Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the matters addressed under the heading “Forward-Looking Statements,” you should carefully consider the following risk factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before investing in our securities. The risk factors described below disclose both material and are not intended to be exhaustive and are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows in future periods or are not identified because they are generally common to businesses.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
If we are unable to successfully design and execute our business strategy plan, including growing comparable location sales, our revenues and profitability may be adversely affected.
Our ability to increase revenues and profitability is dependent on executing effective business strategies. If we are delayed or unsuccessful in executing our strategies or if our strategies do not yield desired results, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer. Our ability to meet our business strategy plan is dependent upon, among other things, our ability to:
• increase gross sales and operating profits at existing locations with bowling, amusement, ride, food, beverage, game and entertainment options desired by our guests;
• evolve our marketing and branding strategies to continue to appeal to our guests;
• innovate and implement new initiatives to provide a unique guest experience;
• identify adequate sources of capital to fund and finance strategic initiatives;
• grow and expand operations;
• identify new opportunities to improve customer reach;
• maintain a talented workforce responsive to customer needs and operational demands; and
• identify, implement and maintain cost-reducing strategies to scale operations.
Changes in consumer buying patterns and economic slowdowns could negatively affect our results of operations.
Visiting our locations is a discretionary purchase for consumers; therefore, our business is susceptible to economic slowdowns and recessions. We are dependent in particular upon discretionary spending by consumers living in the communities in which our locations are located. A significant weakening in the local economies of these geographic areas, or any of the areas in which our locations are located, may cause consumers to curtail discretionary spending, which in turn could reduce our locations’ sales and have an adverse effect on our business and our results of operations. Our locations are sometimes located near high density retail areas such as regional malls, lifestyle locations, big box shopping locations and entertainment locations. We depend on a high volume of visitors at these locations to attract guests to our locations. As demographic and economic patterns change, current locations may or may not continue to be attractive or profitable.
Advances in technologies or certain changes in consumer behavior driven by such technologies could have a negative effect on our business. Technology and consumer offerings continue to develop, and we expect new or enhanced technologies and consumer offerings will be available in the future. As part of our marketing efforts, we use a variety of digital platforms including search engines, mobile, online videos and social media platforms to attract and retain guests. We also test new technology platforms to improve our level of digital engagement with our guests and employees to help strengthen our marketing and related consumer analytics capabilities. These initiatives may not prove to be successful and may result in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues or increased engagement.
We may not be able to compete favorably in the highly competitive out-of-home and home-based entertainment markets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The out-of-home entertainment market is highly competitive. We compete for customers’ discretionary entertainment dollars with providers of out-of-home entertainment. We also face competition from local, regional, and national establishments that offer similar entertainment experiences to ours that are highly competitive with respect to price, quality of service, location, ambience and type and quality of food. In addition, we also face competition from increasingly sophisticated home-based forms of entertainment, such as internet and video gaming and home movie streaming and delivery. Our failure to compete favorably in the competitive out-of-home and home-based entertainment markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Unfavorable publicity or a failure to respond effectively to adverse publicity, could harm our business.
Our brand and our reputation are among our most important assets. Our ability to attract and retain customers depends, in part, upon the external perception of Lucky Strike Entertainment and our other brands, the quality of our facilities and our integrity. Multi-location businesses, such as ours, can be adversely affected by unfavorable publicity resulting from food safety concerns, flu or other virus outbreaks and other public health concerns stemming from one or a
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
limited number of our locations. Additionally, we rely on our network of suppliers to properly handle, store, and transport our ingredients for delivery to our locations. Failure by our suppliers, or their suppliers, could cause our ingredients to be contaminated, which could be difficult to detect and put the safety of our food in jeopardy.
Negative publicity may also result from crime incidents, data privacy breaches, scandals involving our employees or operational problems at our locations. Regardless of whether the allegations or complaints are valid, unfavorable publicity related to one or more of our locations could affect public perception of the entire brand. If one or more of our locations were the subject of unfavorable publicity and we are unable to quickly and effectively respond to such reports, our overall brand could be adversely affected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The dissemination of information via social media and similar platforms may harm our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations, regardless of the information’s accuracy. The inappropriate use of social media vehicles by our guests or employees could increase our costs, lead to litigation or result in negative publicity that could damage our reputation.
We are subject to risks associated with leasing space subject to long-term, non-cancelable leases.
Payments under our non-cancelable, long-term operating leases account for a significant portion of our operating expenses, and we expect many of the new locations we open in the future may also be leased. We often cannot cancel these leases without substantial economic penalty. If an existing or future location is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, including, among other things, paying the rent for the remainder of the lease term. We depend on cash flow from operations to pay our lease obligations. If our business does not generate adequate cash flow from operating activities and sufficient funds are not otherwise available to us from borrowings under our existing credit facility, we may not be able to service our operating lease obligations, grow our business, respond to competitive challenges or fund other liquidity and capital needs, all of which could have a material adverse effect on us.
In addition, as each of our leases expires, we may choose not to renew, or may not be able to renew, such existing leases if the renewal rent is too high and/or the capital investment required to maintain the locations at the leased locations is not justified by the return required on the investment. If we are not able to renew the leases at rents that allow such locations to remain profitable as their terms expire, the number of such locations may decrease, resulting in lower revenue from operations, or we may relocate a location, which could subject us to construction and other costs and risks, and in either case, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our financial performance and the ability to implement successfully our strategic direction could be adversely affected if we fail to retain, or effectively respond, to a loss of key management.
Our future success is substantially supported by the contributions and abilities of senior management, including key executives and other leadership personnel. Changes in senior management could expose us to significant changes in strategic direction and initiatives. A failure to maintain appropriate organizational capacity and capability to support leadership excellence or a loss of key skill sets could jeopardize our ability to meet our business performance expectations and growth targets. Although we have employment agreements with many members of senior management, we cannot prevent members of senior management from terminating their employment with us. Losing the services of members of senior management could materially harm our business until a suitable replacement is found, and such replacement may not have equal experience and capabilities.
We face risks related to our substantial indebtedness and limitations on future sources of liquidity.
Our substantial indebtedness as of June 29, 2025 and our forecasted current debt service and interest payments in fiscal year 2026 could have important consequences to us, including:
• making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt, and any failure to comply with the obligations under our debt instruments, including restrictive covenants, could result in an event of default under the agreements governing our indebtedness increasing our vulnerability to general economic and industry conditions;
• requiring a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of obligations with respect to our debt, thereby reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, lease payments, capital expenditures, selling and marketing efforts, product development, future business opportunities and other purposes;
• exposing us to the risk of continued increased interest rates as some of our borrowings are at variable rates;
• limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, product development, debt service requirements, strategic acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes; and
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
• limiting our ability to plan for, or adjust to, changing market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who may be less highly leveraged.
Covenants in our debt agreements restrict our business and could limit our ability to implement our business plan.
Our credit facility contains covenants that may restrict our ability to implement our business plan, finance future operations, respond to changing business and economic conditions, secure additional financing, and engage in opportunistic transactions, such as strategic acquisitions. In addition, if we fail to satisfy the covenants contained in the credit facility, our ability to borrow under the revolving credit loans portion of the credit facility may be restricted. The credit facility includes covenants restricting, among other things, our ability to do the following under certain circumstances:
• incur or guarantee additional indebtedness or issue certain disqualified or preferred stock;
• pay dividends or make other distributions on, or redeem or purchase any equity interests or make other restricted payments;
• make certain acquisitions or investments;
• create or incur liens;
• transfer or sell assets;
• incur restrictions on the payment of dividends or other distributions from our restricted subsidiaries;
• alter the business that we conduct;
• enter into transactions with affiliates; and
• consummate a merger or consolidation or sell, assign, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all our assets.
In addition, failure to meet a leverage-based test that is applicable when our revolving credit facility, along with certain letters of credit, is at least 35% drawn, is a default under the agreement governing our credit facilities. The leverage-based test is calculated in accordance with the agreement governing our credit facilities.
Events beyond our control may affect our ability to comply with our covenants. Additionally, our master lease agreements include cross-default provisions with the agreement governing our credit facilities. If we default under the credit facility because of a covenant breach or otherwise, all outstanding amounts thereunder could become immediately due and payable. We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with our covenants under the credit facility or that any covenant violations will be waived in the future. Any violation that is not waived could result in an event of default, permitting our lenders to declare outstanding indebtedness and interest thereon due and payable, and permitting the lenders under the revolving credit loans provided under the credit facility to suspend commitments to make any advance, or require any outstanding letters of credit to be collateralized by an interest bearing cash account, any or all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we to comply with our financial or other covenants under the credit facility, we may need additional financing to service or extinguish our indebtedness. We may not be to obtain financing or refinancing on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We cannot you that we would have sufficient funds to repay outstanding amounts under the credit facility and any acceleration of amounts due would have a material effect on our liquidity and financial condition.
The adoption or modification of laws and regulations relating to our business could limit or otherwise adversely affect the manner in which we conduct our business .
The growth and development of the market for online commerce has led to more stringent consumer protection laws, imposing additional burdens on us. We may be required to comply with new regulations or legislation or new interpretations of existing regulations or legislation. This compliance could cause us to incur significant additional expense or alter our business model or could result in substantial fines, civil liability and/or harm to reputation for noncompliance. In addition, the delivery of PBA content in international markets exposes us to multiple regulatory frameworks and societal norms, the complexity of which may result in unintentional noncompliance which could adversely affect our business and operating results.
Risks Related to Information Technology and Cybersecurity
Information technology system failures or interruptions may impact our ability to effectively operate our business.
We rely heavily on various information technology systems, including point-of-sale, kiosk and amusement operations systems in our locations, data centers that process transactions, communication systems and various other software applications used throughout our operations. While some of these systems have been internally developed or we rely on third-party providers and platforms for some of our information technology systems and support. Although we have operational safeguards in place, those technology systems and solutions could become vulnerable to damage, disability, or failures due to theft, fire, power outages, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events. Any failure of these systems could significantly impact our operations and could make our content unavailable or degraded. These service
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
disruptions could be prolonged. Our reliance on systems operated by third parties also presents the risks faced by the third party’s business, including the operational, cybersecurity, and credit risks of those parties. If those systems were to fail or otherwise be unavailable, and we were unable to timely recover, we could experience an interruption in our operations. Our business interruption insurance may not cover us in the event these types of business interruptions occur.
Cybersecurity breaches or other privacy or data security incidents that expose confidential customer, personal employee or other material, confidential information that is stored in our information systems or by third parties on our behalf may impact our business.
Many of our information technology systems (and those of our third-party business partners, whether cloud-based or hosted in proprietary servers), including those used for point-of-sale, web and mobile platforms, mobile payment systems and administrative functions, contain personal, financial or other information that is entrusted to us by our guests and associates. Many of our information technology systems also contain proprietary and other confidential information related to our business, such as business plans and initiatives. A cyber incident (generally any intentional or unintentional attack that results in unauthorized access resulting in disruption of systems, corruption of data, theft or exposure of confidential information or intellectual property) that compromises the information of our customers or employees or has operational impact(s) could result in widespread negative publicity, damage to our reputation, a loss of customers, and disruption of our business.
The regulatory environment surrounding information security and privacy is increasingly demanding, with the frequent imposition of new and constantly changing requirements. Compliance with these requirements can be costly and time-consuming and the costs could adversely impact our results of operations due to necessary system changes and the development of new administrative processes. We are subject to various state laws and regulations regarding data protection and consumer privacy, including but not limited to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which provides a private right of action for data breaches and requires companies that process information about California residents to make new disclosures to consumers about their data collection, use and sharing practices and allows consumers to opt out of certain data sharing with third parties. Non-compliance with these state privacy laws could result in regulatory fines and/or class action litigation. Additionally, class actions and mass arbitration filings related to the alleged wrongful collection of personal data are increasingly common, and statutory damages under certain privacy laws could result in financial exposure. Security could also result in a of applicable privacy and other laws, and subject us to regulatory enforcement actions, orders, or consent decrees, as well as private consumer, business partner or securities and governmental and proceedings, any of which could result in our exposure to material civil or liability. We are required to maintain the level of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI”) compliance at our corporate office and locations. If we do not maintain the required level of PCI compliance, we could be subject to or additional fees from the card brands that we accept or our ability to accept those payment cards.
Our existing cybersecurity policy includes cybersecurity techniques, tactics, and procedures, including continuous monitoring and detection programs, network protections, annual employee training and awareness and incident response preparedness. In addition, we periodically scan our environment for any vulnerabilities, perform penetration testing and engage third parties to assess effectiveness of our security measures. We also maintain and periodically update our written incident response plan to reflect evolving legal requirements and threat landscapes. We utilize a voluntary tool to help manage privacy risk by independently benchmarking our cybersecurity program to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, using an independent third party, and we share the results of our annual audit with our audit committee. Although we employ security technologies and practices and have taken other steps to try to prevent a breach, there are no assurances that such measures will prevent or detect cybersecurity breaches, and we may nevertheless not have the resources or technical sophistication to prevent rapidly evolving types of cyberattacks. We maintain a separate insurance policy covering cybersecurity risks and such insurance coverage may, subject to policy terms and conditions, cover certain aspects of cyber risks, but this policy is subject to a retention amount and may not be applicable to a particular or otherwise may be to cover all our beyond any retention. Based on recent court rulings, there is uncertainty as to whether traditional commercial general liability policies will be construed to cover the expenses related to and if credit and debit card information is .
We have been and likely will continue to be, the target of cyber and other security threats. If in the future, we experience a security breach, we could become subject to claims, lawsuits or other proceedings for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the theft of credit or debit card information, compromised security and information systems, failure of our employees to comply with applicable laws, the unauthorized acquisition or use of such information by third parties, or other similar claims.
Our reliance on computer systems and software could expose us to material financial and reputational harm if any of those computer systems or software were subject to any material disruption or corruption.
Our servers and those of third parties used in our business may be vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks, computer viruses (including worms, malware, ransomware and other destructive or disruptive software or denial of service attacks),
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions and could experience directed attacks intended to lead to interruptions and delays in our service and operations as well as loss, misuse, theft or release of proprietary, confidential, sensitive or otherwise valuable company or subscriber data or information. Such a cybersecurity attack, virus, break-in, disruption or attack could remain undetected for an extended period, could harm our business, financial condition or results of operations, be expensive to remedy, expose us to litigation and/or damage our reputation. Our insurance may not cover expenses related to such disruptions or access fully or at all.
Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or disable, degrade or sabotage, these systems and servers change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we and the third parties used in distribution of our content may be unable to anticipate these techniques, implement adequate preventative measures or remediate any intrusion on a timely or effective basis. Moreover, the development and maintenance of these preventative and detective measures is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Despite the efforts of us and/or third parties, the possibility of these events occurring cannot be eliminated.
Risks Related to the Location-Based Entertainment Industry
Our success depends upon our ability to recruit and retain qualified location management and operating personnel while also controlling our labor costs.
We must continue to attract, retain, and motivate qualified management and operating personnel to maintain consistency in our service, hospitality, quality, and atmosphere of our locations, and to also support future growth. Adequate staffing of qualified personnel is a critical factor impacting our guests’ experience in our locations. Qualified management and operating personnel are typically in high demand. If we are unable to attract and retain a satisfactory number of qualified management and operating personnel, labor shortages could delay the planned openings of new locations or adversely impact our existing locations. Any such delays, material increases in employee turnover rates in existing locations or widespread employee dissatisfaction could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Competition for qualified employees could require us to pay higher wages, which could result in higher labor costs and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
We may be subject to increased labor and insurance costs.
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local laws governing such matters as minimum wages, working conditions, overtime and tip credits. As federal, state and local minimum wage rates increase, we may need to increase not only the wages of our minimum wage employees, but also the wages paid to employees at wage rates that are above minimum wage. Labor shortages, increased employee turnover, and health care and other benefit or working condition regulations also have increased and may continue to increase our labor costs. In addition, the current premiums that we pay for our insurance (including workers’ compensation, general liability, property, health, and directors’ and officers’ liability) may increase at any time, thereby further increasing our costs. The dollar amount of claims that we actually experience under our workers’ compensation and general liability insurance may also increase at any time, thereby further increasing our costs. Further, the decreased availability of property and liability insurance has the potential to negatively impact the cost of premiums and the magnitude of uninsured losses.
Our revenues and operating results may fluctuate significantly due to various risks and unforeseen circumstances, including natural disasters, public health emergencies, acts of violence or terrorism, seasonality, weather, and other factors outside our control.
Certain regions in which our locations are located have been, and may in the future be, subject to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Depending upon its magnitude, a natural disaster could severely damage a cohort of our locations, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. Our corporate headquarters and our data center are located in Richmond, Virginia and our backup data facility is located in Dallas, Texas. A natural or man-made disaster could significantly impact our ability to provide services and systems to our locations and negatively impact our operations.
Any act of violence at or threatened against our locations or the retail complexes in which they are located, including active shooter situations and terrorist activities, may result in restricted access to our locations and/or closures in the short-term and, in the long term, may cause our guests and associates to avoid visiting our locations. Any such situation could adversely impact cash flows and make it more difficult to fully staff our locations, which could materially adversely affect our business.
Public health emergencies and pandemics may result in location closures or cause our guests and associates to avoid visiting our locations, in each case for an indeterminate amount of time. Any such situation could adversely impact cash flows and make it more difficult to fully staff our locations, which could materially adversely affect our business.
Our operating results fluctuate significantly due to seasonal factors. School operating schedules, holidays and weather conditions affect our sales volumes in all of our regions, but the impact and the timing of impact varies in each
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
region. In addition, unfavorable weather conditions during the winter and spring seasons could have a significant impact on our results. For instance, bad weather and even forecasts of bad weather, including abnormally hot, cold, snow/ice and/or wet weather, particularly during weekends, holidays or other peak periods could adversely affect location foot traffic and guest spending patterns.
The safety of guests and employees is one of the Company's top priorities. Certain locations feature attractions with enhanced safety protocols. There are inherent risks involved with these attractions, and an accident or a serious injury at any of the locations could result in negative publicity and could reduce foot traffic and result in decreased revenues. In addition, accidents or injuries at facilities operated by competitors, could influence the general attitudes of guests and adversely affect foot traffic at our locations. Other types of incidents such as food borne illnesses, product recalls on items sold, and disruptive, negative guest behavior which have either been alleged or proved to be attributable to our locations or competitors could adversely affect foot traffic and revenues.
Our operations are susceptible to the changes in cost and availability of commodities and other products, which could negatively affect our operating results.
Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in commodity and other product costs. Various factors beyond our control, including adverse weather conditions, tariffs (new or increased), governmental regulation and monetary policy, product availability, recalls of food products, disruption of our supplier manufacturing and distribution processes due to public health crises or pandemics, and seasonality, may affect our commodity costs or cause a disruption in our supply chain. In an effort to mitigate some of this risk, we have multiple short-term supply contracts with a limited number of suppliers. If any of these suppliers do not perform adequately or otherwise fail to distribute products or supplies to our locations, we may be unable to replace the suppliers in a short period of time on acceptable terms, which could increase our costs, cause shortages of food and other items at our locations and cause us to remove certain items from our menu. Changes in the price or availability of commodities for which we do not have short-term supply contracts could have a material effect on our . Expiring contracts with our food suppliers could also result in renewal terms and therefore increase costs associated with these suppliers or may necessitate negotiations with other suppliers. Other than short-term supply contracts for certain food items and certain utilities contracts, we currently do not engage in futures contracts or other financial risk management strategies with respect to potential price fluctuations in the cost of food and other supplies. Also, the of a major distributor could affect our business by our operations as we seek out and negotiate a new distribution contract. If we have to pay higher prices for food or other product costs, our operating costs may increase, and, if we are to adjust our purchasing practices or pass any cost increases on to our guests, our operating results could be affected.
We may not be able to operate our locations or obtain/maintain licenses and permits necessary for such operation, in compliance with laws, regulations and other requirements, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We are subject to licensing and regulation by state and local authorities relating to the sale of alcoholic beverages, health, sanitation, safety, building and fire codes. Each location is required to obtain a license to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises from a state authority and, in certain locations, county and municipal authorities. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time. In some states, the loss of a license for cause with respect to one location may lead to the loss of licenses at all locations in that state and could make it more difficult to obtain additional licenses in that state. Alcoholic beverage control regulations relate to numerous aspects of the daily operations of each location, including minimum age of patrons and employees, hours of operation, advertising, wholesale purchasing, inventory control and handling and storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. We generally have not encountered any material difficulties or failures in obtaining and maintaining the required licenses, permits and approvals that could impact the continuing operations of an existing location, or delay or prevent the opening of a new location. Although we do not anticipate any material occurring in the future, the to receive or retain a liquor license, or any other required permit or license, in a particular location, or to continue to qualify for, or renew licenses, could have a material effect on operations and our ability to obtain such a license or permit in other locations.
We are subject to extensive domestic and international laws and regulations and failure to comply with existing or new laws and regulations could adversely affect our operational efficiencies, cost structure and talent availability.
We are subject to various federal, state, and local laws and regulations that govern numerous aspects of our business.
Compliance with these laws and regulations and future new laws or changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements can be costly. Any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws or regulations could result in, among other things, revocation of required license, administrative enforcement actions, fines, civil and criminal liability, and/or closure of locations. We could also be strictly liable, without regard to fault, for certain environmental conditions at properties we formerly owned or operated as well as at our current properties. Further, more stringent and varied requirements of local and state governmental bodies with respect to zoning, land use and environmental factors could delay or prevent development of new locations in certain locations.
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
The growth and development of the market for online commerce has led to more stringent consumer protection laws, imposing additional burdens on us. Our international operations may also expose us to other additional risks, such as violations of anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws, such as the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or violations of economic sanctions laws, such as the regulations enforced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
We believe it is becoming increasingly likely that the United States federal government will significantly increase the federal minimum wage and tip credit wage (or eliminate the tip credit wage) and require significantly more mandated benefits than what is currently required under federal law. Should this happen, other jurisdictions that have historically mandated higher wages and greater benefits than what is required under federal law may seek to further increase wages and mandated benefits. In addition to increasing the overall wages paid to our minimum wage and tip credit wage earners, these increases create pressure to increase wages and other benefits paid to other associates who, in recognition of their tenure, performance, job responsibilities and other similar considerations, historically received a rate of pay exceeding the applicable minimum wage or minimum tip credit wage. Because we employ a large workforce, any wage increase and/or expansion of benefits mandates could have a particularly significant impact on our labor costs. Our vendors, contractors and business partners are similarly impacted by wage and benefit cost inflation, and many have or will increase their price for goods, construction, and services in order to offset their increasing labor costs. We may not be able to partially or fully offset cost increases resulting from changes in minimum wage rates by increasing bowling, menu or game prices, improving productivity, or through other adjustments, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be affected. Moreover, although only a few of our employees have been or are now represented by any unions, labor organizations may seek to represent an increasing number of our employees in the future, and if they are , our payroll expenses and other labor costs may be increased in the course of collective bargaining, and/or there may be strikes or other work that may affect our business.
Litigation, including allegations of illegal, unfair or inconsistent employment practices, may adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
Our business may be adversely affected by the risk of legal proceedings brought by or on behalf of our customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, government agencies or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. In recent years, a number of companies have been subject to lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state law regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters, and a number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. We have had from time to time and now have such lawsuits pending against us. In addition, from time to time, customers file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to a location. We are also subject to a variety of other in the ordinary course of business, including personal , lease, and contract .
We are also subject to “dram shop” statutes in certain states in which our locations are located. These statutes generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated individual. Recent litigation against restaurant chains has resulted in significant judgments and settlements under dram shop statutes. Because these cases often seek punitive damages, which may not be covered by insurance, such litigation could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations or financial condition. Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from operations and our financial performance. A judgment significantly in excess of our insurance coverage or not covered by insurance could have a material effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. Also, publicity resulting from these may materially affect our locations and us.
Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property could harm our business.
We regard our intellectual property as having significant value and being important to our marketing efforts. We use a combination of intellectual property rights, such as trademarks and trade secrets, to protect our brand and certain other proprietary processes and information material to our business. The success of our business strategy depends, in part, on our continued ability to use our intellectual property rights to increase brand awareness and further develop our branded products in both existing and new markets. If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights adequately, we may lose an important advantage in the markets in which we compete. If third parties misappropriate or infringe on our intellectual property, the value of our image, brand and the goodwill associated therewith may be diminished, our brand may fail to achieve and maintain market recognition, and our competitive position may be harmed, any of which could have a material effect on our business, including our revenues. Policing use of our intellectual property is , and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent the or of such intellectual property rights by others. To protect our intellectual property, we may become involved in , which could result in
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
substantial expenses, divert the attention of management and adversely affect our revenue, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot be certain that our products and services do not and will not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others. Any such claims, regardless of merit, could be time-consuming and expensive to litigate or settle, divert the attention of management, cause significant delays, materially disrupt the conduct of our business and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. As a consequence of such claims, we could be required to pay a substantial damage award, take a royalty-bearing license, discontinue the use of third-party products used within our operations and/or rebrand our products and services.
General Risk Factors
Changes in tax laws and resulting regulations could result in changes to our tax provisions and subject us to additional tax liabilities that could materially adversely affect our financial performance.
We are subject to income, sales, use and other taxes in the United States and certain non-U.S. jurisdictions including Mexico and Canada. Changes in applicable U.S. federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws and regulations, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”), Inflation Reduction Act, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “OBBBA”), or their interpretation and application, including the possibility of retroactive effect and changes to state tax laws that may occur in response to these enacted law changes, could affect our effective income tax rate.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (the “OECD”), has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) project, and issued a report in 2015, an interim report in 2018, and has issued additional guidelines and proposals that may change various aspects of the existing framework under which our tax obligations are determined in the countries in which we do business. While this project is in an advanced stage, we cannot predict what its outcome will be or what potential impact it may have on our tax obligations and operations. In July and October of 2021, the OECD/G-20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS released statements outlining a political agreement on the general rules to be adopted for taxing the digital economy, specifically with respect to nexus and profit allocation (Pillar One) and rules for a global minimum tax (Pillar Two). Additional guidance and details regarding implementation of these rules continues to be released and the rules are expected to be finalized in the near future. Any implementation of these rules via domestic legislation of countries or via international treaties, could have a material impact on our effective tax rate or result in higher cash tax liabilities. There can be no assurance that our tax payments, tax credits, or incentives will not be adversely affected by these or other initiatives.
Moreover, the final determination of any potential tax audits or related litigation could be materially different from our historical tax provisions and accruals. The Company currently has open audits in Mexico and in several state and local jurisdictions. Changes in our tax expense or an increase in our tax liabilities, whether due to changes in applicable laws and regulation, the interpretation or application thereof, or a final determination of tax audits or litigation, could materially adversely affect our financial performance.
Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may be limited in connection with the Business Combination or other ownership changes.
Old Bowlero had incurred losses during its history. To the extent that we generate taxable losses or not enough taxable income, unused losses will carry forward to offset future taxable income, if any, until such unused losses expire, if at all. As of June 29, 2025, the Company had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $137,445. Under the Tax Act, as modified by the CARES Act, U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards generated in taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such net operating loss carryforwards in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2020, is limited to 80% of taxable income. Some states have conformed to the Tax Act or the CARES Act, while others have not.
In addition, Old Bowlero’s net operating loss carryforwards are subject to review and possible adjustment by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and state tax authorities including the treatment of the Combination as a reverse acquisition for income tax purposes. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code, Lucky Strike Entertainment’s federal net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes may become subject to an annual limitation in the event of certain cumulative changes in the ownership of Lucky Strike Entertainment’s stock. An “ownership change” pursuant to Section 382 of the Code generally occurs if one or more stockholders or groups of stockholders who own at least 5% of a company’s stock increase their ownership by more than 50 percentage points over their lowest ownership percentage within a rolling three-year period. Our ability to utilize certain net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future taxable income or tax liabilities may be limited as a result of ownership changes, including potential changes in connection with the Business Combination or other transactions. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. It is currently estimated that $23,057 of the Company’s NOLs are subject to limitation due to the changes in ownership that occurred in 2004 and 2017. The Company expensed $208,697 in the prior fiscal year of tax that will expire unused
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
due to the limitation caused by the 2004 ownership change. The Company has concluded it has not experienced an ownership change, as defined under Section 382 and 383, since July 2017.
We previously recorded a valuation allowance related to Old Bowlero’s net operating loss carryforwards and other deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of the ultimate realization of the future benefits of those assets. Much of these valuation allowances were released in fiscal 2023.
Additional Risks Related to Ownership of Our Class A common stock
Our only significant assets are our ownership interests in our operating subsidiaries and such ownership may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our common stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.
We have no direct operations and no significant assets other than our ownership of our operating subsidiaries. We depend on our operating subsidiaries for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company and to pay any dividends with respect to our common stock. The financial condition and operating requirements of our operating subsidiaries may limit our ability to obtain cash from such subsidiaries. The earnings from, or other available assets of, Lucky Strike Entertainment may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our common stock or satisfy our other financial obligations.
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 us.
The price of our Class A common stock may be volatile.
The price of our Class A common stock may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including:
• developments involving our competitors;
• changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;
• variations in our operating performance and the performance of our competitors in general;
• actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;
• publication of research reports by securities analysts about us or our competitors or our industry;
• the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
• actions by stockholders, including the sale by them of any of their securities;
• additions and departures of key personnel;
• commencement of, or involvement in, litigation involving the Company;
• changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;
• the volume of shares of our Class A common stock available for public sale; and
• general economic and political conditions, such as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, inflation, recessions, interest rates, local and national elections, fuel prices, international currency fluctuations, corruption, political instability and acts of war or terrorism.
These market and industry factors may materially reduce the market price of our Class A common stock regardless of our operating performance.
We have discretion over payment of any cash dividends.
Any determination to pay dividends on our common stock is at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in future agreements and financing instruments, business prospects and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.
The market price of our Class A common stock may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation now or in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
Future resales of our Class A common stock may cause the market price of our securities to drop significantly, even if our business is performing well
As of August 21, 2025, A-B Parent LLC (“Atairos”) and Mr. Shannon, our Chairman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, collectively beneficially own approximately 95% of the outstanding shares of Lucky Strike Entertainment’s common stock (which includes both Class A common stock and Class B common stock) on an as-converted basis. Neither Atairos nor Mr. Shannon are subject to any lock-ups and are not restricted from selling shares of Lucky Strike Entertainment’s common stock held by them, other than by applicable securities laws. We have also registered shares held
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
by the Atairos and Mr. Shannon for sale under various registration statements and such registration statements remain available for use. As such, sales of a substantial number of shares of Lucky Strike Entertainment’s common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of Class A common stock.
The obligations associated with being a public company involve significant expenses and require significant resources and management attention, which may be diverted from our business operations.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Exchange Act requires the filing of annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to a public company’s business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that a public company establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. Additionally, once we are no longer an emerging growth company, we will be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, we have and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses due to implementation and maintenance of internal controls over financial reporting as a public company and to remediate any significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting. Our management team and many of our other employees have devoted and will continue to need to devote substantial time to compliance.
We are currently an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and to the extent we have taken advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are currently an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”) and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
When we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will no longer be able to take advantage of certain exemptions from reporting, and, absent other exemptions or relief available from the SEC, we will also be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will incur additional expenses in connection with such compliance and our management will need to devote additional time and effort to implement and comply with such requirements.
Delaware law and our organization documents contain certain provisions, including anti-takeover provisions that limit the ability of stockholders to take certain actions and could delay or discourage takeover attempts that stockholders may consider favorable.
Our organizational documents and the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock, and therefore depress the trading price of the Class A common stock. These provisions could also make it difficult
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
for stockholders to take certain actions, including electing directors who are not nominated by the current members of our board of directors or taking other corporate actions, including effecting changes in our management.
Any issuance by us of preferred stock could delay or prevent a change in control of us. Our board of directors has the authority to cause us to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to designate the number of shares constituting any series, and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption, redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of such series. The issuance of shares of our preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring, or preventing a change in control without further action by the stockholders, even where stockholders are offered a premium for their shares.
In addition, as long as Atairos and Mr. Shannon beneficially own at least a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, Atairos and Mr. Shannon will be able to control all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and certain corporate transactions. Together, these certificate of incorporation, bylaws and statutory provisions could make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions, as well as the significant common stock beneficially owned by Atairos and Mr. Shannon could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers, thereby reducing the likelihood that our stockholders could receive a premium for their common stock in an acquisition.
Our certificate of incorporation contains a provision renouncing our interest and expectancy in certain corporate opportunities.
Under our certificate of incorporation, none of Atairos or any affiliates of Atairos, or any of their respective officers, directors, agents, stockholders, members or partners, has any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities, similar business activities, or lines of business in which we operate. In addition, our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no officer or director of ours who is also an officer, director, employee, managing director or other affiliate of Atairos will be liable to us or our stockholders for breach of any fiduciary duty by reason of the fact that any such individual directs a corporate opportunity to Atairos, instead of us, or does not communicate information regarding a corporate opportunity to us that the officer, director, employee, managing director, or other affiliate has directed to Atairos. These potential conflicts of interest could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or prospects if attractive corporate opportunities are allocated by Atairos to itself or its affiliates instead of to us.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless Lucky Strike Entertainment otherwise consents in writing, the Court of Chancery (the “Chancery Court”) of the State of Delaware (or, in the event that the Chancery Court does not have jurisdiction, another court of the State of Delaware or, if no court of the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, then the United States District Court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for resolution of (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of Lucky Strike Entertainment, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, employee, agent or stockholder of Lucky Strike Entertainment to Lucky Strike Entertainment or any of the Lucky Strike Entertainment’s stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws or (d) any action asserting a claim governed by the “internal affairs doctrine.” Notwithstanding the foregoing, the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any claims arising under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
We recognize that the forum selection clause in our certificate of incorporation may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware. Additionally, the forum selection clause in our certificate of incorporation may limit our stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to have consented to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation described above. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. However, the enforceability of similar forum provisions (including exclusive federal forum provisions for actions, suits or proceedings asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act) in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings and there is uncertainty as to whether courts would enforce the exclusive forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation. If a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot predict the impact that our dual class structure may have on the stock price of our Class A common stock.
We cannot predict whether our dual class structure will result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A common stock or in adverse publicity or other adverse consequences. For example, certain index providers have announced restrictions on including companies with multiple-class share structures in certain of their indexes. In July 2017, FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones announced that they would cease to allow most newly public companies utilizing dual or multi-class capital structures to be included in their indices. Affected indices include the Russell 2000 and the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600, which together make up the S&P Composite 1500. Beginning in 2017, MSCI, a leading stock index provider, opened public consultations on its treatment of no-vote and multi-class structures and temporarily barred new multi-class listings from certain of its indices; however, in October 2018, MSCI announced its decision to include equity securities “with unequal voting structures” in its indices and to launch a new index that specifically includes voting rights in its eligibility criteria. Under the announced policies, our dual class capital structure would make us ineligible for inclusion in certain indices, and as a result, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investment vehicles that attempt to passively track those indices will not be investing in our stock. These policies are still fairly new and it is as of yet unclear what effect, if any, they will have on the valuations of publicly traded companies excluded from the indices, but it is possible that they may these valuations compared to those of other similar companies that are included. Because of our dual class structure, we will likely be excluded from certain of these indexes and we cannot you that other stock indexes will not take similar actions. Given the sustained flow of investment funds into passive strategies that seek to track certain indexes, exclusion from stock indexes would likely investment by many of these funds and could make shares of our Class A common stock less to other investors. As a result, the market price of shares of our Class A common stock could be affected.
The dual class structure of our common stock, as well as board designation rights of Mr. Shannon and Atairos and consent rights of Atairos have the effect of concentrating voting power with Mr. Shannon and Atairos, which limit an investor’s ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.
Shares of Class B common stock have 10 votes per share, while shares of Class A common stock have one vote per share. Mr. Shannon holds all of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. Accordingly, Mr. Shannon, directly or indirectly, holds over 85% of the voting power of our capital stock and is able to control matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions, despite holding only approximately 43% of the total shares of Lucky Strike Entertainment’s common stock. So long as at least approximately 16% of the outstanding of shares of our Class B common stock remain outstanding, the holders of Class B common stock will be able to control the outcome of matters submitted to a stockholder vote requiring a majority vote.
In addition, pursuant to the Stockholders Agreement (as defined below), Mr. Shannon and Atairos have board designation rights and Atairos also has certain consent rights as described below.
Mr. Shannon and Atairos may have interests that differ from our stockholders and may vote in a way with which our stockholders disagree and which may be adverse to our stockholders' interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of Lucky Strike Entertainment, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of Lucky Strike Entertainment, and might ultimately affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock.
Lucky Strike Entertainment’s founder and Chief Executive Officer and Atairos have certain board nomination rights that enable them to exercise substantial control over all corporate actions, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to stockholders for a vote.
We have entered into a stockholders agreement (the “Stockholders Agreement”) with Atairos and Mr. Shannon, pursuant to which each of Atairos and Mr. Shannon has the right to designate nominees for election to our board of directors at any meeting of our stockholders. The number of nominees that each of Atairos and Mr. Shannon are entitled to nominate is dependent on their respective beneficial ownership of the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock. For so long as Atairos and its affiliates own (i) 15% or more of the combined Class A common stock and the Class B common stock, Atairos will be entitled to designate three directors to our board of directors and (ii) less than 15% but at least 5%, Atairos will be entitled to designate one director to our board of directors. For so long as Mr. Shannon and his affiliates own (i) 15% or more of the combined Class A common stock and the Class B common stock, Mr. Shannon will
Table of Contents
Index to Financial Statements
be entitled to designate three directors to our board of directors and (ii) less than 15% but at least 5%, Mr. Shannon will be entitled to designate one director to our board of directors.
In addition, the Stockholders Agreement grants Atairos special governance rights for so long as Atairos and its affiliates collectively maintain beneficial ownership of at least 15% of the combined Class A common stock and Class B common stock, including, but not limited to, rights of approval over certain strategic transactions such as mergers or other similar transactions in significance that is above 15% of the total enterprise value of Lucky Strike Entertainment, joint ventures involving investment or contribution in excess of 15% of the total enterprise value of Lucky Strike Entertainment, incurring indebtedness above a certain threshold, increasing the size of the board of directors, and issuing capital stock representing more than 15% of the outstanding common stock or creating a capital stock that is senior to the common stock.
Accordingly, for so long as Atairos and Mr. Shannon continue to control a significant percentage of the voting power of Lucky Strike Entertainment, they will be able to significantly influence the composition of our board of directors and management and the approval of actions requiring stockholder approval. The concentration of ownership could also deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares of Class A common stock as part of a sale of Lucky Strike Entertainment and ultimately might affect the market price of Class A common stock.
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the rules of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). As a result, we qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to stockholders of other companies.
Mr. Shannon, controls a majority of the voting power of Lucky Strike Entertainment. As a result, Lucky Strike Entertainment is a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the NYSE. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
• a majority of our board of directors consist of “independent directors” as defined under the rules of the NYSE;
• we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities;
• we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
• an annual performance evaluation of the compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees be conducted.
We currently do not and do not intend to utilize any of these exemptions. However, we will be able to utilize any of these exemptions in the future at our discretion for so long as Lucky Strike Entertainment is a “controlled company.” Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE.
