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 Annual Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We may not be able to complete the Silexion Business Combination (or any other initial business combination) within the prescribed time frame, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 42 months from the closing of our initial public offering (following shareholder approval of the Second Extension). We may not be able to complete the Silexion Business Combination or any other initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 42 month period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “- If we are to complete the Silexion Business Combination or another business combination by August 19, 2024 (or such later date as our shareholders may approve) and the trust account …” and other risk factors below.
If the combined company following the Silexion Business Combination does not have sufficient financing to develop its platform and continue in business, it may incur substantial debt following the completion of the Silexion Business Combination, which may adversely affect the combined company’s leverage and financial condition.
As of the date of this Annual Report, neither Silexion nor Moringa has any external financing in place for the combined company at or following the closing of the Silexion Business Combination, other than the expected $3.5 million or more of convertible loans to be received by Silexion and the $350,000 to $500,000 of minimum cash to be maintained in Moringa as of the closing. Neither Silexion nor Moringa can give any assurance that it will be able to negotiate a more significant financing for Moringa following the closing. Any financing may significantly dilute the equity interest of the continuing shareholders of Moringa and may include unfavorable terms, including giving an investor the ability to acquire shares at a price which is less than the market price of the ordinary shares at the time of purchase of Moringa Class A ordinary shares, whether upon conversion of a debt instrument or a takedown under an equity line of credit. Moringa can give no assurance that the combined company following the Silexion Business Combination will be able to enter into any financing on terms that it considers reasonable and which would not hurt the combined company’s leverage and financial condition.
If we are unable to complete the Silexion Business Combination or another business combination by August 19, 2024 (or such later date as our shareholders may approve) and liquidate the trust account, third parties may also bring claims against us and, as a result, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per share liquidation price received by our shareholders could be less than $10.00 per share.
Under the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as amended by the Extensions), we must complete a business combination by August 19, 2024, or else must cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, redeeming 100% of the outstanding public shares and, subject to the approval of the remaining Moringa shareholders and the Moringa board, dissolving and liquidating. In such event, third parties may bring claims against us. Although we have obtained waiver agreements from certain vendors and service providers (other than our independent auditors) we have engaged and owe money to, and the prospective target businesses we have negotiated with, whereby such parties have waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in or to any monies held in the trust account, there is no guarantee that they or other vendors who did not execute such waivers will not seek recourse against the trust account notwithstanding such agreements. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that a court will uphold the validity of such agreements. Accordingly, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to claims that could take priority over those of the public shareholders.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to our company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we had 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) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO 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, the sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether the sponsor has sufficient funds to its indemnity obligations and believe that the sponsor’s only assets are securities of Moringa. Accordingly, the sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to those obligations. We have not asked the sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such were made the trust account, the funds available for the Silexion Business Combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be to complete the Silexion Business Combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for by third parties including, without , by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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 shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) 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 shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
The completion of the proposed Silexion Business Combination, and the operations of Silexion, may be materially adversely affected by certain current unfavorable macro-economic trends.
Certain global macro-economic trends that developed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic have been adversely impacting the global economic environment. Supply chain delays, initially caused by closures during the pandemic, and rising shipping costs, which have been exacerbated by the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the Houthis’ attacks in the Red Sea, have contributed towards inflationary pressures on many goods and commodities globally. The upwards pressure on prices of goods and services, causing high rates of inflation globally, caused governments and central banks to raise interest rates, which has been inhibiting economic activity and access to capital markets, and may cause a recession, whether in individual countries or regions, or globally.
These deteriorating economic conditions may adversely impact access to financing for the combined company upon the consummation of the proposed Silexion Business Combination.
If the disruptions posed by unfavorable macro-economic conditions continue for a further extensive period of time, the operations of Silexion may be adversely affected.
If our funds being held outside of the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate through the Second Extension Date, and we are unable to obtain additional capital, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share or less, under certain circumstances.
As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $108 thousand in cash held outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until the Second Extension Date, assuming that the Silexion Business Combination is not completed earlier than the Second Extension Date. We might not have sufficient funds to continue paying for our ongoing operations and expenses related to the Silexion Business Combination.
If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow additional funds from the Sponsor under additional promissory notes that we may issue to it, or from members of our management team or other third parties, in order to continue to operate, or else we may be forced to liquidate. 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. If we are unable to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to complete the Silexion Business Combination. If we are unable to complete the Silexion Business Combination or any other 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 shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share (or less, under certain circumstances) on our redemption of the remaining outstanding public shares.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
We have limited cash resources, and will need to obtain additional funds, in order to satisfy our liquidity needs in our current efforts to consummate the Silexion Business Combination. Additional financial support may be provided by the sponsor under promissory notes that we may issue to it, although the sponsor is not obligated to provide such support. We have already borrowed approximately $2.84 million, in the aggregate, from the sponsor (including the maximum amounts that the sponsor has committed to contribute to the trust account, as loans to us, in connection with the Extensions). If we are unable to consummate the Silexion Business Combination by August 19, 2024, or other later date to which such deadline may be extended, we will cease to exist. In light of the foregoing, there may be substantial doubt raised about our ability to continue as a “going concern.” Please see the explanatory paragraph under the heading “Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern” in our independent auditors’ report on our financial statements that appears in this Annual Report. The financial statements contained in this Annual Report do not include any adjustments that might result from our to consummate a business combination or to continue as a “going .”
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of the material weakness that we identified as of the end of the first quarter of 2021, the change in accounting for the certain complex features of our Class A ordinary shares and private placement 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 material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or , whether or not, could have a material effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete the Silexion Business Combination or any other business combination.
In connection with the shareholder approval of the Silexion Business Combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public float of our securities.
Our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of the Silexion Business Combination, although they are under no obligation or duty to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with the Silexion Business Combination. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination or to Nasdaq initial listing requirements at the of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirements would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination in a situation where it may not have otherwise been possible. If such purchases are made, the public “float” of the combined company and the number of holders of the combined company’s securities may be reduced, possibly making it to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of its securities on Nasdaq.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency laws, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency 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 shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. 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 , by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the of creditors.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who and authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be of an and may be liable to a fine of up to $18,292 and to for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for Silexion or any other target business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to (nor have we, in the case of the Silexion Business Combination) obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that the price we are paying for a target company is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders 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.
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 units, following redemptions, 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.
Of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private units, following approval of the First Extension and the Second Extension, only approximately $5.7 million of funds remain available in our trust fund (as of December 31, 2023), assuming no further redemptions. Of those funds, we expect that we may need to pay a significant portion as an advisory fee to EarlyBirdCapital in connection with our initial business combination.
Because of the amount of the remaining funds in the trust account and the lack of time remaining until the Second Extension Date deadline by which we must complete our initial business combination, we will only effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business. 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, such as Silexion’s; or
dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services, such as those offered by Silexion.
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 (such as the biotechnology industry, in respect of Silexion) in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We are seeking a business combination with Silexion, a clinical stage company, which lacks an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with Silexion or another clinical stage or early stage company, or any other entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile or no revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors have endeavored to evaluate the risks inherent in Silexion, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have had 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 Silexion’s business.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to further amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
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. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination. We have amended our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to provide for the First Extension, the Second Extension and to enable our sponsor to convert its founders shares from Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares before the completion of a business combination. Any additional amendment will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who attend and vote at a shareholders meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. We cannot you that we will not seek to amend our amended and memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments or further extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
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 a majority of the then outstanding public warrants.
Our warrants have been 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 a majority 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 a majority 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 a majority 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 Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We are not deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and qualify as an emerging growth company, therefore we are not 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.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter is 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 will likely remain with Silexion in board member or advisory positions following our Business Combination, all of the management of Silexion will remain in place. While the combined company would intend to closely scrutinize any individuals it engages after the Silexion Business Combination, we cannot assure you that its 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 the company to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Past performance by the companies in which our management team and our sponsor’s members and affiliates have been involved may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team and sponsor’s members and affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and sponsor’s members and affiliates is not a guarantee of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate, including the Silexion Business Combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team and sponsor’s members and affiliates as indicative of our future performance and you may lose all or part of your invested capital. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team and our sponsor’s members and affiliates have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful. None of our officers, directors or the partners or affiliates of our sponsor have had management experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition corporations in the past.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals, and particularly Mr. Levin, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and our other officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our 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 officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our officers and directors 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 officers and directors are not required to, and do 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 have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our 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 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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those conducted by us 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 engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities such as operating companies or investment vehicles that are engaged in making and managing investments in a similar business.
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 other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
For a complete discussion of our 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” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”
Our 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 directors, officers, security holders or 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 sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not 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.
Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial public offering, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 2,875,000 founders shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. Simultaneous with the two closings of our initial public offering, our sponsor purchased an additional 325,000 and 27,857 Class A ordinary shares, and warrants to purchase an additional 162,500 and 13,928 Class A ordinary shares, respectively. As such, our sponsor owns 3,227,857 ordinary shares, which constitute approximately 83.4% of our issued and outstanding shares following the redemptions of public shares effected in connection with the Extensions. The founders shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. The founders shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in our initial public offering except that until the consummation of our initial business combination transaction, only the founders shares (currently, only the one founders share that remains a Class B ordinary share) have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. In addition, both the founders shares and the private (Class A ordinary) shares purchased by the sponsor concurrently with the offering are subject to certain transfer restrictions (unlike public shares). Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (B) to waive their rights to distributions from the trust account with respect to their founders and private shares if we to complete our initial business combination within 24 months (as was automatically extended to 42 months upon approval of the Second Extension) from the of our initial public offering (although they will be entitled to distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame), as described herein and in our amended and memorandum and articles of association.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, 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 42-month deadline following the closing of our initial public offering nears, which is the current deadline for the completion of our initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any bona-fide, documented out-of-pocket expenses 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.
At the closing of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any bona-fide, documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf. These financial interests of our sponsor, officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In the recent period of time, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. The premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity will likely need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Our search for a business combination opportunity with a company located in or connected to Israel may be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact either the search process and/or the operations of the combined company.
Because we seek an initial business combination with a company that is located in Israel or that has a significant Israeli connection, we may face additional burdens in investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, and if we effect such business combination, we could be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, a number of armed conflicts have occurred between Israel and its neighboring countries and terrorist organizations active in the region. These conflicts have involved missile strikes, hostile infiltrations and terrorism against civilian targets in various parts of Israel, which have negatively affected business conditions in Israel.
In October 2023, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip and conducted a series of attacks on civilian and military targets. Hamas also launched extensive rocket attacks on Israeli population and industrial centers located along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip and in other areas within the State of Israel. These attacks resulted in extensive deaths, injuries and kidnapping of civilians and soldiers. Following the attack, Israel’s security cabinet declared war against Hamas and a military campaign against these terrorist organizations commenced in parallel to their continued rocket and terror attacks.
The intensity and duration of Israel’s current war against Hamas is difficult to predict, as are such war’s economic implications on the business and operations on any target company with which we may combine, and on Israel's economy in general. These events may cause wider macroeconomic deterioration in Israel, which may have a material adverse effect on our ability to effectively complete our business combination process, or on the operations of an Israel-centered target company with which we may combine.
In connection with the Israeli security cabinet’s declaration of war against Hamas and possible hostilities with other organizations, several hundred thousand Israeli military reservists were drafted to perform immediate military service. Certain of our executives and board members live in Israel, and employees of a target company with which we may combine, or its service providers, may be located in Israel, and may have been called, or will be called, for service in the current or future wars or other armed conflicts with Hamas, and such persons may be unavailable for extended periods of time. Our business combination search and the operations of our potential target companies may be disrupted by such absences, which may materially and adversely affect our ability to complete a business combination before the Second Extension Date and/or the operations of our potential target company. Additionally, the absence of employees of a target company’s Israeli suppliers and/or contract manufacturers due to military service in the current or future wars or other armed conflicts may disrupt their operations, which in turn may materially and affect our target company’s ability to deliver or provide products and services to customers.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we are unable to do so, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination before the Second Extension Date, or, if we complete such initial business combination in time, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to our Securities
We are currently not in compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements. If we are unable to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements, our securities could be delisted, which could affect our securities’ market price and liquidity, and could also frustrate our ability to complete our initial business combination.
On February 20, 2024, we received a written notice (the “Notice”) from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department indicating that unless we timely request a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), trading of our securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market was to be suspended at the opening of business on February 29, 2024, due to our non-compliance with Nasdaq IM-5101-2, which requires that a special purpose acquisition company complete one or more business combinations within 36 months of the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement. We requested a hearing before the panel, which is scheduled for April 23, 2024.
We cannot assure you that we will be able regain compliance with Nasdaq IM-5101-2 and maintain compliance with all other Nasdaq continued listing requirements. In particular, if we are unable to convince the Panel that we will qualify for initial listing on Nasdaq upon the completion of the Silexion Business Combination, we will likely be unsuccessful in obtaining a desired six-month extension to regain compliance with the subject Nasdaq IM-5101-2, as the sole means to regain compliance and remedy our current non-compliance is to complete the Silexion Business Combination (or any other potential business combination) prior to the end of the extension period.
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 shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the redemption rights provided to shareholders as described in this Annual Report, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months (as was automatically extended to 42 months upon approval of the Second Extension) from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a .
SEC rules affecting special purpose acquisition companies may adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination. In particular, certain of the procedures that we, a potential initial business combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with our initial business combination may increase our costs and the time needed to complete our initial business combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete an initial business combination. We may be forced to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the trust account or liquidate and dissolve our company at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose.
To the extent that Moringa, as a SPAC, is deemed to be subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940, referred to as the Investment Company Act, or, in order to avoid that regulation, we limit our duration, alter the assets that we hold, change our business purpose, or limit our activities, that may increase the costs of and the time needed to complete our initial business combination, and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete our initial business combination. Because we are more at risk of being considered an unregistered investment company if the funds in the trust account are held in short-term U.S. government treasury obligations or in money market funds for a longer period of time, we are more likely to liquidate those investments sooner than desired and thereafter hold all funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account. That may also lead to our liquidating and dissolving our company at an earlier time than we might otherwise choose.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities would be severely restricted. As a result, in such circumstances, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate and dissolve the Company.
There is currently uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC, including a company like ours. It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. The longer that the funds in the trust account are invested exclusively in short-term U.S. government treasury obligations or in money market funds, the greater the risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities would be severely restricted. In addition, we would be subject to burdensome compliance requirements. We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to regulation as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. However, if we are deemed to be an investment company and subject to compliance with and regulation under the Investment Company Act, we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and expenses for which we have not allotted funds. As a result, unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we may abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead liquidate and dissolve the Company. If we are required to liquidate and dissolve, our shareholders would not be able to realize the benefits of owning stock in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants following such a transaction, and our warrants would expire worthless.
Moringa may be deemed a “foreign person” and therefore may not be able to complete its business combination because such transaction may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements, including pursuant to foreign investment regulations and review by governmental entities such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or may be ultimately prohibited.
Our sponsor, Moringa Sponsor, LP, is a non-U.S. entity that is controlled by non-U.S. persons. We may pursue a business combination target in any business or industry and across any geographical region, including in the United States. Certain transactions in the United States are subject to specific rules or regulations that may limit, prohibit, or create additional requirements with respect to foreign ownership of a U.S. company. In particular, our initial business combination, if effected with a U.S. target company, may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited. For example, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, has authority to review certain direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings, and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. If CFIUS determines that an investment threatens national security, CFIUS has the power to impose restrictions on the investment or recommend that the President of the United States prohibit it or order divestment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on, among other factors, the nature and structure of the transaction, the nationality of the parties, the level of ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved.
As such, a business combination with a U.S. business or foreign business with U.S. operations that we may potentially wish to pursue may be subject to CFIUS review. If a particular proposed business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’ jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to delay or recommend that the President of the United States block our proposed initial business combination, require conditions with respect to such initial business combination or recommend that the President of the United States order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our business combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval, which may limit the attractiveness of, or delay or prevent us from pursuing, certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. In addition, certain types of U.S. businesses may be subject to rules or regulations that limit or impose requirements with respect to foreign ownership.
If CFIUS determines it has jurisdiction, CFIUS may decide to recommend a block or delay our business combination, or require conditions with respect to it, which may delay or prevent us from consummating a potential transaction. It is unclear at this stage whether any such potential business combination transaction would fall within CFIUS’ jurisdiction, and if so, whether we would be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS.
The process of review by a governmental entity, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we only have a limited amount time left to complete our business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate and dissolve. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period required, including as a result of extended regulatory review, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible, redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account and as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the chance of realizing future gains through any price appreciation in the combined company. Additionally, our warrants will become . As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete a business combination may be limited and we may be affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar ties to non-U.S. persons.
Our sponsor controls the appointment of our board of directors until completion of our initial business combination and hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, it appoints all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our sponsor owns 83.4% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, only the sole outstanding Class B ordinary share, which is held by our sponsor, has the right to vote on the appointment of directors, and may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, has any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Annual Report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, as a result of its substantial ownership in our company, our sponsor may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our sponsor purchases any Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its influence over these actions. Accordingly, our sponsor exerts significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your 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 Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like or as indicated above) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing on the date they become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) 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 your warrants. None of the private warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Even if we consummate the Silexion Business Combination, our publicly traded warrants may never be in the money, and they may expire worthless.
The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share. There can be no assurance that the public warrants will be in the money prior to their expiration and, as such, the warrants may expire worthless. The terms of public warrants may be amended in a manner that may be adverse to the holders. The Warrant Agreement between Continental, as warrant agent, and us, 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 a majority of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Our ability to amend the terms of the warrants with the consent of a majority 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 Moringa purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
There is currently a limited market for our securities, which could adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
Shareholders have limited access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers. Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of or multiple may well be held to be to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, 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.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
An investment in our company may result in uncertain or adverse United States federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our company may result in uncertain United States federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to our units, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary share and the one-half warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or the courts. Furthermore, the United States federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the principal United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 42 months of the closing of our initial public offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 42 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 42 months from the closing of our initial public offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (less up to $100,000 of the net interest earned thereon to pay dissolution expenses), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 42 months before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our Amended and memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are to complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial 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 initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder 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 shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Item 1. Business— Effecting a Business Combination— Redemption rights.”
The warrants that are part of the units that we offered publicly and privately, together with our grant of registration rights to our sponsor and others, may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and may make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
We have issued warrants to purchase 5,750,000 of our ordinary shares, at a price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the 11,500,000 units sold in our initial public offering. Furthermore, simultaneously with the closings of our initial public offering, we issued to our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital in a private placement an aggregate of 190,000 private warrants, as part of the 380,000 units. Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In addition, up to $1,500,000 of our sponsor’s working capital loans may be converted into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the sponsor. Such warrants would be identical to the private warrants.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our sponsor, management team and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founders shares beginning at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital, as the holders of our private units, and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their private shares and private warrants, and the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the private warrants. Holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, may demand that we register the resale of those warrants, or the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of those warrants. Furthermore, EarlyBirdCapital, as the holder of the representative shares, also is entitled to “piggyback” registration rights whereby it may request the registration of the resale of its representative shares as part of an offering that will be conducted by us or by our other shareholders.
The potential issuance of shares underlying our various groups of warrants, together with the foregoing registration rights with respect to those shares and other shares, will allow, potentially, a significant, additional number of our Class A ordinary shares to become available for trading in the public market. That potential development may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares even without there being actual additional issuances or resales. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. The shareholders 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 Class A ordinary shares that is expected from the potential resale of the Class A ordinary shares owned by our sponsor or EarlyBirdCapital, or issuable upon exercise of the private warrants or conversion of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees. Those resales are enabled by the registration rights.
Our private placement warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of those warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies or, the SEC Warrant Statement. Among other things, the SEC Warrant Statement focused on warrants that have certain settlement terms or warrants which do not meet the criteria to be considered indexed to an entity’s own stock, which terms are similar to those that govern our private placement warrants under the warrant agreement for all of our warrants. As a result of the SEC Warrant Statement, we evaluated the accounting treatment of our public warrants and private placement warrants and determined that the private placement warrants should be recorded as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023, contained elsewhere in this Annual Report, are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our private placement warrants. Accounting Standards Codification 815-40 , Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts on an Entity’s Own Equity , provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the condensed statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our private placement warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
Our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital paid a nominal price for their acquisition of the founders shares and representative shares (respectively). We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or other securities in connection with the Silexion Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of that business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders further and likely present other risks.
Our sponsor and EarlyBirdCapital acquired the founders shares and representative shares, respectively, at nominal prices, significantly contributing to the dilution to investors in our initial public offering.
The authorized share capital of Moringa following the Silexion Business Combination also presents the possibility of additional, substantial dilution.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares in order to complete the Silexion Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of the business combination. The issuance of additional Moringa Class A ordinary shares:
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering; and
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for Moringa Class A ordinary shares.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this Annual Report captioned “Income Tax Considerations— United States Federal Income Taxation— General”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this Annual Report captioned “Income Tax Considerations-United States Federal Income Taxation-U.S. Holders-Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year (of which there can be no assurance), we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed discussion of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this Annual Report captioned “Income Tax Considerations— United States Federal Income Taxation— U.S. Holders— Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
General Risk Factors
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are 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, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are a newly formed company with very limited 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 incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with limited operating results. Because we lack a significant 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.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative and support expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
