividend or a contribution back to capital, as applicable, would be effectuated in order to maintain our initial stock-
holders’ ownership at a percentage of the total number of shares outstanding after this offering not to exceed 20%. Such an increase in offering size could also result in a proportionate increase in the amount of interest we may withdraw from the trust account. As a result of an increase in the size of the offering, the per-share conversion or liquidation price could decrease by as much as $0.03.
The holders of the majority of these shares will be entitled to make up to two demands that we register these shares pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the date of this prospectus. The holders of the majority of these shares may elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which these shares of common stock are released from escrow. In addition, these stockholders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the date on which these shares of common stock are released from escrow. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Our initial stockholders have committed, pursuant to written subscription agreements with us and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., to purchase the insider warrants (for a total purchase price of $3,240,000) from us. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The purchase price for the insider warrants will be delivered to Graubard Miller, our counsel in connection with this offering, who will also be acting solely as escrow agent in connection with the private sale of insider warrants, at least 24 hours prior to the date of this prospectus to hold in a non-interest bearing account until we consummate this offering. Graubard Miller will deposit the purchase price into the trust fund
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simultaneously with the consummation of the offering. The insider warrants will be identical to the warrants underlying the units being offered by this prospectus except that if we call the warrants for redemption, the insider warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as such warrants are held by the purchasers or their affiliates. The purchasers have agreed that the insider warrants will not be sold or transferred by them until 30 days after we have completed a business combination. Accordingly, the insider warrants will be placed in escrow and will not be released until 30 days after the completion of a business combination. The holders of the majority of these insider warrants (or underlying shares) will be entitled to demand that we register these securities pursuant to an agreement to be signed prior to or on the date of this prospectus. The holders of the majority of these securities may elect to exercise these registration rights at any time after we consummate a business combination. In addition, these holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to such date. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Trivergance, LLC, an affiliate of Messrs. Byron, Kraff, Palmer and Stone, has agreed that, commencing on the effective date of this prospectus through the acquisition of a target business, it will make available to us a small amount of office space and certain office and secretarial services, as we may require from time to time. We have agreed to pay Trivergance, LLC $7,500 per month for these services. Messrs. Byron, Kraff, Palmer and Stone are the partner, partner, managing director and managing director of Trivergance, LLC and, as a result, will benefit from the transaction to the extent of their interest in Trivergance, LLC. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide Messrs. Byron, Kraff, Palmer or Stone compensation in lieu of a salary. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the New Jersey metropolitan area, that the fee charged by Trivergance, LLC is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person.
As of the date of this prospectus, Trivergance, LLC has each advanced to us an aggregate of $100,000 to cover expenses related to this offering. The loan will be payable without interest on the earlier of July 12, 2008 or the consummation of this offering. We intend to repay this loan from the proceeds of this offering not being placed in trust.
We will reimburse our officers and directors for any reasonable out-of-pocket business expenses incurred by them in connection with certain activities on our behalf such as identifying and investigating possible target businesses and business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us, which will be reviewed only by our board or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged.
Other than the $7,500 per-month administrative fee and any reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses payable to our officers and directors, no compensation or fees of any kind, including finder’s fees, consulting fees or other similar compensation, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers or directors who owned our common stock prior to this offering, or to any of their respective affiliates, prior to or with respect to the business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates, including loans by our officers and directors, will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions or loans, including any forgiveness of loans, will require prior approval by 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 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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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
General
We are authorized to issue 55,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $.0001, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $.0001. As of the date of this prospectus, 4,312,500 shares of common stock are outstanding, held by nine stockholders of record. No shares of preferred stock are currently outstanding.
Units
Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one warrant. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock. The common stock and warrants will begin to trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular), provided that in no event may the common stock 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 promptly upon the consummation of this offering. The audited balance sheet will reflect proceeds we receive from the exercise of the over-allotment option, if the over-allotment option is exercised prior to the filing of the Form 8-K. If the over-allotment option is exercised after our initial filing of a Form 8-K, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, an amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K information indicating if Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. has allowed separate trading of the common stock and warrants prior to the 90th day after the date of this prospectus.
Common Stock
Our stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. In connection with the vote required for any business combination, all of our existing stock-
holders, including all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective shares of common stock owned by them immediately prior to this offering in accordance with the majority of the shares of our common stock voted by our public stockholders. This voting arrangement shall not apply to shares included in units purchased in this offering or purchased following this offering in the open market by any of our existing
stockholders, officers and directors. Additionally, our existing stockholders, officers and directors will vote all of their shares in any manner they determine, in their sole discretion, with respect to any other items that come before a vote of our stockholders.
We will proceed with the business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted by the public stockholders are voted in favor of the business combination and public stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in this offering both exercise their conversion rights discussed below and vote against the business combination.
Our board of directors is currently 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 eligible to vote for the election of directors can elect all of the directors.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we do not consummate a business combination by , 2009 [24 months from the date of this prospectus], our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating. If we are forced to liquidate prior to a business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to share ratably in the trust fund, including any interest other than that which was previously released to us to fund working capital requirements, and any net assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment
of liabilities. Our existing stockholders have waived their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution with respect to their initial shares.
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Our stockholders have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the common stock, except that public stockholders have the right to have their shares of common stock converted to cash equal to their pro rata share of the trust account if they vote against the business combination and the business combination is approved and completed. Public stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust account still have the right to exercise the warrants that they received as part of the units.
Preferred Stock
As of the consummation of this offering, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of 1,000,000 shares of blank check preferred stock with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights, which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of common stock. However, the underwriting agreement prohibits us, prior to a business combination, from issuing preferred stock which participates in any manner in the proceeds of the trust account, or which votes as a class with the common stock on a business combination. We may issue some or all of the preferred stock to effect a business combination. In addition, the preferred stock 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 shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Warrants
No warrants are currently outstanding. Each warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our common stock at a price of $7.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of:
| • | the completion of a business combination; and |
| • | one year from the date of this prospectus. |
However, the warrants will be exercisable only if a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and current. The warrants will expire four years from the date of this prospectus at 5:00 p.m., New York City time.
We may call the warrants for redemption (including the insider warrants),
| • | in whole and not in part, |
| • | at a price of $.01 per warrant at any time while the warrants are exercisable (which will occur only if a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and current), |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, and |
| • | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the common stock equals or exceeds $14.25 per share, for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders. |
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless they are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then prevailing common stock price and the warrant exercise price so that if the stock price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the stock price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.
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If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, we have agreed to allow our initial stockholders and their affiliates to exercise the insider warrants on a “cashless basis.” If the holders take advantage of this option, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their insider warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the insider 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 common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to holders of warrants. The reason that we have agreed that the insider warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the purchasers or their affiliates is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they are, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. If they remain insiders, we will have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the shares of common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of common stock 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 common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless at the time a holder seeks to exercise such warrant, a prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current and the common stock has 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 common stock 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 and, if we do not maintain a current prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will be unable to exercise their warrants and we will not be required to settle any such warrant exercise. If the prospectus relating to the common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is not current or if the common stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, we will not be required to net cash settle or cash settle the warrant exercise, the warrants may have no value, the market for the warrants may be limited and the warrants may expire worthless.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
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Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a 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 Stock Transfer & Trust Company, New York, New York.
American Stock Exchange Listing
There is presently no public market for our units, common stock or warrants. We anticipate that the units will be listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol .U on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we anticipate that the common stock and warrants will be listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbols and .WS, respectively.
Shares Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering, we will have 18,750,000 shares of common stock outstanding, or 21,562,500 shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares, the 15,000,000 shares sold in this offering, or 17,250,000 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. None of those shares would be eligible for sale under Rule 144 prior to June 18, 2008. However, as described below, the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken the position that these securities would not be eligible for transfer under Rule 144. Furthermore, all of the initial shares have been placed in escrow and will not be transferable for a period of one year following our consummation of a business combination and will be released prior to that date only upon a subsequent transaction resulting in our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash or other securities.
Rule 144
In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock for at least one year 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:
| • | 1% of the number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 182,500 shares immediately after this offering (or 215,625 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full); and |
| • | the average weekly trading volume of the common stock 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.
Rule 144(k)
Under Rule 144(k), a person who 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 who has beneficially owned the restricted shares proposed to be sold for at least two years, including the holding period of any prior owner other than an affiliate, is entitled to sell their shares without complying with the manner of sale, public information, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144.
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SEC Position on Rule 144 Sales
The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken the position that promoters or affiliates of a blank check company and their transferees, both before and after a business combination act as “underwriters” under the Securities Act when reselling the securities of a blank check company acquired prior to the consummation of its initial public offering. Accordingly, the Securities and Exchange Commission believes that those securities can be resold only through a registered offering and that Rule 144 would not be available for those resale transactions despite technical compliance with the requirements of Rule 144. The Securities and Exchange Commission has recently proposed amendments to Rule 144 that would make Rule 144 available to promoters or affiliates of blank check companies and their transferees 90 days after the consummation of a business combination by the blank check company. We cannot assure you, however, that these amendments will be adopted.
Registration Rights
The holders of our initial shares issued and outstanding on the date of this prospectus, as well as the holders of the insider warrants (and underlying securities), 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 the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to two demands that we register such securities. The holders of the majority of the initial shares can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three months prior to the date on which these shares of common stock are to be released from escrow. The holders of a majority of the insider warrants (or underlying securities) can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time after we consummate a business combination. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our consummation of a business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
UNDERWRITING
In accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to each of the underwriters named below, and each of the underwriters, for which Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. is acting as representative, has individually agreed to purchase on a firm commitment basis the number of units set forth opposite their respective name below:
|
|
|||
| Underwriters | Number of Units |
|||
| Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. | ||||
| Total | 15,000,000 | |||
A copy of the underwriting agreement has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
Pricing of Securities
We have been advised by the representative that the underwriters propose to offer the units to the public at the offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. They may allow some dealers concessions not in excess of $ per unit and the dealers may reallow a concession not in excess of $ per unit to other dealers.
63
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between the representative of the underwriters and us. Factors considered in determining the prices and terms of the units, including the common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| • | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| • | prior offerings of those companies; |
| • | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| • | our capital structure; |
| • | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| • | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of the offering; and |
| • | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
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 operating results and are not limited to operate in any specific industry.
Over-Allotment Option
We have granted to the representative of the underwriters an option, exercisable during the 45-day period commencing on the date of this prospectus, to purchase from us at the offering price, less underwriting discounts, up to an aggregate of 2,250,000 additional units for the sole purpose of covering over-allotments, if any. The over-allotment option will only be used to cover the net syndicate short position resulting from the initial distribution. The representative of the underwriters may exercise the over-allotment option if it sells more units than the total number set forth above.
Commissions and Discounts
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount to be paid by us to the underwriters and the proceeds, before expenses, to us. This information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the representative of the underwriters of its over-allotment option.
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|||||||||
| Per Unit | No Exercise | Full Exercise | ||||||||||
| Public offering price | $ | 10.00 | $ | 150,000,000 | $ | 172,500,000 | ||||||
| Discount(1) | $ | 0.70 | $ | 10,500,000 | $ | 12,075,000 | ||||||
| Proceeds before expenses(2) | $ | 9.30 | $ | 139,500,000 | $ | 160,425,000 | ||||||
| (1) | 3% of the underwriting discounts will not be payable unless and until we complete a business combination. The underwriters have waived their right to receive such payment upon our liquidation if we are unable to complete a business combination. |
| (2) | The offering expenses are estimated at $650,000. |
No discounts or commissions will be paid on the sale of the insider warrants.
Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities
Rules of the SEC may limit the ability of the underwriter to bid for or purchase our units before the distribution of the units is completed. The distribution of the units in this offering will be completed once all the units have been sold, all stabilizing transactions have been completed and all penalty bids have either been reclaimed or withdrawn. However, the underwriters may engage in the following activities in accordance with the rules:
| • | Stabilizing Transactions. The underwriters may make bids or purchases for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the price of our units, as long as stabilizing bids do not exceed the offering price of $10.00. |
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| • | Over-Allotments and Syndicate Coverage Transactions. The underwriters may create a short position in our units by selling more of our units than are set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. If the underwriters create a short position during the offering, the underwriters may engage in syndicate covering transactions by purchasing our units in the open market. The representative may also elect to reduce any short position by exercising all or part of the over-allotment option. |
| • | Penalty Bids. The representative may reclaim a selling concession from a selected dealer when the units originally sold by the selected dealer is purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover short positions. |
Stabilization and covering transactions may cause the price of our securities to be higher than it would be in the absence of these transactions. The imposition of a penalty bid might also have an effect on the prices of our securities if it discourages resales of our securities.
Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our securities. These transactions may occur on the American Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or on any trading market. If any of these transactions are commenced, they may be discontinued without notice at any time.
Other Terms
Although 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, any of the underwriters may, among other things, introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital, as needs may arise 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 which is 90 days after the date of this prospectus, unless the National Association of Securities Dealers determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering.
Indemnification
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against some liabilities, including civil liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in this respect.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the securities offered in this prospectus is being passed upon for us by Graubard Miller, New York, New York. Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky, LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel for the underwriters in this offering.
EXPERTS
The financial statements included in this prospectus and in the registration statement have been audited by Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as of August 14, 2007 and for the period from June 18, 2007 (date of inception) through August 14, 2007 as set forth in their report appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and in the registration statement. The financial statements are included in reliance upon their report given upon the authority of Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP as experts in auditing and accounting.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1, which includes exhibits, schedules and amendments, under the Securities Act, with respect to this offering of our securities. Although this prospectus, which forms a part of the registration statement, contains all material information included in the registration statement, parts of the registration statement have been omitted as permitted by rules and regulations of the SEC. We refer you to the registration statement and its exhibits for further information about us, our securities and this offering. The registration statement and its exhibits, as well as our other reports filed with the SEC, can be inspected and copied at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information about the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains a web site at http://www.sec.gov, which contains the Form S-1 and other reports, proxy and information statements and information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
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POLARIS ACQUISITIONS CORP
(A Corporation in the Development Stage)
INDEX
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders
Polaris Acquisition Corp.
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Polaris Acquisition Corp. (a corporation in the development stage) as of August 14, 2007, and the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from June 18, 2007 (inception) to August 14, 2007. 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. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes 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 Polaris Acquisition Corp. as of August 14, 2007, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from June 18, 2007 (inception) to August 14, 2007 in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles.
/s/ Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP
Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP
New York, New York
August 28, 2007
F-2
POLARIS ACQUISITIONS CORP
(A Corporation in the Development Stage)
BALANCE SHEET
August 14, 2007
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|||
| ASSETS |
||||
| Current Asset – Cash | $ | 88,012 | ||
| Deferred Offering Costs | 50,000 | |||
| Total Assets | $ | 138,012 | ||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY |
||||
| Current Liabilities: |
||||
| Accrued Offering Costs | $ | 1,000 | ||
| Due to Affiliate | 12,863 | |||
| Note Payable To Affiliate | 100,000 | |||
| Total Current Liabilities | 113,863 | |||
| Commitments |
||||
| Stockholders' Equity |
||||
| Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
— | |||
| Common Stock, $0.0001 par value, 55,000,000 shares authorized; 4,312,500 shares issued and outstanding | 431 | |||
| Additional Paid-In Capital | 24,569 | |||
| Deficit Accumulated During The Development Stage | (851 | ) | ||
| Total Stockholders' Equity | 24,149 | |||
| Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | $ | 138,012 | ||
See Notes To Financial Statements.
F-3
POLARIS ACQUISITIONS CORP
(A Corporation in the Development Stage)
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the Period from June 18, 2007 (Inception) to August 14, 2007
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|
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| Formation Costs | $ | 1,000 | ||
| Interest Income | 149 | |||
| Net Loss | $ | (851 | ) | |
| Basic And Diluted Net Loss Per Share | $ | — | ||
| Weighted Average Shares Outstanding – Basic and Diluted | 4,312,500 | |||
See Notes To Financial Statements.
F-4
POLARIS ACQUISITIONS CORP.
(A Corporation in the Development Stage)
STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the Period from June 18, 2007 (Inception) to August 14, 2007
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| Common Stock (Par Value) |
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Deficit Accumulated During The Development Stage |
Stockholders’ Equity |
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| Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Common Stock on June 18, 2007 at $0.006 per share |
4,312,500 | $ | 431 | $ | 24,569 | $ | — | $ | 25,000 | |||||||||||
| Net Loss | — | — | — | (851 | ) | (851 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Balances At August 14, 2007 | 4,312,500 | $ | 431 | $ | 24,569 | $ | (851 | ) | $ | 24,149 | ||||||||||
See Notes To Financial Statements.
F-5
POLARIS ACQUISITIONS CORP
(A Corporation in the Development Stage)
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the Period from June 18, 2007 (Inception) to August 14, 2007
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| Cash Flows From Operating Activities: |
||||
| Net Loss | $ | (851 | ) | |
| Net Cash Used By Operating Activities | (851 | ) | ||
| Cash Flows From Financing Activities: |
||||
| Proceeds From Note Payable To Affiliate | 100,000 | |||
| Proceeds From Due To Affiliate | 12,863 | |||
| Proceeds From Sale of Stock | 25,000 | |||
| Deferred Offering Costs Paid | (49,000 | ) | ||
| Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities | 88,863 | |||
| Net Increase In Cash | 88,012 | |||
| Cash At Beginning Of Period | — | |||
| Cash At End Of Period | $ | 88,012 | ||
| Supplemental Schedule Of Non-Cash Financing Activities: |
||||
| Accrual Of Deferred Offering Costs | $ | 1,000 | ||
See Notes To Financial Statements.
F-6
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
(A Corporation In The Development Stage)
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Nature of Business Operations
Polaris Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated on June 18, 2007 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, stock purchase, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with one or more existing operating businesses.
At August 14, 2007, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through August 14, 2007 relates to the Company’s formation and of the proposed public offering 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 public offering (“Proposed Offering”) which is discussed in Note 3. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of this Proposed Offering, although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Proposed Offering are intended to be applied toward effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, stock purchase, asset acquisitions or other similar business combination. As used herein, a “Business Combination” shall mean the acquisition of one or more businesses that at the time of the Company’s initial business combination has a fair market value of at least 80.0% of the Company’s assets held in the trust account excluding the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions from the proposed offering of $4.5 million ($5.175 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) and taxes payable.
Upon closing of the Proposed Offering, approximately 98% of the proceeds approximately ($146.6 million, or approximately $168.2 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) of this offering will be placed in a trust account invested until the earlier of (i) the consummation of the Company’s first Business Combination or (ii) the liquidation of the Company. The proceeds in the trust account include the deferred underwriting discount of $4.5 million ($5.175 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) that will be released to the underwriters on completion of a Business Combination Interest (net of taxes) earned on assets held in the trust account will remain in the trust account. However, up to $1.8 million of the interest earned on the trust account may be released to the Company to cover a portion of the Company’s operating expenses, as well as any amounts necessary to pay for the Company’s tax obligations.
The Company will seek stockholder approval before it will effect any Business Combination. “Public Stockholders” is defined as the holders of common stock sold as part of the units in the Proposed Offering or in the aftermarket. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if a majority of the shares of the Stockholders owning less than 30% of the shares sold in the Public Offering vote against the Business Combination and exercise their right to convert their shares into a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account and a majority of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock vote in favor of an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to provide for its perpetual existence.
Public Stockholders voting against a Business Combination will be entitled to convert their stock into a pro rata share of the total amount on deposit in the trust account including the deferred underwriter’s discount, and including any interest earned on their portion of the trust account, net of up to $1.8 million of the interest earned on the trust account which may be released to the Company to cover a portion of the Company’s operating expenses and income taxes payable thereon if a Business Combination is approved and completed. Public Stockholders who convert their stock into their share of the trust account will continue to have the right to exercise any warrants they may hold.
F-7
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
(A Corporation In The Development Stage)
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash includes currency on hand and demand deposits with banks or other financial institutions, as well as deposits in transit. Cash equivalents represent short-term, highly liquid investments that are (a) readily convertible to known amounts of cash and (b) so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates.
Loss Per Common Share
Loss per share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which at times exceeds the Federal depository insurance coverage of $100,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America 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 expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Income Taxes
Deferred income taxes are provided for the differences between the bases of assets and liabilities for financial reporting and income tax purposes. A valuation allowance is established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. The Company has recorded a deferred tax asset for the tax effect of temporary differences of $289. In recognition of the uncertainty regarding the ultimate amount of income tax benefits to be derived, the Company has recorded a full valuation allowance at August 14, 2007. The effective tax rate differs from the statutory rate of 34% due to the increase in the valuation allowance.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the Proposed Offering that will be charged to capital upon completion of the Proposed Offering or charged to expense if the Proposed Offering is not completed as follows; legal and professional fees of $12,500 and underwriting fees of $37,500.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
The Company does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
F-8
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
(A Corporation In The Development Stage)
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
The Proposed Offering calls for the Company to offer for public sale 15,000,000 units (“Units”) at a price of $10.00 per unit. Each Unit consists of one share of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase from the Company one share of common stock at an exercise price of $7.50, commencing the later of the completion of a Business Combination or one year from the date of this prospectus and expiring four years from the date of this prospectus, unless earlier redeemed. The warrants will be redeemable at the Company’s option, at a price of $0.01 per warrant upon 30 days written notice after the warrants become exercisable, only in the event that the last sale price of the common stock is at least $11.50 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 notice of redemption is given. In accordance with the warrant agreement relating to the warrants to be sold and issued in the Proposed Offering, the Company is only required to use its best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement covering the warrants. The Company will not be obligated to deliver securities, and there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities, if a registration statement is not effective at the time of exercise. Additionally, in the event that a registration is not effective at the time of exercise, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and in no event (whether in the case of a registration statement not being effective or otherwise) will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrant exercise. Consequently, the warrants may expire unexercised and unredeemed.
The Company will pay the underwriters in the Proposed Offering an underwriting discount of 7% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Offering. However, the underwriters have agreed that 3% of the underwriting discounts will not be payable unless and until the Company completes a Business Combination and have waived their right to receive such payment upon the Company’s liquidation if it is unable to complete a Business Combination.
Note 4 — Note Payable to Affiliate and Related Party Transactions
The Company issued an aggregate $100,000 unsecured promissory note to an affiliated company on July 12, 2007. The note is non-interest bearing and is payable on the earlier of the consummation of the offering by the Company or July 12, 2008.
An affiliated company advanced $12,863. No formal repayment arrangement is in place and no interest is due on the advance.
The Company has entered into an administrative service agreement with an affiliated company as more fully described in Note 5 below.
Note 5 — Commitments
The Company has agreed to pay up to $7,500 a month in total for office space and general and administrative services to an affiliated company. Services will commence on the effective date of the offering and will terminate upon the earlier of (i) the completion of the Business Combination, or (ii) the Company’s liquidation.
Certain initial stockholders have agreed to acquire warrants to purchase 3,240,000 shares of common stock from the Company at a price of $1.00 per warrant for a total of $3,240,000 in a private placement prior to the completion of this offering. The initial stockholders have further agreed that they will not sell or transfer these warrants until after the Company consummates a Business Combination.
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POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
(A Corporation In The Development Stage)
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Common Stock
As of August 14, 2007, 4,312,500 shares of common stock are outstanding, which are held by nine (9) stockholders (initial stockholders). Such shares were purchased at an average purchase price of approximately $0.006 per share. If the over-allotment option is not exercised in full, the initial stockholders will forfeit the number of shares necessary to cause the initial stockholders to maintain a 20% ownership of the common shares after the Proposed Offering. The initial stockholders will forfeit 562,500 shares to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised.
Note 7 — Preferred Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
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Until , 2007, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, 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.
$150,000,000
Polaris Acquisition Corp.
15,000,000 Units
PROSPECTUS
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc.
, 2007
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
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| Initial Trustees’ fee | $ | 1,000.00 | (1) | |
| SEC Registration Fee | 9,267.57 | |||
| NASD filing fee | 30,687.50 | |||
| American Stock Exchange filing and listing fee | 80,000.00 | |||
| Accounting fees and expenses | 50,000.00 | |||
| Printing and engraving expenses | 100,000.00 | |||
| Directors & Officers liability insurance premiums | 115,000.00 | (2) | ||
| Legal fees and expenses | 305,000.00 | |||
| Miscellaneous | 74,044.93 | (3) | ||
| Total | $ | 765,000.00 | ||
| (1) | In addition to the initial acceptance fee that is charged by Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee, the registrant will be required to pay to Stock Transfer & Trust Company annual fees of $3,000 for acting as trustee, $4,800 for acting as transfer agent of the registrant’s common stock, $2,400 for acting as warrant agent for the registrant’s warrants and $1,800 for acting as escrow agent. |
| (2) | This amount represents the approximate amount of director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the consummation of its initial public offering and until it consummates a business combination. |
| (3) | This amount represents additional expenses that may be incurred by the Company in connection with the offering over and above those specifically listed above, including distribution and mailing costs. |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that all directors, officers, employees and agents of the registrant shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
“Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
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(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
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other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).”
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Paragraph B of Article Ninth of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides:
“The Corporation, to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the GCL, as amended from time to time, shall indemnify all persons whom it may indemnify pursuant thereto. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which such officer or director may be entitled to indemnification hereunder shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized hereby.”
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the Underwriters and the Underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
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Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
(a) During the past three years, we sold the following shares of common stock without registration under the Securities Act, each of whom is accredited under Rule 501 of the Securities Act:
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| Stockholders | Number of Shares | |||
| Byron Business Ventures XX, LLC | 1,488,700 | |||
| Praesumo Partners, LLC | 1,488,700 | |||
| Moore Holdings, LLC | 349,916 | |||
| Vinco Vincere Vici Victum LLC | 257,175 | |||
| David Palmer | 257,175 | |||
| Meritage Farms LLC | 194,792 | |||
| Cloobeck Companies, LLC | 119,792 | |||
| Granite Creek Partners, L.L.C. | 92,500 | |||
| Roxbury Capital Group LLC Incentive Savings Plan | 63,750 | |||
Such shares were issued on June 18, 2007 in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering. The shares issued to the individuals and entities above were sold for an aggregate offering price of $25,000 at an average purchase price of approximately $0.006 per share.
In addition, the individuals listed above have committed to purchase from us 3,240,000 warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $3,240,000). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering. These issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. The obligation to purchase the warrants undertaken by the above individuals was made pursuant to Subscription Agreements, dated as of August 24, 2007 (the form of which was filed as Exhibit 10.16 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1). Such obligation was made prior to the filing of the Registration Statement, and the only conditions to the obligation undertaken by such individuals are conditions outside of the investors’ control. Consequently, the investment decision relating to the purchase of the warrants was made prior to the filing of the Registration Statement relating to the public offering and therefore constitutes a “completed private placement.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement:
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| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement.* | |
| 1.2 | Form of Selected Dealers Agreement.* | |
| 3.1 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.* | |
| 3.2 | By-laws.* | |
| 4.1 | Specimen Unit Certificate.* | |
| 4.2 | Specimen Common Stock Certificate.* | |
| 4.3 | Specimen Warrant Certificate.* | |
| 4.4 | Form of Warrant Agreement between Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.* |
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| 5.1 | Opinion of Graubard Miller.* | |
| 10.1 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Lowell D. Kraff.* | |
| 10.2 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Marc V. Byron.* |
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| Exhibit No. | Description | |
| 10.3 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and David Palmer.* | |
| 10.4 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Jerry Stone.* | |
| 10.5 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and David Moore.* | |
| 10.6 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Stuart I. Oran.* | |
| 10.7 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Brian B. Boorstein.* | |
| 10.8 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Stephen J. Cloobeck.* | |
| 10.9 | Letter Agreement among the Registrant, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. and Walter F. Mclallen IV.* |
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| 10.10 | Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant.* |
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| 10.11 | Form of Stock Escrow Agreement between the Registrant, Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Initial Stockholders.* |
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| 10.12 | Form of Warrant Escrow Agreement between the Registrant, Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Warrant Purchasers.* |
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| 10.13 | Form of Letter Agreement between Trivergance LLC and Registrant regarding administrative support.* |
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| 10.14 | Promissory Note, dated as of July 12, 2007, issued to Trivergence, LLC.* | |
| 10.15 | Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant and the Initial Stockholders.* | |
| 10.16 | Form of Subscription Agreements among the Registrant, Graubard Miller and each of the Initial Stockholders.* | |
| 14 | Form of Code of Ethics.* | |
| 23.1 | Consent of Goldstein Golub Kessler LLP. | |
| 23.2 | Consent of Graubard Miller (included in Exhibit 5.1).* | |
| 24 | Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement). | |
| 99.1 | Form of Audit Committee Charter.* | |
| 99.2 | Form of Nominating Committee Charter.* |
| * | To be filed by amendment. |
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
i. To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
ii. To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
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iii. To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) That for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933 in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
(b) The undersigned hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Fort Lee, State of New Jersey, on the 28th day of August, 2007.
POLARIS ACQUISITION CORP.
| By: | /s/ Marc V. Byron Marc V. Byron Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Marc V. Byron and Lowell D. Kraff his true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this registration statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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| Name | Position | Date | ||
| /s/ Marc V. ByronMarc V. Byron |
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
August 28, 2007 | ||
| /s/ Lowell D. Kraff Lowell D. Kraff |
President and Director | August 28, 2007 | ||
| /s/ David Moore David Moore |
Director | August 28, 2007 | ||
| /s/ Stuart I. Oran Stuart I. Oran |
Director | August 28, 2007 | ||
| /s/ Brian B. Boorstein Brian B. Boorstein |
Director | August 28, 2007 |
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