Item 1A. Risk Factors.
As a smaller reporting company under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, below is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on the Company and its operations:
we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;
we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;
our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;
we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;
we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting redemption;
we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time;
you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;
trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;
an active market for our public securities may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading;
the availability to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the business combination;
our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management;
there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target;
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;
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;
we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the initial public offering, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination;
we may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all;
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 during or after the initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our public shareholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination;
changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations;
Table of Contents
the value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.35 per share;
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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.35 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless;
in March 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to certain activities of SPACs. Certain of the procedures that we, a potential business combination target, or others may determine to undertake in connection with such proposals 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. The need for compliance with such proposals may cause us to liquidate the funds in the trust account or liquidate the 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 the Company;
to mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we expect that we will, on or prior to the 18-month anniversary of the effective date of our IPO Registration Statement, instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the trust account and instead to hold the funds in the trust account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or our liquidation. As a result, following the liquidation of investments in the trust account, we would likely receive less interest on the funds held in the trust account, which would likely reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would receive upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company;
we may not be able to complete an initial business combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States;
recent increases in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;
military conflict in Ukraine or elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, which could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination;
there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern”; and
We may not be able to complete a Business Combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations. Because we and our Sponsor have certain ties to non-US entities, we may be subject to such scrutiny. Specifically, Alex Vieux, who is an advisor to the Company and one of three managing members of our Sponsor, is a French citizen. Mr. Vieux is also one of two managing members of Founder Holdings LLC, which is the managing member of Explorer Parent LLC – a member of our Sponsor. Mr. Vieux is also a joint owner of an affiliate of the Sponsor that receives administrative fees from the Company.
Furthermore, we note below the following risk factor relating to our liquidity, operations and ability to consummate an initial business combination.
We have cash accounts with Silicon Valley Bank, which was recently closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). As a result, we may not be able to access the full amount of our cash on a timely basis or at all.
On March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) had been closed by state regulators, at which time we held cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of approximately $23,425 at SVB. While we have regained access to our accounts at SVB, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to transfer such funds in a timely manner, or at all. The closure of SVB or any other financial institution with which we maintain cash could adversely affect our ability to access cash balances. If we are unable to access our cash as needed, our financial position and ability to operate our business could be adversely affected.
For the complete list of risks relating to our operations, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our (i) Registration Statement, (ii) Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022, as filed with the SEC on May 11, 2022, August 8, 2022 and November 7, 2022, respectively. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risks could arise that may also affect our business or ability to consummate an initial business combination. We may disclose changes to such risk factors or disclose additional risk factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
