UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 3)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2020
or
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF |
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-39625
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
(914 ) 370-8006
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code and Registrant’s Telephone Number)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol (s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
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 Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter periods as 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 Yes ☒ No ☐
S-T
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated
filer, or a smaller reporting 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. (check one) | Large accelerated filer | ☐ | 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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule ☒ No ☐
12b-2
of the Act). Yes As of June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the registrant’s securities were no t publicly traded. The registrant’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”) on October 20, 2020 and the registrant’s shares of common stock, par value $0.001 and warrants began trading on the NASDAQ on December 7, 2020. The aggregate market value of the common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the shares of common stock on December 31, 2020, as reported on the NASDAQ, was $9.95 (based on the closing sales price of the common stock on December 31, 2020 of $9.95).
As of January 13, 2022,
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
References throughout this Amendment No. 3 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “Cipher Mining,” “Company” or “our Company” are to Cipher Mining Inc. (formerly known as Good Works Acquisition Corp.), unless the context otherwise indicates.
This Amendment No. 3 (“Amendment No. 3”) to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A amends the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A of Cipher Mining Inc. (formerly known as Good Works Acquisition Corp.) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Affected Period”), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on June 14, 2021 (the “Second Amended Filing”).
The Company has re-evaluated the Company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting classification of the redeemable common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Public Shares”), issued as part of the units sold in the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) on October 22, 2020. Historically, a portion of the Public Shares was classified as permanent equity to maintain stockholders’ equity greater than $5 million on the basis that the Company will not redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as described in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Charter”). Pursuant to such re-evaluation, the Company’s management has determined that the Public Shares include certain provisions that require classification of all of the Public Shares as temporary equity regardless of the net tangible assets redemption limitation contained in the Charter. In addition, in connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares, the Company determined it should restate its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares (redeemable and non-redeemable). This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of the Company. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the information in this Amendment No. 3 does not reflect the consummation of the Business Combination, which occurred subsequent to the periods covered hereunder.
Therefore,
on December 17, 2021, the Company’s management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors (the “Audit Committee”) concluded that the Company’s previously issued (i) audited balance sheet as of October 22, 2020 (the “Post IPO Balance Sheet”), as previously revised in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on June 14, 2021 (“2020 Form 10-K/A No. 2”) and (ii) audited financial statements included in the 2020 Form 10-K/A No. 2 should be restated to report all Public Shares as temporary equity and should no longer be relied upon. As such, the Company will restate its financial statements for the Affected Period in this Form 10-K/A for the Post IPO Balance Sheet and the Company’s audited financial statements included in the 2020
Form 10-K/A No. 2.
The restatement does not have an impact on its cash position and cash held in the trust account established in connection with the IPO (the “Trust Account”).
We are filing this Amendment No. 3 to amend and restate the Second Amended Filing with modications as necessary to reflect the restatements. Therefore, we are filing this Amendment No. 3 to include additional risk factors under Item 1A, the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation described in Item 7, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data described in Item 8, and Controls and Procedures disclosure described in Item 9A of Form 10-K, a signature page and the certifications required to be filed as exhibits.
In accordance with Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), new certifications by the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer are filed as exhibits (in Exhibits 31.1 to 32.2) to this Amendment No. 3 under Item 15 of Part IV hereof.
Except as described above, this Amendment No. 3 does not amend, update or change any other items or disclosures contained in the Original Filing, and accordingly, this Amendment No. 3 does not reflect or purport to reflect any information or events occurring after the original filing date or modify or update those disclosures affected by subsequent events. Accordingly, this Amendment No. 3 should be read in conjunction with the Second Amended Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Second Amended Filing.
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CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form
(Amendment No.
3)
10-K/A
(this “Report”), or the context otherwise requires, references to: | • | “anchor investors” are certain funds and accounts managed by Magnetar Financial LLC, Mint Tower Capital Management B.V., Periscope Capital Inc., and Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.; |
| • | “founder shares” are to shares of our common stock purchased by our initial stockholders, including our sponsor and the anchor investors, in private placements prior to our initial public offering; |
| • | “initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
| • | “private placement units” are to the units issued in a private placement to the anchor investors simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants included in the private placement units; |
| • | “public shares” are to shares of our common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| • | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our anchor investors and our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public warrants” are to the redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any warrants underlying private placement units issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not our initial stockholders or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination; |
| • | “sponsor” are to I-B Good Works, LLC, a limited liability company, which is an affiliate of I-Bankers Securities, Inc., the underwriter in our initial public offering; |
| • | “warrants” are to our warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the warrants underlying the private placement units to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement units or their permitted transferees; and |
| • | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Cipher Mining Inc. (formerly known as Good Works Acquisition Corp.), a Delaware corporation. |
ii
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”). Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “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 may include, for example, statements about:
| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our 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; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our 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.
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PART I
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Report, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could de
line, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Summary of Risk Factors
| • | An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in this section “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to: |
| • | Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. |
| • | 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, unless we seek stockholder approval of the 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. |
| • | 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. |
| • | 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 stock. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders. |
| • | We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate. |
| • | If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| • | We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view. |
| • | We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest. |
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| • | We will likely only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability. |
| • | Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Certain of our executive officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us following our initial business combination and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| • | Since our initial stockholders, including our sponsor, executive officers and directors, will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination. |
| • | Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. |
Risks Relating to Our Search For, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We are a newly formed 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 newly formed company with no operating results, and did not commence operations until obtaining funding through our initial public offering. 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 fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of our management team is not a guarantee either: (i) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares and private placement shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable state law or the rules of Nasdaq or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except for as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Even if we seek stockholder approval, the holders of our founder shares and private placement shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Item 1. Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2 LLC, have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC own 13.5% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, in addition to the founder shares, we would need 7,844,001, or 46.1%, of the 17,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. Furthermore, assuming only the minimum number of stockholders required to be present at the stockholders’ meeting held to approve our initial business combination are present at such meeting, we would need only 2,474,502 of the 17,000,000 public shares, or approximately 14.6% of the shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved. In addition, in the event that our board of directors amends our bylaws to reduce the number of shares required to be present at a meeting of our stockholders, we would need even fewer public shares to be voted in favor of our initial business combination to have such transaction approved.
Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders agreed to vote their shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
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, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you may not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, 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.
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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination 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 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 will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our 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 third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The per share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the fee payable to
I-Bankers
pursuant to the business combination marketing agreement. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure, or may incentivize us to structure a transaction whereby we issue shares to new investors and not to sellers of target businesses. The amount of the fee payable to I-Bankers
pursuant to the terms of the business combination marketing agreement will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. 3
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 stock.
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 stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our 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 our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering. 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 our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, 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 must complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and 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 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, 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. If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement 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 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 purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or 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 business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
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 or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-business
combination activity and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold 10% or more of our common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares equal to or in excess of 10% of our common stock.
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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 an aggregate of 10% or more of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares equal to or exceeding 10% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, on our redemption, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, if we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of common stock redeemed and, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our business combination, we make purchases of our common stock, the resources available to us for our initial business combination will potentially be reduced. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
5
If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least 21 months following the closing of our initial public offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 21 months following the closing of our initial public offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 21 months following the closing of our initial public offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a
“no-shop”
provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our initial stockholders or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, only approximately $1,276,364 (as of December 31, 2020) will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our initial stockholders, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our initial stockholders, members of our management team or any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period of the underlying warrants. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial stockholders or an affiliate of our initial stockholders as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash
items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission. 6
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 $10.00 per share. Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not 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 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. We are not aware of any product or service providers who have not or will not provide such waiver other than our auditors and the underwriters of our initial public offering.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the
per-share
redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 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 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 indemnity of the underwriters of our 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 asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, and 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. Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share or (ii) other than due to the failure to obtain a waiver from a vendor 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, such lesser amount per 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, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
7
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. Because we are not limited to a particular industry or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business on entities that have experienced financial distress or have recently emerged from a financial restructuring, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in companies that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
8
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying for a target is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
9
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our 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 management 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 ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’ management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
10
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Certain of our executive officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us following our initial business combination and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of our initial public offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our executive officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us following our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our directors or executive officers, although we do not currently intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
11
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Item 1. Business — Effecting our initial business combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our executive officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our initial stockholders, including our sponsor, officers and directors, will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers, directors, GW Sponsor 2, LLC and anchor investors, hold 4,250,000 founder shares. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, the anchor investors have purchased an aggregate of 228,000 private placement units at $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $2,280,000 that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination.
The founder shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units sold in our initial public offering, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, (ii)(A) our sponsor, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC have entered into a letter agreement 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 the completion of our initial business combination and the anchor investors also waived their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares in separate agreements, and (B) our sponsor, anchor investors, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame); and (iii) the founder shares are subject to registration rights.
The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the
21-month
anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination. Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will not be eligible to be reimbursed for their expenses if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
At the closing of our initial business combination, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf. These financial interests of our sponsor, executive officers and directors, may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
12
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date hereof to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the
per-share
amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including: | • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We will likely only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
As of December 31, 2020, we had remaining net proceeds from our initial public offering and the private placement of units and the common stock sold in our October private placement of $171,276,364 which, along with interest earned on the trust fund balance, may be used to complete our initial business combination.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
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| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company 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 us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 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 business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold, except 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination (such that we become 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. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our initial stockholders, including our officers or directors, or their advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of 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, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, regime changes, political upheaval, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| • | government appropriation of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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Risks Relating to Our Securities
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our common stock and warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and have filed a Current Report on Form
8-K,
including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
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 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering may be considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law. If a 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. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 21st month from the closing of our initial public offering in the event we do not complete our business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. 16
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 10 years following our dissolution. 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. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, 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 likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. 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 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering is not considered a liquidation 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 liquidation distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after our consummation of a business combination and you will not be entitled to any of the corporate protections provided by such a meeting.
In accordance with the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus, we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of a business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We are not registering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our reasonable best efforts to file, and within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, to have declared effective, a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and to maintain a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of common stock included in the units. We may not redeem the warrants when a holder may not exercise such warrants. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.
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The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and holders of our private placement units may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register their shares of our common stock at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of our private placement units and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the common stock, private placement warrants and the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, underlying the private placement units, and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our common stock that is expected when the common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement units or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination, and any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. There are 69,908,000 authorized but unissued shares of common stock available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our
pre-business
combination activity). However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. However, our sponsor, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 21 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business
combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock: | • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock and/or warrants. |
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time period in which the company must consummate its initial business combination. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Certain agreements related to our initial public offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to our initial public offering, the investment management trust agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer& Trust Company, the letter agreements among us and our sponsor, anchor investors, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC, the registration rights agreement among us and our sponsor, anchor investors, officers, directors, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC, the administrative services agreement between us and affiliate of one of our directors, and the business combination marketing agreement may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendment may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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.
Our initial stockholders own 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (excluding the common stock underlying the private placement units and underlying any units purchased in our initial public offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence.
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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem our unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to the warrant holder, thereby making the warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30
trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. We may not redeem the warrants when a holder may not exercise such warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force a holder (i) to exercise the warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for the holder to do so, (ii) to sell the warrants at the then-current market price when the holder might otherwise wish to hold the warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of the warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by their initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 8,500,000 shares of our common stock as part of the units offered in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued warrants underlying the private placement units that are exercisable to purchase an aggregate of 114,000 shares of our common stock in a private placement. In addition, if our initial stockholders make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible, at the option of the lender, into private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit of the post business combination entity. To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, if and when exercised, would increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and reduce the value of the shares of common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by the original holders or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iv) the founder shares are subject to registration rights.
Because each unit contains
one-half
of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies. Each unit contains
one-half
of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half
of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share. 20
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and we are taking advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, which could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we are taking 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 nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. 21
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate our initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus
(COVID-19)
outbreak. The
COVID-19
pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis and is adversely affecting the economies and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide, and could adversely affect the business of any potential target company with which we consummate a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19
continue to restrict travel, continue to limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19
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 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. Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
General Risks
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including, without limitation, restrictions on the nature of our investments, and restrictions on the issuance of our securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including, without limitation, registration as an investment company; adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1
promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to consummate a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. 22
A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. Our security holders may be unable to sell their securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC Staff”) issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Staff Statement”). In the SEC Staff Statement, the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to equity. Since issuance, our warrants were accounted for as equity within our previously reported balance sheets.
Following the issuance of the SEC Staff Statement, our management concluded that the Private Warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement and that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting, see “”
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
As a result of such material weakness, the restatement, the change in accounting for certain complex features of the common stock and warrants, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.
23
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to certain complex financial instruments we issued in connection with our initial public offering. As a result of this material weakness, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of certain complex financial instruments, and related accounts and disclosures, and presentation of earnings per share that would result in a material misstatement of the financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis for the Affected Period.
To respond to this material weakness, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our consolidated financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form
S-3
or Form S-4,
which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements.
24
PART II
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Report including, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
This Amendment No. 3 (“Amendment No. 3”) to the Annual Report on Form
10-K/A
amends the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A
of Cipher Mining Inc. (formerly known as Good Works Acquisition Corp.) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 (the “Affected Period”), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on June 14, 2021 (the “Second Amended Filing”). The Company has to its accounting classification of the redeemable common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Public Shares”), issued as part of the units sold in the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”) on October 22, 2020. Historically, a portion of the Public Shares was classified as permanent equity to maintain stockholders’ equity greater than $5 million on the basis that the Company will not redeem its Public Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as described in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Charter”). Pursuant to such
re-evaluated
the Company’s application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A
re-evaluation,
the Company’s management has determined that the Public Shares include certain provisions that require classification of all of the Public Shares as temporary equity regardless of the net tangible assets redemption limitation contained in the Charter. In addition, in connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares, the Company determined it should restate its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares (redeemable and non-redeemable). This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of the Company. Therefore, on December 17, 2021, the Company’s management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors (the “Audit Committee”) concluded that the Company’s previously issued (i) audited balance sheet as of October 22, 2020 (the “Post IPO Balance Sheet”), as previously revised in the Company’s Annual Report on Form
10-K,
as amended, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on June 14, 2021 (“2020 Form 10-K/A
No. 2”), (ii) audited financial statements included in the 2020 Form 10-K/A
No. 2, (collectively, the “Affected Periods”), should be restated to report all Public Shares as temporary equity and should no longer be relied upon. As such, the Company will restate its financial statements for the Affected Periods in this Form 10-K/A
for the Post IPO Balance Sheet and the Company’s audited financial statements included in the 2020 Form 10-K/A
No. 2. The change in accounting classification of the redeemable common stock did not have any impact on our liquidity, cash flows, revenues or costs of operating our business, in the Affected Period or in any of the periods included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data in this filing. The change in accounting classification of the redeemable common stock does not impact the amounts previously reported for the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, operating expenses or total cash flows from operations for any of these periods.
In connection with the restatement, our management reassessed the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures for the periods affected by the restatement. As a result of that reassessment, we determined that our disclosure controls and procedures for such periods were not effective with respect to certain complex financial instruments. For more information, see Item 9A included in this Annual Report on Form
10-K/A,
the Amendment No. 3.25
We have not amended our previously filed Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q.
The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported for these periods is superseded by the information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A,
and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed reports should no longer be relied upon. The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on June 24, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”). We consummated our Public Offering (as defined below) on October 22, 2020 and are currently in the process of locating suitable targets for our business combination. We intend to use the cash proceeds from our Public Offering and the Private Placement described below as well as additional issuances, if any, of our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt to complete the Business Combination.
We expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial Business Combination will be successful.
We completed the sale of 15,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit on October 22, 2020. Simultaneous with the closing of the Public Offering, we completed the sale of 228,000 Private Units (the “Private Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement to certain funds and accounts managed by Magnetar Financial LLC, Mint Tower Capital Management B.V., Periscope Capital Inc., and Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (collectively, the “Anchor Investors”).
As of December 31, 2020, a total of $170,000,000 of the net proceeds from the IPO (including the partial exercise of the over-allotment option) and the Private Placements were in a trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders. The trust fund account is invested in interest-bearing U.S. government securities and the income earned on those investments is also for the benefit of our public shareholders.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of IPO and the Private Placement, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally towards consummating a business combination.
Results of Operations
As of December 31, 2020, we have not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, relates to our formation and initial public offering (“Public Offering” of “IPO”), and, since the completion of the IPO, searching for a target to consummate a Business Combination. We will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. We will generate
non-operating income
in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Public Offering and placed in the Trust Account (defined below). For the period from June 24, 2020 (Inception) through December 31, 2020, we had net loss of approximately $107,000. We incurred approximately $107,000 of formation and operating costs (not charged against stockholders’ equity), consisting mostly of general and administrative expenses and a $19,000 change in the fair value of warrant liabilities.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash outside our trust account of $1,276,364, available for working capital needs. All remaining cash was held in the trust account and is generally unavailable for our use, prior to an initial business combination.
On October 22, 2020, the Company completed the sale of 15,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $150,000,000.
Simultaneous with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the sale of 228,000 Private Units (the “Private Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement to certain funds and accounts managed by Magnetar Financial LLC, Mint Tower Capital Management B.V., Periscope Capital Inc., and Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (collectively, the “Anchor Investors”), generating gross proceeds of $2,228,000.
26
In connection with the IPO, the underwriters were granted a
45-day
option from the date of the prospectus (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase up to 2,250,000 additional units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), if any. On October 26, 2020, the underwriters purchased an additional 1,500,000 Over-Allotment Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. On November 17, 2020, the underwriters purchased an additional 500,000 Over-Allotment Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. The Over-Allotment Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Over-Allotment Unit, generating aggregate additional gross proceeds of $20,000,000 to the Company. On November 17, 2020, the underwriters canceled the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (excluding the business combination marketing fees payable to
I-Bankers)
to complete our initial Business Combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes and liquidation expenses if we are unsuccessful in completing a Business Combination. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation per annum, which we may pay from funds from the Public Offering held outside of the trust account or from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to us for this purpose. Our 2020 franchise tax was calculated using a partial year proration and amounted to $44,523. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account reduced by our operating expense and franchise taxes. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies. Further, our Sponsor, officers and directors or their respective affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, or converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into additional Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit (the “Working Capital Units”). As of December 31, 2020, no Working Capital Loans have been issued.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking
in-depth
due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations. Off-Balance
Sheet Financing Arrangements We did not have any
off-balance
sheet arrangement as of December 31, 2020. Contractual Obligations
As of December 31, 2020, we did not have any long-term debt, capital or operating lease obligations.
We entered into an administrative services agreement pursuant to which we will pay an affiliate of one of our directors for office space and secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team, in an amount not to exceed $10,000 per month.
We have engaged
I-Bankers
as an advisor in connection with our acquiring, engaging in a share exchange, share reconstruction and amalgamation with, purchasing all or substantially all of the assets of, entering into contractual arrangements with, or engaging in any other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses or entities. We will pay I-Bankers
for such services a fee equal to 4.5% of the gross proceeds of the Public Offering. 27
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following as our critical accounting policies:
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of the Initial Public Offering, 17,000,000 shares of common stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our condensed balance sheets.
Effective with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which, resulted in charges against additional
paid-in
capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. Net Loss Per Common Share
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of redeemable and
non-redeemable
common stock outstanding for the respective period. The calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 7,614,000 shares of common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. Accretion associated with the redeemable common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC
815-15.
The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed
at the end of each reporting period. We issued warrants to investors in our initial public offering and we issued private placement warrants in the private placement we completed at the time of our initial public offering. The private placement warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40.
Accordingly, we recognize Private Warrants as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with our private placement was measured at fair value using the Black Sholes method for Private Warrants. Recent Accounting Standards
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act and are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for
non-emerging growth
companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. 28
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of
non-emerging growth
public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the independent registered public accounting firm’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier. ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
As of December 31, 2020, we were not subject to any material market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our Public Offering, the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, including amounts in the Trust Account, were invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there was no associated material exposure to interest rate risk. We have not engaged in any hedging activities since our inception. We do not expect to engage in any hedging activities with respect to the market risk to which we are exposed.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The financial statements required by this item are set forth following Item 16 of this Report and are incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
There have been no disagreements with our independent registered public accountants on accounting or financial disclosure matters during our two most recent fiscal years.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In connection with this Amendment No. 3, our management
re-evaluated,
with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b)
under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation and in light of the SEC Staff Statement, our Certifying Officers concluded that, solely due to the Company’s restatement of its financial statements to reclassify the Company’s certain complex financial instruments as described in the Explanatory Note to this Amendment, a material weakness existing and our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020. We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
29
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Our Second Amended Filing did not, and this Amendment No. 3 does not, include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companie
s.
C
hanges in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Other than as noted, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules
13a-15(f)
and 15d-15(f)
of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. In light of the restatement of our financial statements included in this Amendment No. 3, we plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects. ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
None.
30
PART III
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| a. | Documents filed as part of this Report |
| 1. | Financial Statements |
The financial statements and notes thereto which are attached hereto have been included by reference into Item 8 of this part of the annual report on Form
10-K.
See the Index to Financial Statements. | 2. | Financial Statement Schedules |
All schedules are omitted because they are inapplicable or not required or the required information is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto.
| 3. | Exhibits |
| * | Filed herewith. |
31
ITEM 16. FORM
10-K
SUMMARY None.
32
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Amendment No. 3 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| CIPHER MINING INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Tyler Page | |
| Tyler Page | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
Date: January 21, 2022
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Amendment No. 3 has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date | ||
/s/ Tyler Page |
Director, Chief Executive Officer | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Tyler Page | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Edward Farrell |
Chief Financial Officer | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Edward Farrell | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Caitlin Long |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Caitlin Long | ||||
/s/ Holly Morrow Evans |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Holly Morrow Evans | ||||
/s/ Robert Dykes |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Robert Dykes | ||||
/s/ James Newsome |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| James Newsome | ||||
/s/ Cary Grossman |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Cary Grossman | ||||
/s/ Wesley Williams |
Director | January 21, 2022 | ||
| Wesley Williams | ||||
33
GOOD WORKS ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Cipher Mining Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Cipher Mining Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of 2020 Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the accompanying financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 have been restated.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum
LLP
Marcum
LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, NY
February 17, 2021, except for the merger agreement disclosed in Note 12 as to which the date is March 5, 2021, restatement disclosed in Note 2 – Amendment 1 as to which the date is May 7, 2021, restatement disclosed in Note 2 – Amendment 2 as to which the date is June 14, 2021, and Note 2 and Note 8 – Amendment 3 and change of name Note 1, as to which the date is January 21, 2022.
F-2
CIPHER MINING INC.
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2020
(Restated- See Note 2)
Assets |
||||
Cash |
$ | |||
Prepaid expenses |
||||
Total current assets |
||||
Cash and securities held in Trust Account |
||||
Total Assets |
$ | |||
Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Equity |
||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
$ | |||
Total current liabilities |
||||
Warrant liabilities |
||||
Total Liabilities |
||||
Commitments |
||||
Common stock subject to possible redemption, $ |
||||
Stockholders’ Equity: |
||||
Preferred stock, $ |
— | |||
Common stock, $ |
||||
Additional paid-in capital |
||||
Accumulated deficit |
( |
) | ||
Total stockholders’ equity |
||||
Total Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Equity |
$ | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
CIPHER MINING INC.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(Restated-See
Note 2) For the Period from June 24, 2020 (Inception) through December 31, 2020 |
||||
Formation and operating costs |
$ | |||
Loss from operations |
( |
) | ||
Other income |
||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
||||
Interest income |
||||
Total other income |
||||
Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | |
Basic and Diluted weighted-average redeemable common shares outstanding |
||||
Basic and Diluted net loss per redeemable common share |
$ | ( |
) | |
Basic and Diluted weighted-average non-redeemable common shares outstanding |
||||
Basic and Diluted net loss per non-redeemable common share |
$ | ( |
) | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
CIPHER MINING INC.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(Restated-See
Note 2) Additional |
Total |
|||||||||||||||||||
Common Stock |
Paid-in |
Accumulated |
Stockholders’ |
|||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Capital |
Deficit |
Equity |
||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of June 24, 2020 (inception) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
— |
$ |
|||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock to founders |
— | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
( |
) | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of |
( |
) | ( |
) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
— | |||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of |
( |
) | ( |
) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
— | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fair value of derivative warrant liabilities issued in private placement |
— | — | ( |
) | — | ( |
) | |||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of |
( |
) | ( |
) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Accretion to common stock subject to possible redemption amount (Restated) |
— | — | ( |
) | — | ( |
) | |||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
$ | $ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
CIPHER MINING INC.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 24, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
(Restated-See
Note 2) For the Period from June 24, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, 2020 |
||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||
Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
Interest earned on treasury securities held in Trust Account |
( |
) | ||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
( |
) | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||
Prepaid expenses |
( |
) | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
( |
) | ||
Cash flows from investing activities: |
||||
Investments held in Trust |
( |
) | ||
Net cash used in investing activities |
( |
) | ||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||
Proceeds from sale of common stock to initial stockholders |
||||
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of offering costs |
||||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Units |
||||
Sale of shares to GW Sponsor 2, LLC |
||||
Proceeds from note payable-related party |
||||
Payment of note payable-related party |
( |
) | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
||||
Net change in cash |
||||
Cash, beginning of the period |
||||
Cash, end of period |
$ | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
CIPHER MINING INC.
NOTES TO RESTATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
Note 1—Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Organization and General
Cipher Mining Inc. (formerly known as Good Works Acquisition Corp. until August 27, 2021) (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on June 24, 2020. The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”).
The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, relates to the Company’s formation and initial public offering (“IPO”), and, since the completion of the IPO, searching for a target to consummate a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate
non-operating income
in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Public Offering and placed in the Trust Account (defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end. IPO
On October 22, 2020, the Company completed the sale of 15,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $150,000,000 which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneous with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the sale of 228,000 Private Units (the “Private Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit in a private placement to certain funds and accounts managed by Magnetar Financial LLC, Mint Tower Capital Management B.V., Periscope Capital Inc., and Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (collectively, the “Anchor Investors”), generating gross proceeds of $2,228,000 , which is described in Note 4.
In connection with the IPO, the underwriters were granted a 2,250,000 additional units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), if any. On October 26, 2020, the underwriters purchased an additional 1,500,000 Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, generating additional gross proceeds of $15,000,000 .
45-day
option from the date of the prospectus (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase up to On November 17, 2020, the underwriters purchased an additional 500,000 Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, generating gross proceeds of $5,000,000 .
The Over-Allotment Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Over-Allotment Unit, generating aggregate additional gross proceeds of $20,000,000 to the Company.
On November 17, 2020, the underwriters canceled the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option. In connection with the cancellation of the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option, on November 17, 2020, the Company cancelled an aggregate of 62,500 shares of common stock issued to
I-B
Good Works LLC, the Company’s sponsor (“Sponsor”). F-7
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Public Offering and the sale of the Private Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete a Business Combination having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80 % of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into an initial Business Combination. The Company will only complete a 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 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Management agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Public Offering will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of
Rule 2a-7 of
the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below. The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations. In the event of a complete liquidation of the Company, the Trust Account could be further reduced by up to $100,000 for expenses of the liquidation). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately before or after such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, an affiliate of
I-Bankers
Securities, Inc.(“I-Bankers
Securities”), the representative of the underwriters for the Company’s Public Offering, and the Company’s management and directors have agreed to vote their Founder Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Public Offering (a) in favor of approving a Business Combination and (b) not to convert any shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination or sell any shares to the Company in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or don’t vote at all. Sponsor and the Company’s management and Directors have agreed (a) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them in connection with the completion of a Business Combination, (b) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination and (c) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would affect a public stockholders’ ability to convert or sell their shares to the Company in connection with a Business Combination or affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100 % of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
F-8
The Company will have until 21 months from the closing of the Public Offering to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but 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 the Company to pay taxes, 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), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below $10.00 per Public Share, except as to any claims by a third party who executed an agreement with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $1,276,364 .
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking
in-depth
due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations. Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements of the Company is presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) have been made that are necessary to present fairly the financial position, and the results of its operations and its cash flows.
The Company’s financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from June 24, 2020 (Inception) through December 31, 2020 ( the “Affected Period”), is restated in its Form
10-K/A
(Amendment No. 2) to correct the misapplication of accounting guidance related to the Company’s Public Warrants and is further restated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 3) to correct the misapplication of accounting guidance related to the Company’s Public Shares the Company’s previously issued audited financial statements for such periods. The restated financial statements are indicated as “Restated” in the audited financial statements and accompanying notes, as applicable. F-9
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging growth
companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020.
Investment Held in Trust Account
Investment held in Trust Account consist of United States Treasury securities. The Company classifies its United States Treasury securities as in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 320 “Investments—Debt and Equity Securities.” securities are those securities which the Company has the ability and intent to hold until maturity. treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts.
held-to-maturity
Held-to-maturity
Held-to-maturity
A decline in the market value of securities below cost that is deemed to be other than temporary, results in an impairment that reduces the carrying costs to such securities’ fair value. The impairment is charged to earnings and a new cost basis for the security is established. To determine whether an impairment is other than temporary, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery and considers whether evidence indicating the cost of the investment is recoverable outweighs evidence to the contrary. Evidence considered in this assessment includes the reasons for the impairment, the severity and the duration of the impairment, changes in value subsequent to
held-to-maturity
year-end,
forecasted performance of the investee, and the general market condition in the geographic area or industry the investee operates in. Premiums and discounts are amortized or accreted over the life of the related security as an adjustment to yield using the effective-interest method. Such amortization and accretion is included in the “interest income” line item in the statements of operations. Interest income is recognized when earned.
held-to-maturity
Fair Value Measurements
FASB ASC Topic 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”) defines fair value, the methods used to measure fair value and the expanded disclosures about fair value measurements. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between the buyer and the seller at the measurement date. In determining fair value, the valuation techniques consistent with the market approach, income approach and cost approach shall be used to measure fair value. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs, which represent the assumptions used by the buyer and seller in pricing the asset or liability. These inputs are further defined as observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs are those that buyer and seller would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s assumptions about the inputs that the buyer and seller would use in pricing the asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.
F-10
The fair value hierarchy is categorized into three levels based on the inputs as follows:
| Level 1 — | Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Valuation adjustments and block discounts are not being applied. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, valuation of these securities does not entail a significant degree of judgment. | |
| Level 2 — | Valuations based on (i) quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, (ii) quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets, (iii) inputs other than quoted prices for the assets or liabilities, or (iv) inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by market through correlation or other means. | |
| Level 3 — | Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. | |
The fair value of the Company’s certain assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the condensed balance sheet. The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, prepaid assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses, due to related parties are estimated to approximate the carrying values as of December 31, 2020 due to the short maturities of such instruments.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Fair Value Measured as of December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||||||
Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
Total |
|||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
U.S. Money Market held in Trust Account |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
U.S. Treasury Securities held in Trust Account |
||||||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
Private stock warrant liabilities (Restated) |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2020, the estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants was determined using a Black Sholes valuation model using Level 3 inputs. Significant inputs to the valuation are as follows:
At Issuance |
As of December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
Exercise price |
$ | $ | ||||||
Stock price |
$ | $ | ||||||
Volatility |
% | % | ||||||
Probability of completing a Business Combination |
% | % | ||||||
Term |
||||||||
Risk-free rate |
% | % | ||||||
Dividend yield |
% | % | ||||||
Risk-free interest rate:
Dividend yield:
Volatility:
Micro-Cap
ETF. Remaining term:
F-11
The change in fair value of Private Warrants through December 31, 2020 is as follows:
Warrant liabilities at June 24, 2020 (inception) |
$ | |||
Issuance of private warrants |
||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
( |
) | ||
Warrant liabilities at December 31, 2020 |
$ | |||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000 . At December 31, 2020, the Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Derivative warrant liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC
815-15.
The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed
at the end of each reporting period. The 114,000 Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40.
Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with our private placement was initially and subsequently remeasured at fair value using the Black Sholes method. Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of the IPO, 17,000,000 shares of common stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of the common stock subject to possible redemption to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Effective with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional
paid-in
capital. Offering Costs
Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, and underwriting fees and other costs incurred that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred, presented as
non-operating
expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the common stock issued were charged against the carrying value of the Public Shares upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company classifies deferred underwriting commissions as non-current
liabilities as their liquidation is not reasonably expected to require the use of current assets or require the creation of current liabilities. Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
F-12
Net Income (Loss) Per Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of redeemable and
non-redeemable
common stock outstanding for the respective period. The calculation of diluted net income (loss) per common stock does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 7,614,000 shares of common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. Accretion associated with the redeemable common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The following table reflects presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income (loss) per share of redeemable and
non-redeemable
common stock: For the Period from |
||||||||
June 24, 2020 (Inception) |
||||||||
Through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||
Redeemable |
Non-redeemable |
|||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share: |
||||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||
Allocation of net loss |
$( |
) | $( |
) | ||||
Denominator: |
||||||||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
||||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ ( |
) | $ ( |
) | ||||
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
F-13
Note 2— Restatement of Financial Statements
Amendment No.1
In May 2021, the Company concluded that, because of a misapplication of the accounting guidance related to its Public and Private Placement warrants the Company issued in its initial public offering, the Company’s previously issued financial statements for the Affected Periods should no longer be relied upon. As such, the Company restated its financial statements in Amendment No. 1 on form
10-K/A
as filed on May 7, 2021. Amendment No.2
In June 2021, the Audit Committee of the Company, in consultation with management, concluded that, because of a misapplication of the accounting guidance related to its Public Warrants the Company issued in its initial public offering, the Company’s previously issued financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 should no longer be relied upon. As such, the Company restated its financial statements in Amendment No. 2 on Form
10-K/A
for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed on June 14, 2021. Amendment No.3
The Company concluded it should restate its previously issued financial statements by amending Amendment No. 2 to its Annual Report on Form 5,000,001 . Previously, the Company did not consider redeemable stock classified as temporary equity as part of net tangible assets. Effective with these financial statements, the Company revised this interpretation to include temporary equity in net tangible assets. Also, in connection with the change in presentation for the Public Shares, the Company also revised its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of the Company. As a result, the Company restated its previously filed financial statements to present all redeemable common stock as temporary equity and to recognize accretion from the initial book value to redemption value at the time of its Initial Public Offering and in accordance with ASC 480.
10-K/A,
filed with the SEC on June 14, 2021, to classify all Public Shares in temporary equity. In accordance with the SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, ASC 480, paragraph 10-S99,
redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified a portion of its Public Shares in permanent equity, or total stockholders’ equity. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter currently provides that, the Company will not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported balance sheet as of December 31, 2020:
As of December 31, 2020: |
As Previously Reported |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
|||||||||
Total assets |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
Total liabilities |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
Common stock subject to possible redemption |
||||||||||||
Preferred stock |
||||||||||||
Common stock |
( |
) | ||||||||||
Additional paid-in captial |
( |
) | ||||||||||
Accumulated deficit |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||
Total stockholders’ equity |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||
Total Liabilities, Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption and Stockholders’ Equity |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
F-14
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of stockholders’ equity for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020:
As Previously Reported |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| Balance as of June 24, 2020 (inception) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| Issuance of common stock to founders |
||||||||||||
| Sale of |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Sale of |
||||||||||||
| Sale of |
||||||||||||
| Sale of |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Sale of |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Forfeiture of |
||||||||||||
| Underwriters’ discount |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Other offering expenses |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Fair value of derivative warrant liabilities issued in public offering and private placement (Restated) |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| Maximum number of redeemable shares (Restated) |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Accretion to common stock subject to possible redemption amount (Restated) |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| Net loss (Restated) |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||
The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company’s previously reported statement of cash flows for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020:
| For the Period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
As Previously Reported |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| Supplemental Disclosure of Noncash Financing Activities: |
||||||||||||
| Initial value of common stock subject to possible redemption (restated) |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption (restated) |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | |||||||
The impact to the reported amounts of weighted average shares outstanding and basic and diluted earnings per share is presented below for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020:
Earnings Per Share for Common Stock |
||||||||||||
As Previously Reported (1) |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| For the Period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Basic and Diluted weighted-average redeemable common shares outstanding |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Basic and Diluted net loss per redeemable common share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||
| Basic and Diluted weighted-average non-redeemable common shares outstanding |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Basic and Diluted net loss per non-redeemable common shares |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | ( |
||||||
| (1) - | The weighted average shares outstanding was calculated based on the two-class method, where the earnings per share was determined based on redeemable and non-redeemable common stock. The Company revised its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses by the weighted average shares of redeemable and non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the respective period. |
Note 3 - Initial Public Offering
Pursuant to the IPO on October 22, 2020, the Company sold 15,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of common stock and 11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
one-half of
one warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $The underwriters were granted a 2,250,000 additional units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), if any. On October 26, 2020, the underwriters partially exercised the over-allotment option by purchasing 1,500,000 Units (the “Over-Allotment Units”), and on November 17, 2020, the underwriters exercised a final over-allotment option and purchased an additional 500,000 Over-Allotment Units, generating aggregate of gross proceeds of $20,000,000 .
45-day
option from the date of the prospectus (the “Over-Allotment Option”) to purchase up to Upon closing of the IPO and the sale of the Over-Allotment Units, a total of $170,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) has been placed in a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
Note 4 – Private Placement
On October 22, 2020, simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering, the Anchor Investors purchased an aggregate of 228,000 Private Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $2,280,000 , in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of the Public Offering. Each Private Unit consists of one share of common stock (“Private Share”) and Each whole Private Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The proceeds from the Private Units were added to the proceeds from the Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law).
one-half of
one warrant (“Private Warrant”).Note 5 – Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
In July 2020, Sponsor, and our officers and directors (collectively, the “Founders”) purchased an aggregate of 4,312,500 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of the Company’s common stock for an aggregate price of $25,000 . In August 2020, certain of our initial stockholders forfeited 1,355,000 Founder Shares and the Anchor Investors purchased 1,355,000 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $7,855 , or approximately $0.006 per share. In October 2020, Sponsor forfeited an aggregate of 562,500 founder shares for no consideration, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC, an entity managed by Management, purchased from the Company 562,500 shares for a purchase price of $163,125 . The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 562,500 shares subject to forfeiture by Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Founders and Anchor Investors will collectively own 20 % of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Public Offering (assuming the Founders or Anchor Investors do not purchase any Public Shares in the Public Offering). On November 17, 2020, the underwriters canceled the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option. In connection with the cancellation of the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option, the Company cancelled an aggregate of 62,500 shares of common stock issued to Sponsor.
F-15
Of the Founder Shares, several of the Founders are holding an aggregate of 750,000 shares which they have agreed to contribute to a organization that is mutually acceptable to them and the Company’s board of directors within six months after the Public Offering or such shares will be forfeited and cancelled.
not-for-profit
The Founders and Anchor Investor have agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of earlier of (1) one year after the completion of the Business Combination and (2) the date on which the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization, or other similar transaction after the Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any
30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On June 30, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to IBS Holding Corporation (the “Promissory Note”), an affiliate of the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $432,500 . The Promissory Note was 135,000 from the proceeds of the IPO not being placed in the Trust Account. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had no drawn downs under the promissory note.
non-interest bearing
and was payable on the earlier of (i) the consummation of the Public Offering or (ii) the date on which the Company determined not to proceed with the Public Offering. On October 22, 2020, the Company repaid the outstanding borrowings under the Promissory Note amounting to $Related Party Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, Sponsor and its designees may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into Private Units of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $10.00 per Private Unit. The Private Units would be identical to the Private Units issued in the Private Placement. At December 31, 2020, were no Working Capital Loans outstanding.
Administrative Support Agreement
The Company has agreed, commencing on the effective date of the Public Offering through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and the liquidation of the Trust Account, to pay an affiliate of one of the Company’s executive officers $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support.
Note 6 —Investment Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2020, investment in the Company’s Trust Account consisted of $203 in U.S. Money Market and $170,027,139 in U.S. Treasury Securities. All of the U.S. Treasury Securities mature on April 22, 2021 . The Company classifies its United States Treasury securities as in accordance with FASB ASC 320 “Investments — Debt and Equity Securities”. treasury securities are recorded at amortized cost and adjusted for the amortization or accretion of premiums or discounts. The Company considers all investments with original maturities of more than three months but less than one year to be short-term investments. The carrying value approximates the fair value due to its short-term maturity. The carrying value, excluding gross unrealized holding loss and fair value of held to maturity securities on December 31, 2020 are as follows:
held-to-maturity
Held-to-maturity
Carrying Value/Amortized Cost |
Gross Unrealized Gains |
Gross Unrealized Losses |
Fair Value as of December 31, 2020 |
|||||||||||||
| U.S. Money Market |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| U.S. Treasury Securities |
( |
) | ||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| $ | $ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
F-16
Note 7
–
Commitments
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, as well as the holders of the Private Units and any Private Warrants or Private Units that may be issued in payment of Working Capital Loans made to the Company (and all underlying securities), are entitled to registration rights pursuant to an agreement that was signed on the effective date of Public Offering. The holders of a majority of these securities are entitled to make up to two
demands that the Company register such securities. The holders of the majority of the Founders Shares can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time commencing three
months prior to the date on which these shares of common stock are to be released from escrow. The holders of a majority of the Founder Shares, Private Units and Private Warrants or Private Units issued in payment of Working Capital Loans (or underlying securities) can elect to exercise these registration rights at any time after the Company consummates a Business Combination. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a
45
-day option
from the date of Public Offering to purchase up to 2,250,000
On October 26
, 2020
, the underwriters purchased an additional 1,500,000 Over-Allotment Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. On November 17
, 2020
, the underwriters purchased an additional 500,000 Over-Allotment Units pursuant to the partial exercise of the Over-Allotment Option. The Over-Allotment Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Over-Allotment Unit, generating aggregate additional gross proceeds of $20,000,000 to the Company. On November 17
, 2020
, the underwriters canceled the remainder of the Over-Allotment Option.
The Company paid a fixed underwriting discount of $450,000 to the underwriters at the closing of the Public Offering.
Business Combination Marketing Agreement
The Company engaged
I-Bankers
Securities, Inc. as an advisor in connection with a Business Combination to assist the Company in holding meetings with its stockholders to discuss the potential Business Combination and the target business’ attributes, introduce the Company to potential investors that are interested in purchasing the Company’s securities in connection with a Business Combination, assist the Company in obtaining stockholder approval for the Business Combination and assist the Company with its press releases and public filings in connection with the Business Combination.
The Company will pay
I-Bankers
Securities, Inc. a cash fee for such services upon the consummation of a Business Combinati4.5 % of the gross proceeds of Public Offering (exclusive of any applicable finders’ fees which might become payable).
o
n in an amount equal to Note 8 – Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company’s common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of future events. The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of common stock with a par value of $0.001 per share. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of the Initial Public Offering, there were 21,478,000 shares of common stock outstanding, of which 17,000,000 were subject to possible redemption and classified outside of permanent equity in the balance sheet.
The common stock subject to possible redemption reflected on the balance sheet is reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds from Initial Public Offering |
$ | |||
| Less: |
||||
| Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance |
( |
) | ||
| Offering costs allocated at common stock subject to possible redemption |
( |
) | ||
| Plus: |
||||
| Accretion on common stock subject to possible redemption |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Common stock subject to possible redemption |
$ | |||
| |
|
Note 9 – Stockholders’ Equity
Common Stock
The holders of the Founder Shares have agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of earlier of (1) one year after the completion of the Business Combination and (2) the date on which the Company consummates a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization, or other similar transaction after the Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Company’s common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any
30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the initial stockholders with respect to any Founder Shares. F-17
Note 10 – Warrants
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; |
| • | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and |
| • | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of common stock underlying the warrants. |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement.
The Private Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Public Offering, except that the Private Warrants and the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and be
non-redeemable so
long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
F-18
Note 11 – Income Tax
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
December 31, 2020 |
||||
Deferred tax asset |
||||
Organizational costs/Startup expenses |
$ | |||
Federal net operating loss |
||||
Total deferred tax asset |
||||
Valuation allowance |
( |
) | ||
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance |
$ |
|||
The income tax provision consists of the following:
December 31, 2020 |
||||
Federal |
||||
Current |
$ | |
||
Deferred |
( |
) | ||
State |
||||
Current |
||||
Deferred |
||||
Change in valuation allowance |
||||
Income tax provision |
$ |
|||
As of December 31, 2020, the Company has $22,181 of U.S. federal net operating loss carryovers, which do not expire, and no state net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was $26,526 .
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2020 is as follows:
Statutory federal income tax rate |
% | |||
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities |
% | |||
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit |
% | |||
Change in valuation allowance |
( |
)% | ||
Income tax provision |
% | |||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities.
F-19
Note 12 – Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based on this review, other than as described below, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
On March 5, 2021, the Company (or “Good Works”) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “0.001 issued and outstanding shall be converted into the right to receive four hundred thousand (400,000 ) shares of Good Works common stock, par value $0.001 (“200,000,000 ) shares of Good Works Common Stock (at a value of ten dollars ($10.00 ) per share). Additionally, Good Works will provide the proceeds of the trust account and additional PIPE funding (see paragraph below) equaling no less than $400,000,000 , subject to customary closing adjustments.
Merger Agreement
”), by and among Currency Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub
”), and Cipher Mining Technologies Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Cipher
”), an affiliate of Bitfury Holding B.V. (“BHBV”). The Merger Agreement provides for, among other things, the following transactions at the closing: (i) Merger Sub will merge with and into Cipher, with Cipher as the surviving company in the merger and, after giving effect to such merger, continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Good Works (the “Merger
”) and, in connection with the Merger, (ii) Good Works will change its name to Cipher Mining Inc. Cipher will be treated as the acquiror for accounting purposes
. The Business Combination is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, following the receipt of the required approval by Good Works stockholders and the fulfillment (or waiver) of other customary closing conditions. In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Merger Agreement, each share of Cipher common stock, par value $Good Works Common Stock
”); provided that the exchange ratio shall be adjusted as needed to ensure the aggregate Merger consideration received by the sole stockholder of Cipher equals two hundred million (Concurrent with execution of the Merger Agreement, Good Works entered into subscription agreements (the “37,500,000 shares of Good Works Common Stock for a purchase price of $10.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $375,000,000 (the “
Subscription Agreements
”) with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors
”). Pursuant to the Subscription Agreements, the PIPE Investors agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and Good Works agreed to issue and sell to such investors, immediately following the Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement), an aggregate of PIPE Financing
”). Concurrent with the execution of the Merger Agreement and the execution of the Subscription Agreements with the PIPE Investors, Bitfury, the parent company of Cipher, agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and Good Works agreed to issue and sell to Bitfury, concurrent with the Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement), an aggregate of 5,000,000 shares of Good Works Common Stock in exchange for a commitment as payment for such shares (the “Bitfury Private Placement”) pursuant to a subscription agreement with Good Works (the “ commitment as payment on behalf of its parent entity, for the issuance of the 5,000,000 shares of Good Works Common Stock pursuant to the Bitfury Private Placement.
benefit-in-kind
Bitfury Subscription Agreement
”). Bitfury agreed to cause BHBV to discount the Service Fees (as that term is defined in the Master Service and Supply Agreement, “MSSA”) charged by BHBV under the MSSA as follows: that the first $200,000,000 of Service Fees payable by Cipher to BHBV under the MSSA described above shall be subject to a discount of 25%, to be applied at the point of invoicing and shown as a separate line item on each relevant invoice. For the avoidance of doubt, when the aggregate value of such discount reaches $50,000,000, such discount shall automatically cease to apply. Such discount shall constitute BHBV’s benefit-in-kind
F-20
EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION
I, Tyler Page, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this Amendment No. 3 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 of Cipher Mining Inc. originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2021;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b. [omitted];
c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
| Date: January 21, 2022 | By: | /s/ Tyler Page | ||||
| Tyler Page | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
EXHIBIT 31.2
CERTIFICATION
I, Edward Farrell, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this Amendment No. 3 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 of Cipher Mining Inc. originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2021;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:
a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b. [omitted];
c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
| Date: January 21, 2022 | By: | /s/ Edward Farrell | ||||
| Edward Farrell | ||||||
| Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. 1350
(SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002)
In connection with Amendment No. 3 to the Annual Report of Cipher Mining Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Tyler Page, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:
| (1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| (2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
Date: January 21, 2022
| By: | /s/ Tyler Page | |||
| Tyler Page | ||||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. 1350
(SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002)
In connection with Amendment No. 3 to the Annual Report of Cipher Mining Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Edward Farrell, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:
| (1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| (2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
Date: January 21, 2022
| By: | /s/ Edward Farrell | |||
| Edward Farrell | ||||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||