UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

☐ TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _____________ to ________________

Commission file number: 001-40872

AVALON ACQUISITION INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		85-3451075
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

2 Embarcadero Center, 8th Floor
San Francisco, CA		94111
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(415) 423-0010

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and three-fourths one redeemable warrant	AVACU	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share	AVAC	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Redeemable warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share	AVACW	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒
		Emerging Growth Company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Yes☒ No ☐

As of June 30, 2022, the aggregate market value of the Class A common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant (based upon the closing sale prices of such shares on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 30, 2022) was approximately $208,344,000. For purposes of calculating the aggregate market value of Class A common stock held by non-affiliates, we have assumed that all outstanding Class A common stock are held by non-affiliates, except for the Class A common stock held by each of our executive officers and directors. We deemed our 5% or greater stockholders to be non-affiliates under our facts and circumstances which would indicate that such stockholders do not exercise any control over our company or hold 10% or more of our outstanding Class A common stock. These assumptions should not be deemed to constitute an admission that all executive officers, directors, and 5% or greater stockholders are, in fact, affiliates of our company, or that there are not other persons who may be deemed to be affiliates of our company. Further information concerning shareholdings of our executive officers, directors, and principal stockholders is included in Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As of February 23, 2023, there were 20,855,250 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,175,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

AVALON ACQUISITION INC.

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2022

	Page
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS	iii

PART I	1

Item 1. Business	1

Item 1A. Risk Factors	24

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments	66

Item 2. Properties	66

Item 3. Legal Proceedings	66

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures	66

PART II	67

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	67

Item 6. [Reserved]	68

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	68

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	75

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	75

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	75

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures	75

Item 9B. Other Information	76

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	76

PART III	77

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	77

Item 11. Executive Compensation	87

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	88

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	89

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services	91

PART IV	92

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	92

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary	93

Signatures	94

CERTAIN TERMS

●	“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock;

●	“completion window” is the time period for which we have to complete a proposed business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the 15 month period from the closing of our initial public offering, we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination), subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account equaled to $0.10 per unit for each three-month extension .

●	“equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to, a private placement of equity or debt;

●	“founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering and the shares of our Class A common stock that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the shares of our Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such shares of our Class A common stock will not be “public shares”);

●	“initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering;

●	“management” or “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;

●	“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering;

●	“public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

●	“public warrants” are to warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

●	“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;

●	“certificate of incorporation” are to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation of our company, which has been in effect since the completion of our initial public offering;

●	“representative shares” are to 155,250 shares of Class A common stock that were issued to the underwriter and/or its designees, upon the consummation of our initial public offering;

●	“sponsor” are to Avalon Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, controlled by Donald H. Putnam and S. Craig Cognetti, and references to the experience of our sponsor include the experience of our officers and directors; and

●	“we,” “us,” “company” or “Avalon” are to Avalon Acquisition Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts are expressed in United States Dollars.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections, concerning our business, operations, and financial performance and condition as well as our plans, objectives, and expectations for business operations and financial performance and condition. The statements contained in this report 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,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this report may include, for example, statements about our:

	●	our ability to select an appropriate partner business or businesses;

	●	ability to complete our initial business combination;

	●	our expectations around the performance of a prospective partner business or businesses;

	●	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;

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

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

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

	●	the potential liquidity and trading of our securities;

	●	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 our initial public offering.

The forward-looking statements contained in this report 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 “Item 1A. 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 and/or if and when management knows or has a reasonable basis on which to conclude that previously disclosed projections are no longer reasonably attainable.

iii

part I

Item 1. Business.

Introduction

We are a blank check company incorporated on October 12, 2020 as a Delaware corporation whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to herein as our initial business combination. We have generated no operating revenues to date, and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination.

While we may pursue targets in any industry, we are focused on sub-sectors of the financial services industry that are being transformed by new technology and demographic shifts. Many other industries have been transformed by technology – entertainment, telecommunications, retail, and web-based business services having led the pack – but financial services has been slow to adapt. In recent years the pace has quickened, in part because new entrants have carved out initial market share in lending, trading, payments, research, and ETFs, especially with new generations who have an aversion to traditional business formats.

Our team has decades of experience with the forces and actors who are reshaping financial services. We believe the disruption of financial services will accelerate under pressure from inexorable shifts in consumer preferences and the ever-escalating cost of legacy technology. We foresee that emerging companies will gain significant economic value at the expense of existing players, forcing today’s market share leaders to divest, reorganize, and acquire to survive.

Financial services, while highly regulated, is more dynamic and competitive than many regulated industries, perhaps because there are so many overlapping regulatory authorities. Understanding regulatory issues is a strength of our team and is crucial to assessing the opportunities and barriers of target companies. Likewise, our team has decades of experience with C-suite executives in financial services and their strategies. Beyond the value of these contacts in deal sourcing and underwriting, our team is able to advise target companies on strategic organizational and financial matters.

It is our view that the successful businesses for the decades to come will be characterized by swift top-line growth, powerful strategic vision, strong management team, and enduring competitive edge delivered through technology and non-traditional business models. While we view the potential for significant profits as essential, we recognize that during periods of great opportunity, it may be wise to defer cash flow in favor of market share and revenue growth.

Proposed Business Combination with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.

On September 21, 2022, we entered into a Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. and certain other affiliated entities (some to be formed), pursuant to which, among other things, we will merge with and into a newly formed subsidiary and we will be renamed “Beneficient.” Refer to Note 1 – Description of Organization and Business Operations to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for additional information regarding our proposed business combination with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.

Business Strategy

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have initiated discussions with potential targets regarding entering into a business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location, we are focusing our search on financial services sectors that are undergoing radical change as a result of demographic shifts, changing consumer preferences, technological disruption, and other innovative forces.

Many industries have been transformed by technology – entertainment, telecommunications, retail, and web-based services having led the pack – but financial services sector has been slow to adapt. According to Microsoft, by 2025, as many as 95 percent of all customer interactions may be through channels supported by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud computing are having a profound impact on how financial products are manufactured, managed and delivered to clients. These technologies are increasingly part of non-core functions, trading, compliance, risk management, accounting etc. In recent years we believe that the pace of technological change has picked up, in part because key elements of the financial services supply chain have been gutted (trading, research, active portfolio management, etc.) and in part because new generations have an aversion to traditional business formats.

Our team has experience with and focuses primarily on companies within the following sectors that are using technology and innovation to disrupt the market and technology companies serving these sub-sectors:

Traditional & Alternative Asset Management – According to Boston Consulting Group, the global asset management industry grew to $112 trillion in assets under management in 2021, up 12% from $100 trillion in 2020. Technology is reshaping how products are created, managed and delivered. Companies are under pressure to consolidate for scale and increase the use of technology to protect historically strong margins. An asset management platform with an aggressive technology strategy would be well-positioned to capitalize on the sector consolidation.

Wealth Management & Financial Wellness Tools – Technology is reshaping the supply chain from financial market to families. More and more, clients seek better alignment, instantaneous & mobile communication, and low cost or free access to markets.

Millennials are driving technological change in the way advisors connect with clients, how accounts are managed, and how risks and taxes are handled. There is more demand for liability management as part of the financial advice. We are well positioned to identify companies that are able to meet the challenges, either new players with an enduring edge in technology or marketing/pricing, or traditional companies able to consolidate this fragmented sub-sector.

Consumer-Facing Companies Reinventing the Supply Chain – Younger generations expect virtual interfaces and are now starting the wealth accumulation phase of life. It is estimated that approximately 60% of consumers want to transact with financial institutions that provide a single platform, such as social media or mobile banking apps. Millennials are driving the growth of digital banks –seven of which are believed to have already surpassed one million accounts – robo-advisors and other personal finance apps. Personal budgeting apps get approximately 70% of their user base from the millennial generation.

Specialty & Peer to Peer Lending – Peer-to-peer lending disrupted the traditional banking model with direct access to investment opportunities at higher yields for investors and access to lower cost loans for borrowers. We believe this led to multiple platforms addressing different parts of the markets as well as tools and technology to service this new industry. The industry will continue to grow with the biggest platforms expanding the breadth of products and services.

Alternative Data and Information Services – The growth of technology has led to alternative forms of data used in the investment and underwriting processes ranging from social media and consumer data to satellite imaging. According to Grand View Research, the global alternative data market size was valued at $4.45 billion in 2022 and has an expected CAGR from 2023-2030 of 52.1%. More than half of hedge fund managers are using alternative data.

ESG Data, Analytics and Platforms – Consumers are demanding environmental social and governance (ESG) compliance in their portfolio and sustainability compliance across many consumer purchases. According to PwC, asset managers globally are expected to increase their ESG-related AuM to $33.9 trillion by 2026, up from $18.4 trillion in 2021. ESG assets are on pace to constitute 21.5% of total global AuM in less than 5 years. We believe this is creating demands for new sets of data, new scoring and compliance tools, and new investment markets, such as clean energy, carbon credits and other sustainable products.

Private Market Data and Platforms – Private markets have grown significantly as investors look for diversification in their portfolios. Firms that started out providing liquidity to employees of tech unicorns, or peer to peer investment opportunities, are evolving to marketplaces for investors. These markets are increasingly using technology to provide more transparency, standardization and liquidity to investors.

InsurTech – Insurance companies have been amongst slowest adopters of new technology. This has increased in recent years as more direct to consumer platforms have focused on different types of insurance. Technology will change the entire supply chain and underwriting process. We believe that there will be more direct to consumer opportunities, better products for advisors and a more robust underwriting process delivered by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Financial Management Systems – Technological change is reshaping the supply chains that underpin financial services. Legacy systems and legacy methods impair the ability to meet new markets. This has fueled increased investment into new fintech companies that cover non-core functions, such as payroll, expenses tracking, trade settlement and custody, accounting, trading, etc.

Payments – Non-cash payments are changing the financial services landscape. There are estimates that the use of mobile payments is set to continue its rise with a compound annual growth rate of 24% between 2021 and 2025, forecasting a large increase from $1.4 trillion in 2020. This creates opportunity for innovation in platforms, currencies, tools, data, and lending.

We believe that emerging companies will gain significant economic value at the expense of existing players, and existing players will divest and reorganize to survive. Financial services, while highly regulated, is more dynamic and competitive than other regulated industries, perhaps because there are many overlapping regulatory authorities and no global regulatory framework. Understanding regulatory issues is a particular strength of our team and will be crucial to assessing the opportunities and barriers at target companies.

Our business strategy is to leverage our backgrounds, relationships and contacts to identify, evaluate and complete an initial business combination with a company that we believe exhibits unrecognized value, including as a platform for consolidation. We believe that our extensive experience in both investing and operating businesses in this industry has culminated in a unique set of capabilities that will be utilized in generating stockholder returns.

Over the course of their careers managing, advising and investing in financial services companies, members of our team have developed an extensive network of contacts and relationships which we believe provides us with a substantial source of acquisition opportunities. In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

Our Acquisition Criteria

It is our view that the successful businesses for the next decade will be characterized by recent top-line growth, powerful strategic vision, strong management team, and enduring competitive edge delivered through technology or an innovative non-traditional business model. We view the potential for significant profits as essential, while recognizing that market share and revenue growth may impinge upon cash flow during periods of great opportunity.

The attractive characteristics of the financial services industry include large industry with attractive long-term growth, high margins, recurring revenue, high barriers to entry and high returns on equity. Recent challenges in the environment (regulatory, demographic, and technological) and in the competitive landscape (the rapid growth of new challengers) will divide the industry into the next decade’s losers and winners. The losers tend to have large market share, but not all market share holders are laggards and many of the next-decade winners are only a decade old.

Consistent with our business strategy and decades of operating and investing experience, we have identified general criteria and guidelines to evaluate prospective target businesses. We use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines:

●

Fundamentally sound and could benefit from being a publicly traded company;

●

Strong, experienced management team in place, or representing a platform to assemble an effective management team with a track record of driving innovation, growth and profitability;

●

Leading edge technology, innovative business strategy or differentiated products and services that create a sustainable competitive advantage;

●

Strong customer and brand loyalty demonstrated by repeat clients and recurring revenue;

●

Poised for significant revenue and profitability growth through execution of its business plan and application of innovative technology or potential for inorganic growth through transformative acquisitions and a sustainable M&A strategy;

●

If an earlier-stage company, exhibits the potential to change the industries in which it participates, and offers the potential of sustained high levels of revenue growth with an articulated path to profitability; or

●

Unrecognized value that can be unlocked through a partnership with our team and network.

All of these positive criteria can be offset by business risks. We will undertake detailed due diligence investigation of potential candidates. In addition, we will seek to satisfy ourselves, with the aid of outside advisors, that the target business unit will benefit from a combination, and is prepared for the challenges of public listing and can benefit from access to broader capital markets.

Likewise, our team has decades of experience with C-suite executives in financial services and the strategies they have implemented. We seek to effectively employ our team’s industry skills and experience as well as their extensive personal network to add substantial value to any acquired company. We anticipate offering the following benefits to our business combination partner:

●

Appropriate long-term equity architecture;

●

Advice on corporate governance structures as the company transforms to a public company;

●

Potential for our team to retain board positions and provide on-going advice on strategic, financial and operational matters;

●

Access to our network for additional executive support or to fill-out the management team;

●

Support for M&A activities, capital raising and financial structuring;

●

Increased company profile and improved credibility with investors, customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders;

●

Higher level of engagement with core, relevant, fundamental investors as anchor stockholders than what a traditional IPO book-building process offers;

●

Lower risk and expedited path to a public listing with flexible structuring;

●

Infusion of cash and ongoing access to public capital markets;

●

Listed public currency for future acquisitions and growth;

●

Ability for management team to retain control and focus on growing the business; and

●

Opportunity to motivate and retain employees using stock-based compensation.

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

In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds, and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.

Our Competitive Advantage

Our team is spearheaded by our Executive Chairman, Donald H. Putnam, our Chief Executive Officer, S. Craig Cognetti, and our President, John Griff. Mr. Putnam has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry, including investment banking, private investments, and M&A advisory, founding Grail Partners LLC in 2005 and Putnam Lovell Securities in 1987 prior to its sale to National Bank of Canada in 2002. Mr. Cognetti has over 20 years of experience in financial services. Mr. Cognetti joined Grail Partners LLC in 2006 and has led M&A assignments and Grail Partners’ investing activities. Mr. Cognetti was previously involved in corporate M&A and private equity investing at Mellon Financial. Mr. Griff has had a 40-year career in financial services that spanned capital markets, investment banking and asset management at firms including Gleacher & Company, LNR Property Corporation, Putnam Lovell Securities and HSBC Securities (USA), Inc.

Financial services, while highly regulated, is more dynamic and competitive than many regulated industries, perhaps because there are so many overlapping regulatory authorities. We believe that understanding and managing regulatory issues is a strength of our team, and will be crucial to assessing the opportunities and barriers of target companies. Likewise, our team has decades of experience with C-suite executives in financial services and their strategies. Beyond the value of these contacts in deal sourcing and underwriting, our team is able to advise target companies on strategic organizational and financial matters.

Our Management Team

Donald H. Putnam has been our Executive Chairman since October 12, 2020. Mr. Putnam founded Grail Partners LLC, a private investment and M&A advisory firm focused on financial services, in 2005. Prior to founding Grail Partners LLC, he founded and led Putnam Lovell Securities, an investment bank/broker-dealer, as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. From 1987 to 2005 he led Putnam Lovell’s firm’s investment banking business, completing over 100 transactions. In 2002, Putnam Lovell was bought by National Bank of Canada.

S. Craig Cognetti, CFA, has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 12, 2020. Mr. Cognetti leads the principal investing practice at Grail Partners LLC. Prior to joining Grail Partners LLC in 2006, Mr. Cognetti was with Chelsey Capital, a New York City-based alternative investment firm. Before that, he was an officer at Mellon Ventures, the $1.4 billion private equity division of Mellon Financial. Previously, Craig served in the Corporate Strategy and Development group at Mellon Financial.

John Griff has served as our President since October 12, 2020. Mr. Griff’s 40-year financial services career has spanned capital markets, investment banking and asset management. Most recently, he was the President of Manifold Partners LLC, an artificial intelligence hedge fund manager. Previously, he served as COO of publicly held Gleacher & Company, an investment bank, Strategic Advisor to the CEO at LNR Property Corporation, President of Putnam Lovell, an investment bank specializing in the financial services sector, CEO of HSBC Securities (USA), Inc. and senior roles at NationsBanc, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch.

R. Rachel Hsu has served as our CFO since October 12, 2020. Ms. Hsu joined Grail Partners LLC and Manifold Partners LLC as CFO in 2019. Previously, she spent six years at Hall Capital Partners LLC, a private investment advisory firm to ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals. Prior to Hall Capital, Rachel served as the controller at Putnam Lovell Securities, an investment bank specializing in financial services. She began her accounting career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Advisors

We intend to leverage the capabilities of our advisors to assist us with the sourcing and evaluation of potential acquisition candidates. We believe the relationships, experience and expertise of these advisors will provide us with additional access and insight into potential target companies. However, our advisors are not executive officers of our company and have no written advisory agreement with us, nor do they have any other employment arrangements with us. Moreover, our advisors are not under any fiduciary obligation to us, nor do they perform board or committee functions, nor do they have any voting or decision-making capacity on our behalf. Our advisors are not required to devote any specific amount of time to our efforts or be subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject. Accordingly, if our advisors become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the entities to which they have fiduciary or contractual obligations, they are expected to honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We may modify or expand our roster of advisors as we source potential business combination targets or create value in businesses that we may acquire.

Frederick Grauer, Senior Advisor. Mr. Grauer is currently a Senior Advisor to and member of the Boards of Directors of Course Hero and Credit Sesame, a trustee of the Mountain View Funds of American Century Investments, and member of the board of advisors of the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research. Mr. Grauer has over 40 years of operating and investment experience in financial services. Mr. Grauer was chairman and chief executive officer of Barclays Global Investors and its predecessors from 1983 to 1998 and a member of the management committee of Barclays Group. Mr. Grauer pioneered quantitative asset management and index funds. After leaving BGI, Mr. Grauer became a general partner of Angel Investors, L.P., a venture capital fund, where he led investments in over 250 companies including Google, PayPal, and Ask Jeeves. Previous to Barclays, Mr. Grauer held senior roles at Wells Fargo, including executive vice president and head of its funding group and CEO of Wells Fargo Investment Advisors.

Churchill G. Franklin, Senior Advisor. In March 2020, Mr. Franklin retired as Chairman of Acadian Asset Management, LLC which he co-founded with Gary L. Bergstrom in May 1986. Mr. Franklin managed and led the firm through many stages of growth to the $100 billion firm it is today. During that 34 year run, Mr. Franklin served in many different roles, including Head of Distribution, Head of Client Service and Marketing, Chief Operating Officer, CEO from 2013-2017, and finally retiring in 2020 after serving as Chairman from 2018 to 2020. A graduate of Middlebury College, Mr. Franklin is an Emeritus Trustee of Middlebury having served the maximum tenure of 15 years as an active board member. He has served on or led most committees including the investment committee for the College’s $1 billion endowment and was board chair from 2000 to 2004. In May 2008 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree from Middlebury. Mr. Franklin is the CEO and founder of Cornwall Cattle Company, a true grass-fed beef farming operation in Cornwall, Vermont running currently around 500 head of Black Angus cattle. He is also the CEO of Bread Loaf View Farm, an award-winning maker of Bread Loaf View Farm maple syrup, also of Cornwall, Vermont.

Past performance of our officers and directors and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either of (i) the ability to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) success with respect to a business combination that may be completed. You should not rely on the historical record of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates as indicative of our future performance. See “Risk Factors — Past performance by our sponsor, our officers and directors or their respective affiliates, including the businesses referred to herein, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us or in the future performance of any business that we may acquire.” For a list of our executive officers and directors and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such officers and the company, please refer to Item 10. “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.”

Certain of our officers and directors may have fiduciary and contractual obligations to certain companies in which those companies have invested. As a result, certain of our officers and directors may have a duty to offer acquisition opportunities to companies for which they are officers or directors, as applicable, before we can pursue such opportunities.

However, we do not expect these duties to present a significant conflict of interest with our search for an initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specific amount of time to our affairs, but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. Accordingly, our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.

We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

Initial Business Combination

In accordance with the rules of the Nasdaq, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of taxes payable and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discounts) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to satisfaction of such criteria. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such opinion. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.

To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. 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.

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.

Status as a Public Company

As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us. Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

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

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the Market Value of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.

Financial Position

As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $212,031,000 held in the trust account, not taking into account $7,245,000 of deferred underwriting fees, which will be paid from the trust account upon the completion of a business combination. With the funds available, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting our Initial Business Combination

We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, the private placements of the private placement warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.

Sources of Target Businesses

Our process of identifying acquisition targets will leverage our sponsor and our management team’s industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We expect that the collective experience, capability and network of our sponsor, our directors and officers, our advisors, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, will help to create prospective business combination opportunities.

In addition, target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our filings 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 of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions.

We also expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. 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. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will either of our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. See “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – Conflict of Interest.”

Our sponsor is not controlled by, and does not have substantial ties with, non-U.S. persons, and 100% of the ownership interest of our sponsor is held by U.S. persons.

Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination

Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination occur with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide stockholders with our analysis of the fair market value of the target business, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board is not able to determine independently the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination.

While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a partner business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the partner company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the partner business meets the 80% of net assets test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a partner business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our stockholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to stockholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.

To the extent we effect our business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. 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.

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

	●	subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
	●	cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

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 additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.

Under the Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

	●	we issue shares of common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our shares of common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering);
	●	any of our directors, officers, or substantial stockholders (as defined by the Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or
	●	the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.

The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

	●	the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;
	●	the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote;
	●	the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;
	●	other time and budget constraints of the company; and
	●	additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders.

Permitted Purchases of Our Securities

Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of our initial public offering, we adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear certain trades prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of our Class A common stock) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the stockholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.15 per public share. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.15 per share upon our liquidation. See “If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors below. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window.

Limitations on Redemptions

Our certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.

If we held a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

	●	conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
	●	file proxy materials with the SEC.

In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

If we seek stockholder approval, unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation, or stock exchange rules, we will complete our initial business combination only if the outstanding shares representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of our company present in person or by proxy at such meeting are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holder present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of our company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of our company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the terms of letter agreements entered into with us, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,100,428, or 39.1%, of the 20,700,000 public shares sold in our public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. In addition, our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team, have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window.

If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation:

	●	conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
	●	file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Stockholder Approval

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to the Excess Shares. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor, or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights

Public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the initial vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

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 a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming stockholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

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

If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until the completion window.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only the completion window to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window.

Our sponsor, directors, and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our sponsor, director, or members of our management team acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window.

Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,131,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.15. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.15. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Maxim will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed an initial business combination within the completion window, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.15 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.15 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.15 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.15 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, and our sponsor assert that they are unable to satisfy their indemnification obligations or that they have no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce their indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce their indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.15 per share.

We have sought to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,131,000 from the proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate, and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such stockholder.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL 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.

Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 18^th month (or up to 21^st month) 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 DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. 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 (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.15 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.

If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency 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 $10.15 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty 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.

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination within, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.

Indemnity

Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.15 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of the initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.

Employees

We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We have registered our units, Class A common stock, and warrants under the Exchange Act 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 Exchange Act, 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 or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. 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 the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the Market Value of the shares of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

Legal Proceedings

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.

Available Information

Additional information about us is available on our corporate website at www.AvalonSPAC.com. Our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Our business involves significant risks, some of which are described below. You should carefully consider these risks, in addition to the other information contained in this Report, including our financial statements and related notes and the section of this Report titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The occurrence of any of the events or developments described in the following risk factors and the risks described elsewhere in this Report could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the trading price of our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. This Report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of factors that are described in the following risk factors and the risks described elsewhere in this Report.

Summary Risk Factors

We are a recently formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this summary. These risks include, among others, the following:

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We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

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Past performance by our management team and advisers on whom we are dependent may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us or in the future performance of any business we may acquire.

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Our search for a business combination may be materially adversely affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.

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Certain requirements and terms may limit the type and number of companies with which we may complete such a business combination, make it difficult for us to enter into our initial business combination with a target or may not allow us to consummate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

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Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, and your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

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We may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within the required time period, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

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You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares, potentially at a loss.

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Certain actions, such as a bankruptcy, could result in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.

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Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our sponsor will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.

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If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination, our public stockholders may be forced to wait up to 21 months or longer before redemption from our trust account.

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Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have conflicts of interests that could, as applicable, affect the amount of time allocated to our company, impact the business opportunities presented to us, or raise competitive financial interests or affiliations with one or more of target businesses.

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Management’s flexibility in identifying and selecting a prospective acquisition candidate, along with our management’s financial interest in consummating our initial business combination, may lead management to enter into an acquisition agreement that is not in the best interest of our stockholders.

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We may issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or preferred stock or incur substantial debt in connection with our initial business combination, which could dilute your interests, adversely affect our financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

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Holders of warrants will not participate in liquidating distributions if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period, and the warrants will expire worthless.

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

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We may redeem unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to the warrant holders.

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Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

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Purchases of our units by our initial stockholders will reduce the public float for our securities.

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We face certain risks if we acquire or operate a business outside of the United States.

Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks

We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until we consummate our initial business combination. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to materially and adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the operations and financial position of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, if the target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner, or if COVID-19 causes a prolonged economic downturn or disruption to markets. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination or our ability to successfully consummate a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.

In addition, our ability to consummate a business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.

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

Nasdaq rules and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require that the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the trust account (excluding any taxes payable) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination. This restriction may limit the type and number of companies that we may complete a business combination with. If we are unable to locate a target business or businesses that satisfy this fair market value test, we may be forced to liquidate and you will only be entitled to receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account, which may be less than $10.15 per share.

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

If a stockholder vote is not required, we may conduct redemptions via a tender offer. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve the business combination.

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Because our board of directors may consummate our initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

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

As of December 31, 2022, our initial stockholders own, on an as-converted basis, 19.8% of our outstanding common stock. Our initial stockholders also may from time to time purchase public shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,100,428, or 39.1%, (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), of the 20,700,000 public shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.

The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of a large number of our stockholders to exercise redemption rights may not allow us to consummate the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

In connection with the successful consummation of our initial business combination, we may redeem up to that number of shares of common stock that would permit us to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001. If our initial business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay the purchase price, the redemption threshold may be further limited. Alternatively, we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our initial business combination in case a larger percentage of stockholders exercise their redemption rights than we expect. If the acquisition involves the issuance of our shares as consideration, we may be required to issue a higher percentage of our shares to the target or its stockholders to make up for the failure to satisfy a minimum cash requirement. Raising additional funds to cover any shortfall may involve dilutive equity financing or incurring indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. This may limit our ability to effectuate the most attractive business combination available to us.

The requirement that we maintain a minimum net worth or retain a certain amount of cash could increase the probability that we cannot consummate our initial business combination and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If, pursuant to the terms of our proposed business combination, we are required to maintain a minimum net worth or retain a certain amount of cash in trust in order to consummate the business combination and regardless of whether we proceed with redemptions under the tender offer or proxy rules, the probability that we cannot consummate our initial business combination is increased. If we do not consummate our initial business combination, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount in our trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating our initial business combination.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning our initial business combination will be aware that we must consummate our initial business combination within the completion window. Consequently, such target businesses may obtain leverage over us in negotiating our initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

We may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.

We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within the completion window. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.

In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.

In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

The requirement that we complete an initial business combination within the completion window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular, as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete an initial business combination within the completion window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

We may not be able to complete an initial business combination within the required time period, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.15 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete an initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed an initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.15 per share, or less than $10.15 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.15 per share” and other risk factors herein.

The recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States and Europe. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to the coronavirus, and on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” A significant outbreak of the coronavirus and other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally and could have a material adverse effect on the business of any potential target business with which we complete a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to the coronavirus restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by the coronavirus or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination. In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing and the coronavirus pandemic and other related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors, or any of their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, where otherwise permissible under applicable laws, rules and regulations, although they are under no obligation to do so. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purp

SEC Form 10-K filed by Avalon Acquisition Inc.