ITAQ Industrial Tech Acquisitions II Inc

Item 1. Business.

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware for the purpose of effecting our initial business combination.

While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any business, industry or geographical location, we focus our search on targets operating in the technology-focused areas including software, mobile and Internet of Things (“IoT”) applications, digital and energy transformation, cloud and cyber communications as well as high bandwidth services, including LTE, remote sensing and 5G communications.

Initial Public Offering

On January 14, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering of 17,250,000 units, including 2,250,000 additional units issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one share of one Class A common stock, and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per whole share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $172,500,000.

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 8,037,500 warrants to our sponsor at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of $8,037,500.

A total of $175,950,000, comprised of $169,050,000 of the proceeds from the initial public offering and $6,900,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.

It is the job of our sponsor and management team to complete our initial business combination. Our management team is led by Scott Crist, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and R. Greg Smith, our Chief Financial Director and director, who have many years of experience in technology entrepreneurship, venture capital, private equity, and investment banking. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination by April 14, 2023, 15 months from the closing of our initial public offering. If the Extension Amendment Proposal (as defined below) is not approved and our initial business combination is not consummated by April 14, 2023, then our existence will terminate, and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination by April 14, 2023, we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination until July 14, 2023), subject to the sponsor depositing into the trust account, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, $1,725,000 ($0.10 per unit), for the available three month extension. Our public shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extension of time to consummate an initial business combination from 15 months to 18 months described above or to redeem their shares in connection with such extension.

Extension Amendment Proposal

Since our initial business combination will not be consummated by April 14, 2023, we are holding a special meeting of stockholders on April 10, 2023, to vote on a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must complete an initial business combination (the “Extension”) from April 14, 2023 to December 14, 2023, or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s board of directors (the "Extension Amendment Proposal”). If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the board of directors decides to implement the Extension, the sponsor or its designees have agreed to contribute to us loans equal to the lesser of (x) $35,000 or (y) $0.035 for each public share that is not redeemed for each calendar month (commencing on April 15, 2023 and ending on the 14th day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, that is needed by the Company to complete the business combination until December 14, 2023. For more information, please see our proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023.

If the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved and we do not consummate an initial business combination by April 14, 2023, then our existence will terminate, and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account.

NEXT Business Combination

General Terms and Effects; Merger Consideration

On November 21, 2022, the Company entered into the NEXT Merger Agreement with NEXT and Merger Sub.

Pursuant to the NEXT Merger Agreement, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, following the closing (the “Closing”) of the NEXT Business Combination, Merger Sub will merge with and into NEXT, with NEXT continuing as the surviving entity and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and with each stockholder of NEXT (collectively, the “NEXT Securityholders”) receiving newly-issued Company securities, including, as applicable, shares of our Class A common stock and/or options or warrants pursuant to which our Class A common stock will be issued, as further described below.

Prior to, and contingent upon, the Closing, NEXT is to effect a recapitalization (the “Recapitalization”) pursuant to which all convertible debt shall be converted into common stock. The total number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the NEXT stockholders, including holders of NEXT Options and NEXT Warrants (the “Merger Consideration”) shall be determined by dividing (i) $450,000,000, which is the value of the Merger Consideration, by (ii) the Redemption Price, which is an amount equal to the price at which each public share of our Class A common stock may be redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued in respect of each share of NEXT Common Stock, determined after completion of the Recapitalization (the “Conversion Ratio”), shall be determined by dividing the Merger Consideration by the Total NEXT Shares. The “Total NEXT Shares” shall mean the sum of (i) the number of shares of NEXT Common Stock outstanding after giving effect to the Recapitalization (excluding (x) any shares held by NEXT or a subsidiary of NEXT, and (y) any shares of NEXT Common Stock issuable upon conversion or exercise of the certain specified convertible securities and warrants), (ii) the number of shares of NEXT Common Stock issued pursuant to a proposed equity financing by NEXT (iii) the number of shares of NEXT Common Stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding NEXT Options, and, with certain exclusions, NEXT Warrants. No fractional shares of our Class A common stock shall be issued to holders of NEXT Common Stock, and any fractional shares will be rounded down in the aggregate to the nearest whole share of Class A common stock.

Each option or warrant exercisable for NEXT common stock that is not exercised prior to the Closing will be assumed by the Company and automatically converted into an option or warrant exercisable for shares of our Class A common stock, in each case subject to the equivalent terms and conditions as the option or warrant exercisable for NEXT common stock, with the number of shares of our Class A common stock and the exercise price being adjusted to reflect the Conversion Ratio.

Representations and Warranties

The NEXT Merger Agreement contains representations and warranties made by each of NEXT and the Company as of the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement or other specified dates. Certain of the representations and warranties are qualified by materiality or Material Adverse Effect (as hereinafter defined), as well as information provided in the disclosure schedules to the NEXT Merger Agreement. As used in the NEXT Merger Agreement, “Material Adverse Effect” means, with respect to any specified person or entity, any change or effect that has had, or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect upon (i) the business, assets, liabilities, results of operations or condition (financial or otherwise) of such person or entity and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of such person or entity or any of its subsidiaries on a timely basis to consummate the transactions contemplated by the NEXT Merger Agreement or the ancillary documents relating to the NEXT Merger Agreement to which such person or entity is a party or bound or to perform the obligations of such person or entity thereunder, in each case, subject to certain customary exceptions.

No Survival

The representations and warranties of the parties contained in the NEXT Merger Agreement terminate as of, and do not survive, the Closing, and there are no indemnification rights for another party’s breach. The covenants and agreements of the parties contained in the NEXT Merger Agreement do not survive the Closing, except those covenants and agreements to be performed after the Closing, which covenants and agreements will survive until fully performed.

Covenants of the Parties

Each party agreed in the NEXT Merger Agreement to use its commercially reasonable efforts to effectuate the Closing. The NEXT Merger Agreement also contains certain customary covenants by each of the parties during the Interim Period, including (i) the provision of access to their properties, books and personnel; (ii) the operation of their respective businesses in the ordinary course of business; (iii) the delivery of certain specified financial statements by NEXT to the Company, including the delivery by December 15, 2022 of audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021; (iv) the Company’s public filings; (v) no insider trading; (vi) notifications of certain breaches, consent requirements or other matters; (vii) efforts to consummate the Closing; (viii) tax matters; (ix) further assurances; (x) public announcements; and (xi) confidentiality. During the Interim Period, the Company with the assistance of NEXT, will use its commercially reasonable efforts to enter into agreements with investors pursuant to which the Investors will agree to purchase from the Company at the Closing the securities to have such terms and conditions as shall be acceptable to the Company subject to the approval of NEXT, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned, of up to $50,000,000 or such other amount as may be acceptable to the Company, and the Company agreed to obtain the waiver of the deferred underwriters’ fees due to the underwriters of its initial public offering in connection with the NEXT Business Combination. The NEXT Merger Agreement also contains certain customary post-Closing covenants regarding (a) indemnification of directors and officers and the purchase of tail directors’ and officers’ liability insurance; and (b) use of Trust Account proceeds. In addition, NEXT agreed to obtain its required stockholder approvals in the manner required under its organizational documents and applicable law for, among other things, the adoption and approval of the NEXT Merger Agreement, Ancillary Documents and the Transaction, and agreed to enforce the NEXT Voting Agreements (as defined below) in connection therewith.

NEXT Registration Statement

The parties made customary covenants regarding the NEXT Registration Statement. The NEXT Registration Statement also will contain the Company proxy statement to solicit proxies from the Company’s stockholders to approve, among other things, (i) the NEXT Merger Agreement and the Transactions, including the Merger and the issuance of the Company’s securities in connection with the Transaction; (ii) the amendment of the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change the name of the Company to “NXTCLEAN Fuels Inc.,” or such other name as mutually agreed to by the Company and NEXT, to eliminate provisions relating to the Company’s status as a SPAC and include provisions appropriate for a privately-owned corporation; (iii) the adoption the Equity Incentive Plan with terms acceptable to the Company and NEXT; and (iv) the election of the members of the Company’s board of directors following the closing, as described below.

Directors and Officers of the Company

The parties will take all necessary action to designate and nominate to the Company’s board of directors seven directors, of which one person shall be designated by the Company prior to the closing and (ii) six persons that are designated by NEXT prior to the Closing, at least four of whom shall qualify as independent directors under Nasdaq rules. The Company will provide each director with a customary director indemnification agreement, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to such director. The parties further agreed to take all action necessary, including causing the executive officers of the Company to resign, so that the individuals serving as the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively, of NEXT immediately prior to the Closing shall become the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the Company on the Closing Date (unless, at its sole discretion, NEXT desires to appoint another qualified person reasonably acceptable to the Company to either such role, in which case, such other person identified by NEXT shall serve in such role).

Effective on the Closing Date, the Company and certain key employees of NEXT will enter into employment agreements, effective as of the Closing, in form and substance reasonably acceptable to the Company and NEXT. The agreement with NEXT’s chief executive officer includes the grant of options, which are not included in the Total Company Shares used to compute the Conversion Ratio.

NEXT Equity Financing

NEXT agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts to enter into agreements with accredited investors with respect to the NEXT Equity Financing, the proceeds of which may be used by NEXT for working capital. A NEXT Equity Financing means a private placement of NEXT securities pursuant to subscription agreements entered into between NEXT and investors prior to the Closing on terms reasonably acceptable to the Company. To the extent that the NEXT Equity Financing involves the issuance of convertible securities, all such convertible securities shall be converted into NEXT Common Stock on or prior to the Closing Date. Such shares of NEXT Common Stock and any shares of NEXT Common Stock issuable upon exercise of any warrants which issued as part of the NEXT Equity Financing and not exercised prior to the Closing Date shall be included in computing the Total NEXT Shares.

Investor Notes

In November 2022, NEXT entered into a strategic investment agreement with United Airlines Ventures, a subsidiary of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (“United”), pursuant to which NEXT issued to United 500,000 shares of NEXT Common Stock at $5.00 per share and warrants to purchase up to 4,000,000 shares of NEXT Common Stock at exercise price of $5.00 per share and United could continue to invest up to a total of $37.5 million, as long as NEXT meets certain milestones.

The agreement contemplates that NEXT and its operating subsidiary would issue to United $15 million in secured convertible notes (the “Investor Notes”), which would be jointly issued by NEXT and its operating subsidiary and would be convertible into Company Class A common stock at an agreed upon discount, with NEXT issuing notes of like tenor to strategic investors and other approved investors as part of an issuance of notes in the maximum principal amount of $50,000,000 or such other amount as is acceptable to NEXT, the Company and, if the amount is less than $50,000,000, United. The terms of the Notes are to be acceptable to NEXT subject to the consent of the Company, such consent not to be unreasonably delayed, denied or conditioned. The Company agreed that it would consent to the issuance of the Company Class A common stock in connection with the conversion of these notes. See “Agreement with United” below.

No Solicitation of Acquisition Proposals

Each party also agreed during the Interim Period not to solicit or enter into any inquiry, proposal or offer, or any indication of interest in making an offer or proposal for an alternative competing transactions, to notify the others as promptly as practicable in writing of the receipt of any inquiries, proposals or offers, requests for information or requests relating to an alternative competing transaction or any requests for non-public information relating to such transaction, and to keep the other party informed of the status of any such inquiries, proposals, offers or requests for information.

Conduct of NEXT and the Company Pending Closing

Under the NEXT Merger Agreement, during the Interim Period, NEXT has agreed, except as expressly contemplated by other provisions of the NEXT Merger Agreement, or as set forth in disclosure schedules, required by applicable law, or unless the Company otherwise consents in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed), to, and to cause each of its subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course and in material compliance with law and to in all material respects use commercially reasonable efforts necessary or appropriate to maintain its business and organization, including refraining from doing any of the following (subject to certain exceptions contained in the NEXT Merger Agreement and the disclosure schedules thereto):

Additionally, under the NEXT Merger Agreement, during the Interim Period, the Company has agreed, except as expressly contemplated by other provisions of the NEXT Merger Agreement, required by applicable law, or unless NEXT otherwise consents in writing (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned), to, and to cause each of its subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course and in material compliance with law and to use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain its business and organization and existing relationships intact, including refraining from doing any of the following (subject to certain exceptions contained in the NEXT Merger Agreement and the disclosure schedules thereto):

Conditions to Closing

The NEXT Merger Agreement contains conditions to Closing, including the following mutual conditions of the parties (unless waived): (i) approval of the stockholders of the Company and NEXT; (ii) approvals of, or completion of any filings required to be made with, any governmental authorities (“Regulatory Approvals”) and completion of any antitrust expiration periods, in each case, as applicable; (iii) no law or order preventing the Transaction; (iv) upon the Closing, the Company having net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 after redemptions and any PIPE investment; (v) the members of the post-Closing Company board of directors shall have been elected or appointed as of the Closing consistent with the requirements of the NEXT Merger Agreement, and (vi) the NEXT Registration Statement shall have been declared effective by the SEC and no stop-order being in effect.

In addition, unless waived by NEXT, the obligations of NEXT to consummate the Transaction are subject to the satisfaction of the following additional Closing conditions, in addition to the delivery by the Company of customary certificates and other Closing deliverables: (i) the representations and warranties of the Company being true and correct as of the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement and the date of the Closing, except to the extent made as of a particular date (subject to certain materiality qualifiers); (ii) the Company having performed in all material respects its obligations and complied in all material respects with its covenants and agreements under the NEXT Merger Agreement required to be performed or complied with by it on or prior to the date of the Closing; (iii) the absence of any Material Adverse Effect with respect to the Company since the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement which is continuing and uncured; (iv) the total of the proceeds from the PIPE Offering plus the amount remaining in the Trust Account after Redemptions, net of expenses, not being less than $50,000,000.

Unless waived by the Company, the obligations of the Company and Merger Sub to consummate the Transaction are subject to the satisfaction of the following additional Closing conditions, in addition to the delivery by NEXT of customary certificates and other Closing deliverables: (i) the representations and warranties of NEXT being true and correct as of the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement and the date of the Closing, except to the extent made as of a particular date (subject to certain materiality qualifiers); (ii) NEXT having performed in all material respects its obligations and complied in all material respects with its covenants and agreements under the NEXT Merger Agreement required to be performed or complied with or by it on or prior to the date of the Closing; (iii) the absence of any Material Adverse Effect with respect to NEXT and its subsidiaries since the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement which is continuing and uncured; and (iv) the execution of the Lock-Up Agreements, Employment Agreements and Non-Competition Agreements being in full force and effect and the Recapitalization having been completed as required under the NEXT Merger Agreement.

Termination

The NEXT Merger Agreement may be terminated under certain customary and limited circumstances at any time prior to the Closing, including: (a) by mutual written consent of the Company and NEXT; (b) by either the Company or NEXT if any of the conditions to Closing have not been satisfied or waived by July 14, 2023 (the “Outside Date,” (provided that, if (A) the Company obtains an extension of the period of time in which it is required to complete an initial business combination, the Company may extend the Outside Date for additional periods equal to the shortest of (i) three additional months in the aggregate, (ii) the period ending on the last date for the Company to consummate a business combination pursuant to the latest of any such extensions, or (iii) such period as determined by the Company, and (B) if, on or prior to July 14, 2023, the SEC has not declared the NEXT Registration Statement effective, the Outside Date shall be automatically extended to August 31, 2023, provided that a breach or violation of the NEXT Merger Agreement shall not give rise to a right of termination of the NEXT Merger Agreement by either party; (c) by either the Company or NEXT if a governmental authority of competent jurisdiction has issued an order or taken any other action permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the Transaction, and such order or other action has become final and non-appealable; (d) by either the Company or NEXT in the event of the other party’s uncured breach, if such breach would result in the failure of a closing condition (and so long as the terminating party is not also in breach under the NEXT Merger Agreement); (e) by the Company if there has been a Material Adverse Effect on NEXT and its subsidiaries following the date of the NEXT Merger Agreement that is uncured and continuing; (f) by either the Company or NEXT if the stockholders of the Company do not approve the NEXT Merger Agreement and the Transaction at a special meeting held by the Company; and (g) by either the Company or NEXT if NEXT holds a general meeting or special meeting of stockholders, as applicable, to approve the NEXT Merger Agreement and the Transaction and such approval is not obtained.

If the NEXT Merger Agreement is terminated, all further obligations of the parties under the NEXT Merger Agreement (except for certain obligations related to publicity, confidentiality, fees and expenses, trust fund waiver, no recourse, termination and general provisions) will terminate, and no party to the NEXT Merger Agreement will have any further liability to any other party thereto except for liability for actual fraud (as defined under Delaware corporate law) or for willful breach of the NEXT Merger Agreement prior to termination. The NEXT Merger Agreement does not provide for any termination fees. The Company and NEXT agreed to each be responsible for 50% of any filing fees and expenses under any applicable antitrust laws.

Trust Account Waiver

NEXT agreed on behalf of itself and its affiliates that neither it nor its affiliates will have any right, title, interest of any kind in or to any monies in the Company’s Trust Account held for its public stockholders, and agreed not to, and waived any right to, make any claim against the Trust Account (including any distributions therefrom) other than in connection with the Closing.

Related Agreements

Voting and Support Agreements

Simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the NEXT Merger Agreement, the Company and NEXT have entered into Voting and Support Agreements (collectively, the “NEXT Voting Agreements”) with certain stockholders of NEXT required to approve the Transaction. Under the NEXT Voting Agreements, each NEXT Securityholder party thereto unconditionally and irrevocably agreed to vote all of such stockholder’s shares of NEXT (i) in favor of the Merger, the NEXT Merger Agreement and the Transaction and the other matters to be submitted to the NEXT Securityholder for approval in connection with the Transaction and each NEXT Securityholder party thereto has agreed to take (or not take, as applicable) certain other actions in support of the NEXT Merger Agreement and the Transaction, and (ii) to vote the shares in opposition to: (A) any acquisition proposal and any and all other proposals (x) for the acquisition of NEXT, or (y) which are in competition with or materially inconsistent with the NEXT Merger Agreement or the Ancillary Documents in each case in the manner and subject to the conditions set forth in the NEXT Voting Agreements. The NEXT Voting Agreements prevent transfers of the NEXT shares held by the NEXT Securityholder party thereto between the date of the Voting Agreement and the date of Closing, except for certain permitted transfers where the recipient also agrees to comply with the Voting Agreement.

Lock-Up Agreements

NEXT agreed that promptly following the execution and delivery of the NEXT Merger Agreement, certain stockholders of the Company entered into Lock-Up Agreements with the Company (the “NEXT Lock-Up Agreements”). Pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements, each NEXT Securityholder party thereto agreed not to, during the period commencing from the Closing and ending upon the earlier to occur of the one (1) year anniversary of the Closing (subject to early release if NEXT consummates a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction with an unaffiliated third party): (i) lend, offer, pledge, hypothecate, encumber, donate, assign, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Company restricted securities, (ii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such Company restricted securities, or (iii) publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing, whether any such transaction described in clauses (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of the Company restricted securities or other securities, in cash or otherwise (in each case, subject to certain limited permitted transfers where the recipient takes the shares subject to the restrictions in the Lock-Up Agreement).

Non-Competition Agreements

NEXT agreed that promptly following the execution and delivery of the NEXT Merger Agreement, certain NEXT executive officers will enter into Non-Competition Agreements in favor of NEXT and the Company and their respective present and future successors and direct and indirect subsidiaries. Under the Non-Competition Agreements, the NEXT executive officers signatory thereto will agree not to compete with the Company, NEXT and their respective affiliates during the three-year period following the Closing and, during such three-year restricted period, not to solicit employees or customers of such entities. The Non-Competition Agreements also contain customary confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions.

Sponsor Voting Agreement

Simultaneously with the execution and delivery of the NEXT Merger Agreement, NEXT and the Company entered into a Sponsor Voting Agreement (the “Sponsor Voting Agreement”) with the sponsor, pursuant to, and on the terms and subject to the conditions of which, the sponsor has agreed among other things to vote its shares of the Company, and take certain other actions, in support of the Business Combination.

Agreement with United

On November 10, 2022, NEXT executed an agreement with United Airlines Ventures, a subsidiary of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (“United”), pursuant to which United purchased 500,000 shares of NEXT common stock at $5.00 per shares and NEXT issued to United warrants to purchase 4,000,000 shares of NEXT Common Stock at an exercise price of $5.00 per share. Pursuant to the agreement, United could invest as much as a total of $37.5 million into NEXT, as long as NEXT meets certain milestone targets. In connection with the initial United investment NEXT and its operating subsidiary would issue United up to $15 million in secured convertible notes which would be jointly issued by NEXT and NEXT’s operating subsidiary, and would be convertible into Company Class A common stock at an agreed upon discount, with NEXT issuing notes of like tenor to strategic investors and other approved investors as part of an issuance of notes in the maximum principal amount of $50 million or such other amount, the terms of the notes to be acceptable to NEXT subject to the consent of the Company, such consent not to be unreasonably delayed, denied or conditioned.

The foregoing descriptions of the NEXT Voting Agreements, NEXT Lock-Up Agreements, NEXT Non-Competition Agreements, and Sponsor Voting Agreement, and the transactions and documents contemplated thereby, is not complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the NEXT Voting Agreements, NEXT Lock-Up Agreements, NEXT Non-Competition Agreements, and Sponsor Voting Agreement, copies of which are filed with this Report as Exhibits 10.8, 10.9, 10.10, and 10.11, respectively, and the terms of which are incorporated by reference herein.

Other than as specifically discussed, this Report does not assume the closing of the NEXT Business Combination.

Business Combination Criteria

Our business combination criteria are not limited to a particular industry or geographic sector, however, given the experience of our management team and board, we have focused our search on industrial technology companies with an enterprise value of approximately $200 million to $900 million. Management believes that this relative size of target opportunities has enabled the Company to pursue companies, such as NEXT, that are the most attractive from a return standpoint and are less pursued by larger, more established sources of capital.

We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our management’s experience, and that we believe are important in evaluating prospective business combination opportunities. While we have used and will continue to use these criteria and guidelines to evaluate business combination opportunities including the NEXT Business Combination, we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that meets some but not all of these criteria and guidelines.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that meets some but not all of the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria if our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC, such as the NEXT Registration Statement.

Competitive Strengths and Advantages

We believe that our management team is well positioned to consummate an initial business combination, such as the NEXT Business Combination, due to its combination of operating and investing expertise. We believe that the most likely business combination targets have been those companies at a strategic inflection point, such as rapidly growing companies stepping out from the control of private equity or venture capital owners, family-owned businesses seeking some liquidity, or business units being carved out from larger conglomerates. In these scenarios in particular, we believe the experience our management team brings in successfully scaling companies, especially those in the public markets, have been and will continue to be looked upon favorably by both the target company as well as public stockholders.

Specifically, we believe our competitive strengths to be the following:

Initial Business Combination

We have until April 14, 2023 to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination by April 14, 2023, we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months (or until July 14, 2023) to complete a business combination, subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account, upon five days advance notice prior to the deadline, $1,725,000 ($0.10 per unit), for the available three month extension. Any such payments would be made in the form of non-interest bearing loans. If we complete our initial business combination, we will, at the option of our sponsor, repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us or convert a portion or all of the total loan amount into units at a price of $10.00 per unit, which units will be identical to the private units. If we do not complete a business combination, we will repay such loans only from funds held outside of the trust account. Our stockholders will not be entitled to vote or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension.

On March 22, 2023, we filed with the SEC a proxy statement on Schedule 14A in connection with a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must complete an initial business combination from April 14, 2023 to December 14, 2023, or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s board of directors. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the board of directors decides to implement the Extension, the sponsor or its designees have agreed to contribute to us loans equal to the lesser of (x) $35,000 or (y) $0.035 for each public share that is not redeemed for each calendar month (commencing on April 15, 2023 and ending on the 14th day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, that is needed by the Company to complete the business combination until December 14, 2023. Our shareholders will vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal at the special meeting of stockholder scheduled to be held on April 10, 2023.

Our stockholders will be entitled to vote and redeem their shares in connection with a stockholder meeting held to approve an initial business combination or in a tender offer undertaken in connection with such an initial business combination if we propose such a business combination during any three-month extension period. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public stockholders. In the event of our dissolution and liquidation, the private units will expire and will be worthless.

Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Based on the valuation analysis of our management and board of directors, we have determined that the fair market value of NEXT was substantially in excess of 80% of the funds in the trust account and that the 80% test was therefore satisfied.

Our Business Combination Process

In evaluating prospective business combinations such as the NEXT Business Combination, we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or our officers or directors. While NEXT is not affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, in the event we do not consummate the NEXT Business Combination, and we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Our officers and directors indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following our initial public offering. Because of this ownership, our sponsor and our officers and directors have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors has not and will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

Our Management Team

Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters, but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period will vary based on the current stage of the business combination process.

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

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure as a public company makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business, such as NEXT, an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding such exchange in the NEXT Business Combination.

Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses, such as NEXT, will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

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

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

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following January 14, 2026, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30^th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30^th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30^th.

Financial Position

With funds available for an initial business combination in the amount of approximately $178.5 million as of December 31, 2022, we offer a target business such as NEXT a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we consummate our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of our initial public offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

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

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result, be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.

See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding the financing of and the agreements related to the NEXT Business Combination.

Sources of Target Businesses

Target business candidates, such as NEXT, may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our prospectus in connection with our initial public offering or this Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we may receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. We may engage the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.

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

If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

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

Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses, or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test.

To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management endeavors to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.

In evaluating a prospective business target, such as NEXT, we conduct a thorough due diligence review, which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.

Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.

Lack of Business Diversification

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

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business, including the management team of NEXT, when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, and plan to continue to do so if the NEXT Business Combination is not consummated and we seek other business combination opportunities, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, including the NEXT Business Combination in which Scott Crist, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will be on the board of directors of the combined company following completion of the merger, it is unlikely that he or any other director will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our post-closing management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

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

Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

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

We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule (as is the case with the NEXT Business Combination), or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.

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

See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed in the NEXT Business Combination.

Permitted Purchases of our Securities

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

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

See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding such purchases in the NEXT Business Combination.

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

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, such as the NEXT Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. As of December 31, 2022, the amount in the trust account was approximately $10.31 per public share, without taking into account any interest earned on such funds or additional funds, if any, deposited into the trust account in connection with extensions of the period of time to consummate a business combination (as described in more detail in this Report). The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

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

If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

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

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

If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we need only 6,468,751, or 37.5%, of the 17,250,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorums and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

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

See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed for the NEXT Business Combination.

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval

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

See “NEXT Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed for the NEXT Business Combination.

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

We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $100.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

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

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

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

If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target within the Combination Period.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only until the end of the Combination Period to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the Combination Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

If we do not consummate our initial business combination by the deadline set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $451,473 of proceeds held outside the trust account as of December 31, 2022, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any franchise and income tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $50,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination by April 14, 2023, we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination until July 14, 2023), subject to the sponsor depositing into the trust account, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, $1,725,000 ($0.10 per unit), for the available three month extension. Our public shareholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extension of time to consummate an initial business combination from 15 months to 18 months described above or to redeem their shares in connection with such extension.

On March 22, 2023, we filed with the SEC a proxy statement on Schedule 14A in connection with a proposal to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must complete an initial business combination from April 14, 2023 to December 14, 2023, or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s board of directors. If the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved and the board of directors decides to implement the Extension, the sponsor or its designees have agreed to contribute to us loans equal to the lesser of (x) $35,000 or (y) $0.035 for each public share that is not redeemed for each calendar month (commencing on April 15, 2023 and ending on the 14th day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, that is needed by the Company to complete the business combination until December 14, 2023. Our shareholders will vote on the Extension Amendment Proposal at the special meeting of stockholder scheduled to be held on April 10, 2023. In connection with the Extension Amendment Proposal, holders of our public shares are entitled to redeem their public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. For more information, please see our proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.31. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.31. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Marcum, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification 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 if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.20 per public share.

We have sought and will continue to seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. As of December 31, 2022, we have access to up to approximately $178.5 million from the proceeds of our initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $50,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. As of December 31, 2022, the amount held outside the trust account was $451,473.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.

Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination during the Combination Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the end of the Combination Period and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.

Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.

If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by the end of the Combination Period (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination during the Combination Period, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.

Competition

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

Employees

We currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters, but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period varies based on the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We have no full-time employees and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act, and as a result, we have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports, including this Report, will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business, such as the NEXT Registration Statement. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) (a) December 31, 2027, (b) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30^th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.