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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number: 001-41223

PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

87-3071107

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

3500 South Dupont Highway, Suite HX-102
Dover,DE 19901

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including zip code)

(510) 214-3750

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name, former address, and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol	Name of each exchange on which Registered
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one Redeemable	PPYAU	Pink Open Market
Shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, included as part of the Units	PPYA	Pink Open Market
Redeemable Warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share, included as part of the Units	PPYAW	Pink Open Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒
		Emerging growth company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Auditor Firm ID: 2468 | Auditor Name: Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP | Auditor Location: New York, NY

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☒ No ☐

As of June 28, 2024, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting securities held by non-affiliates was approximately $8.3 million, based on the number of shares held by non-affiliates and the last reported sales price of the registrant’s Class A common stock as of that date.

As of April 14, 2025, there were 8,239,404 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and no shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

		PAGE
PART I		1
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	15
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	46
Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	46
Item 2.	Properties	46
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	46
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	46

PART II		47
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	47
Item 6.	Reserved	48
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	48
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	53
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	53
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	53
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	53
Item 9B.	Other Information	54
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	54

PART III		55
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	55
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	60
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	60
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	61
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	63

PART IV		65
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	65
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	65

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:

●

we are a blank check company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;

●

we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;

●

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;

●

we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

●

our officers and directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;

●

we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of stockholders requesting redemption;

●

we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time;

●

you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;

●

trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy; and

●

our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack of an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Unless otherwise stated in this Report, references to:

●	“Cantor” or the “representative” are to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters in our initial public offering;

●	“CCM” are to J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC on behalf of its Cohen & Company Capital Markets division, whom we engaged to provide consulting and advisory services in connection with our initial public offering;

●	“Citrin” are to Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm;

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●	“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;

●	“DWAC System” are to the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian System;

●	“founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as provided herein;

●	“initial business combination” are to a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses;

●	“initial public offering” or “IPO” are to the initial public offering that was consummated by the Company on January 19, 2022;

●	“initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering (or their permitted transferees);

●	“Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;

●	“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;

●	“Nasdaq” are to The Nasdaq Global Market;

●	“private placement shares” are to the Class A common stock included within the private placement units issued to our sponsor, Cantor and CCM in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering;

●	“private placement units” are to the units issued to our sponsor, Cantor and CCM in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, each private placement unit consisting of one private placement share and one-half of one private placement warrant;

●	“private placement warrants” are to the non-redeemable warrants to purchase shares of the Class A common stock included within the private placement units issued to our sponsor, Cantor and CCM in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering;

●	“public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

●

“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

●	“public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they are purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

●	“Registration Statement” are to the Company’s Form S-1 filed with the SEC on November 24, 2021, as amended;

●	“Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024;

●	“SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;

●	“sponsor” are to Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company controlled by Clay Whitehead, our Chief Executive Officer;

iii

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●	“trust account” are to the trust account in which an amount of $293,250,000, comprised of the proceeds from the initial public offering after operating expenses and the sale of the private placement units were initially placed following the consummation of the initial public offering;

●	“units” are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company;

●

“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees and any warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans; and

●	“we,” “us,” “Company” or “our company” are to Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I, a Delaware corporation.

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Risk Factor Summary

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section title “Risk Factors,” that represent challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may adversely affect our ability to effect a business combination, and may have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Such risks include, but are not limited to:

●

we are an early stage company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;

●

we may not be able to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time frame;

●

our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;

●

we may not be successful in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

●

our initial stockholders exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support;

●

we may not be able to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce number of shareholders requesting redemption;

●

if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote;

●

our securities are no longer listed on Nasdaq, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions;

●

we may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time;

●

you may not be given the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;

●

your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination;

●

trust account funds may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;

●

you will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss;

●

our financial performance following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack of an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management; and

●

our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by current or anticipated military conflict, including between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism, sanctions or other geopolitical events globally, the COVID 19 pandemic, including new variant strains, and the status of debt and equity markets;

●

we may be subject to the Excise Tax included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in connection with redemptions of our common stock after December 31, 2022.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are an early-stage blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination. Our team has collectively raised 7 SPACs, totaling $2,200,000,000 in trust capital, and has made extensive private market investments, including Square, Eventbrite, DigitalOcean, Calm and Gitlab.

Initial Public Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

On January 19, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“warrant”), with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock for $11.50 per share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $287,500,000.

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering (the “IPO”), we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 1,365,000 private placement units (1,115,500 private placement units to our sponsor, 212,500 private placement units to Cantor and 37,500 private placement units to CCM) at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $13,655,000.

On April 12, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “April Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate an initial business combination up to six (6) times for an additional one (1) month each time, from April 19, 2023 to October 19, 2023 (which is 21 months from the closing of the IPO). In connection with the April Special Meeting, the holders of 18,885,901 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.3988 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $196,390,058. Following such redemptions, 9,864,099 public shares remained outstanding.

On August 30, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “August Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved a further amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate an initial business combination up to four (4) times for an additional (1) month each time from October 19, 2023 to February 19, 2024 (which is 25 months from the closing of the IPO) by depositing into the trust account for each one-month extension the lesser of (a) $30,000 and (b) $0.03 for each then outstanding share after giving effect to any redemptions. In connection with the August Special Meeting, the holders of 7,560,892 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.68965 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $80,823,312. Following such redemptions, 2,303,207 public shares remained outstanding.

On December 14, 2023, our sponsor entered into a membership interest subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with Antara Capital Total Return SPAC Master Fund LP, an existing member of our sponsor (the “Acquirer”), pursuant to which our sponsor transferred to the Acquirer membership interests in our sponsor reflecting interests in 5,054,574 shares of our Class B common stock (the “Transfer”). In connection with the Transfer, no changes were made to the officers or directors of the Company or the management of our sponsor. The Transfer and the other transactions contemplated by the Subscription Agreement are collectively referred to as the “Sponsor Transaction.”

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redemption of our public shares after January 1, 2023. Any remaining cash on our sponsor’s balance sheet at the time of the Sponsor Transaction was available to pay any such assumed liabilities.

On February 16, 2024, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “February Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved a further amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate an initial business combination up to eleven (11) times for an additional (1) month each time from February 19, 2024 to January 19, 2025 (which is 36 months from the closing of the IPO) by depositing into the trust account for each one-month extension the lesser of (a) $30,000 and (b) $0.02 for each then outstanding share after giving effect to any redemptions. In connection with the February Special Meeting, the holders of 1,592,678 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.94 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $17,430,006. Following such redemptions, 710,529 public shares remained outstanding.

On February 16, 2024, our sponsor determined to convert all the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis (the “Class B Conversion”). Notwithstanding the Class B Conversion, our sponsor, as well as our officers and directors, will not be entitled to receive any funds held in the trust account with respect to any shares of Class A common stock issued to such holders as a result of the Class B Conversion, and no additional amounts will be deposited into the trust account in respect of shares of Class A common stock held by our sponsor.

On January 14, 2025, we held a special meeting in lieu of annual meeting of stockholders (the “2025 Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved a further amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from January 19, 2025 to December 19, 2025 (or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors). In connection with the 2025 Special Meeting, the holders of 620,479 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.34 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $7.0 million. Following such redemptions, 90,050 public shares remain outstanding. As of February 28, 2025, a total of approximately $1.0 million remains in the trust account.

Business Strategy

The Company exists to align the benefits of a business combination for a high-quality partner company with long-term value creation for our stockholders. We believe that our prior experience, relationships, and track-record with special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) and private market investments allow us to source, select and transact with a partner company that can fulfill this goal.

As investors, we believe that there is no single set of investment criteria that best allows us to meet our goals. It is our experience that quality outcomes stem from a relentless focus on our own investment processes and the prudent application of our core investment tenets.

Our key investment tenets are:

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Backing exceptional leaders. It is our belief that the best returns over time come from partnering with exceptional management teams that have a clear record of successful execution and large ambitions for their company. It is our experience that such high-quality leadership teams focus deeply on leading indicators of business success, including customer value, customer engagement, expansion of addressable market and company culture to drive value over the long-term.

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Investing in growth with a quality business model in a large market. We seek to invest where our returns are driven primarily by revenue growth. We highly prefer large addressable markets that provide the capacity for continued growth well past our own investment horizon. We seek companies that combine high growth and large markets with an effective business model, which we define as the ability to sustainably generate future cash flows. We typically evaluate the potential to generate future cash flows though deep diligence on unit economics, revenue quality and overall business model, and we generally prefer markets with strong secular tailwinds.

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Finding clear business moats. Deep moats and substantive competitive differentiation are essential to sustaining growth and margin over time. Such moats can take many forms, ranging from network effects, to branding, to aggregator effects, to scale advantages. While we are agnostic as to specific moats and competitive differentiation, we invest significant time understanding and validating the sustainability and strength of each.

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Reasonable valuation. Valuation is key to creating upside potential, and to shielding from downside risk. Leveraging our extensive private- and public-market investing experience, we work closely and transparently with management teams and investors to establish valuations and economic alignment that create the right foundation for long-term value creation.

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ESG considerations. We recognize the increasing importance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and believe integration of robust ESG policies is essential to a business’s sustainable growth. Our investment strategy will seek to promote responsible and purposeful business standards, focused on not only the impact of products and services, but on the business processes of the companies themselves.

Beyond these investment tenants, we focus on factors important to successful SPAC-combinations:

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Sufficient scale. We focus on companies of sufficient size and scale that there will be sufficient trading liquidity post-de-SPAC to allow for strong, fundamentals-driven growth.

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Clear benefits to going public. We are focused on companies that clearly benefit from operating publicly, via greater access to capital, better branding and visibility, or improved employee incentives around stock compensation.

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Public markets operations capabilities. We concentrate heavily on companies’ processes, controls, and governance to evaluate their capacity to operate publicly.

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Clear rationale for SPACing. We especially seek companies that can harvest benefits from SPACs not offered by IPOs or other capital solutions. We believe such advantages can include ability to leverage projections to align investors around growth and profitability expectations, earlier access to markets, raising more capital, de-risking through testing the waters and PIPE process, market validation from PIPE participants.

Initial Business Combination

We have until December 19, 2025 to consummate an initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 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 warrants will expire and 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 or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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. Even though our common stock is not currently listed on Nasdaq, we intend to comply with applicable Nasdaq rules in connection with any initial business combination.

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 of 1940, as amended (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

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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% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value 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.

Acquisition Strategy & Business Combination Criteria

We are identifying businesses that marry exceptional teams with exceptional opportunities in a way that is consistent with our investment philosophy and strategy. While our business strategy is our north star in evaluating businesses, our eventual partner company may not meet some or all of our criteria. While prudent investment thinking and the application of well-grounded principles guide our company evaluation, we note that our business strategy must be seen as a general set of guidelines rather than an exhaustive list, and we may rely on other criteria and considerations in selecting our eventual partner company.

In evaluating potential partner companies, we conduct thorough due diligence, including but not limited to management meetings, document review, financial analysis, technology evaluations, and interviews with competitors, customers and industry experts. We believe that there is no substitute for deep, fundamental analysis in understanding whether or not a company has ample runway for growth and cash flows. As such, our expectation is that we will be some of the most knowledgeable people on our eventual partner company globally at the time of initial business combination.

We further believe that a short-term orientation towards investing yields sub-par results and unnecessary risk. Our view is that strong outcomes most predictably derive from a deep understanding of a business’ vision, growth drivers, constraints and opportunities, along with their financial implications, over the long-term. We seek to apply this discipline to the selection of our initial business combination and will not invest behind binary outcomes that hinge on technology or regulatory risks. Instead, we seek businesses where there are sufficient data that we can develop a fundamentals-driven forecast of growth and margins over time.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business 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.

Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses 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.

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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 the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (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 December 31, 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 shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior December 31, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior December 31.

Financial Position

We offer a target business 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 units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (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 banks 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,

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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 are targeting businesses larger than we could acquire with the amounts held in the trust account, 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.

Although our management assesses the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment results in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

Sources of Target Businesses

Target business candidates 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 the prospectus of our initial public offering 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 expect to 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 respective industry and business contacts as well as 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). Although 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 do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $14,500 per month until December 19, 2025, for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support. Further, we have agreed to pay Burkland Associates, LLC (f/k/a/ FintechForce, Inc.), an entity affiliated with our former Chief Financial Officer, a fee of $15,000 per month for financial planning and analysis and general professional services and starting in October 2024, the fee was reduced to $10,000 per month. We have also agreed to pay our Chief Financial Officer a fee of $10,000 per month starting in March 2025. Some of our officers and directors and advisors 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, directors or advisors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or advisors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly

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renders valuation opinions 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.

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. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

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subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and

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cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, 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, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our 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, 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.


Type of Transaction		Whether Stockholder Approval is Required
Purchase of assets		No
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company		No
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company		No
Merger of the company with a target		Yes

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

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we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;

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any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

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the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.

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. 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, advisors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors 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, advisors 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, advisors 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.

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 including interest

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earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account was initially approximately $10.20 per public share. 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 Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. 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, any private placement 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 or (ii) by means of a tender offer. 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.

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:

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conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and

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file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

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 will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will meet or exceed any 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:

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conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and

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file proxy materials with the SEC.

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.

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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, private placement 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. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 20 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 quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, 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. We will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will meet or exceed any 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.

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, which we refer to as 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.

Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with 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 meeting held to approve a proposed initial business combination by a date set forth in the proxy materials mailed to such holders or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the DWAC System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials 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 proxy materials until the date set forth in such proxy materials 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 and it would be up to the

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broker whether to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether 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.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials. 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 until December 19, 2025.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we have until December 19, 2025, to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further 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 by December 19, 2025.

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 or private placement shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025. 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 by December 19, 2025.

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 offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, 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 public shares 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 taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) 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 “penny stock” rules, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

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 held outside the trust account, 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 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 taxes on interest income earned on the

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trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units, 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 $10.20. 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 $10.20. Under Section 281(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (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 (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), 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. Citrin, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the initial public offering have not executed 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 (regardless of whether 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.

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We 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 (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), 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. We will have access to any funds held outside the trust account 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 $100,000). 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.

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 by December 19, 2025, 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 by December 19, 2025, 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 by December 19, 2025, 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further 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 December 19, 2025 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 are 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 seek to have all vendors, service providers (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), 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.

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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 offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, or (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 by December 19, 2025, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. 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 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 for our initial business combination, we encounter 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 warrants, 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.

Human Capital Management

We currently have three 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 do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

We have registered our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and 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 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. In all likelihood, these

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financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential 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 on a yearly basis 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 filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to 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) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (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 shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior December 31, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, which we believe are the principal risks that we face and of which we are currently aware, and all of the other information contained in this Report. If any of the events or developments described below occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be negatively affected.

Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses),

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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. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.20 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.

Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.

We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete. Please see the section of this Report entitled “Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

Pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and private placement shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after the initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 96% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.

Concentration of ownership in our sponsor may prevent other investors from influencing significant corporate decisions or adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Our sponsor owns approximately 96% of our outstanding shares of common stock (including the shares underlying the private placement units). As a result, our sponsor has substantial control over us and is able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval. This concentration of influence could be disadvantageous to other stockholders with interests different from those of our sponsor. In addition, this significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning shares in companies with principal stockholders and might make it more difficult to complete a business combination with targets that would prefer to enter into a transaction with a SPAC with less concentrated ownership.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the initial public offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our

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initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Our securities are no longer listed for trading on Nasdaq, which may limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our units, shares of our Class A common stock and warrants began trading on the Pink Open Market operated on The OTC Market systems on January 23, 2025. In connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements in order to regain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

Additionally, we can face significant material adverse consequences as a result of our securities being quoted on the Pink Open Market, including:

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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

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reduced liquidity for our securities;

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a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

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a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and warrants are no longer covered securities because they are not listed on a national securities exchange, we could be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states.

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote.

Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would

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not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than such amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination with us.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.

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completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.

Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the 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 warrantholders 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. 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.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, 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 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. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this Report entitled “Business — Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination — Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by current or anticipated military conflict, including between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism, sanctions or other geopolitical events globally, the COVID 19 pandemic, including new variant strains of the underlying virus, and the status of debt and equity markets.

Our ability to consummate a business combination may be dependent on our ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by current or anticipated military conflict, including between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism, sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Economic uncertainty in various global markets caused by political instability may result in weakened demand for products sold by potential target businesses and difficulty in forecasting financial results on which we rely in the evaluation of potential target businesses. Global conflicts, including the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as economic sanctions implemented by the United States and European Union against Russia in response thereto, may negatively impact markets, increase energy and transportation costs and cause weaker macro-economic conditions. Political developments impacting government spending, and international trade, including inflation or rising interest rates, may also negatively impact markets and cause weaker macro-economic conditions. The effect of any or all of these events could adversely impact our ability to find a suitable business combination, as it may affect demand for potential target businesses’ products or the cost of manufacturing thereof, harm their operations and weaken their financial results.

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Additionally, the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that has affected, or could adversely affect, the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new variant strains of the underlying disease that may develop, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.

We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We must complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, 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, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of 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 taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further 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, in which case our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

There may at times be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial business combination. This could increase the costs associated with completing our initial business combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target for our initial business combination.

In recent years, the number of business combinations with SPACs have increased substantially. Additionally, there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial business combination.

In addition, because of the number of special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of or the inability to obtain additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find a suitable target for and/or complete our initial business combination.

We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.

In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions). The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.

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You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by December 19, 2025, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units held in the trust account are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units are immediately tradable and we may have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the initial public offering had been subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar technical, human and other resources to ours, and our financial resources are relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.

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If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

As of December 31, 2024, only approximately $5,576 was available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.

Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the initial business combination constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we seek to have all vendors, service providers (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Citrin, our

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independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the initial public offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the approximately $10.20 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, 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 (regardless of whether such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the 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, it is unlikely 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.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per share and (ii) the actual amount per 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, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.

While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance 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. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.

We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.

We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds held outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following December 19, 2025 in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.

Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, 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.

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We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.

Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.

Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

We are not limited to completing an initial business combination in any industry or geographical region, although we are not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

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We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

We are not required to obtain a fairness opinion, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, regardless of whether they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be 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 target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial 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.

Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls on an annual basis. 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 comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated

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agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. 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, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the initial public offering and the private placement into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own approximately 96% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

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 offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, 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, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. To the extent we seek to amend our organizational documents in a way that would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any our securities, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.

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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

We intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the initial public offering and the sale of the private placement units remaining in the trust account. As a result, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share,” under certain circumstances our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account.

Our initial stockholders exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Our initial stockholders own shares representing approximately 96% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, they exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

The investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims

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against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we employ after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:

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higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;

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rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

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complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

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laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

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tariffs and trade barriers;

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regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

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longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

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tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

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currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

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rates of inflation;

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cultural and language differences;

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employment regulations;

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changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate;

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crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;

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deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

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government appropriations of assets.

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

We may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

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acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;

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our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;

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our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;

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using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;

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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;

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limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and

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other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We may only be able to complete one business combination, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.

We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or

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dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure,

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or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

We may engage the underwriter or its affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with our initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriter is entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only upon completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriter to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

We may engage the underwriter or its affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriter or its affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriter is also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriter or its affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.

Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our stockholders and warrant holders. As a result of our initial business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.

Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite stockholder approval, we may structure our business combination in a manner that requires stockholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to stockholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a stockholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of such holder’s shares or warrants. In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). As a result, stockholders and warrant holders may be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination.

Furthermore, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and, possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition.

Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements as well as reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, if any, with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, if any, following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Additionally, they may negotiate reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on our behalf prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, should they choose to do so. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they

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would render to us after the completion of the initial business combination, or as reimbursement for such out-of-pocket expenses. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Past performance by members of our management team or our advisors or any of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.

Past performance by members of our management team or our advisors or any of their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. Mr. Whitehead has experience as a sponsor of, and investor in, blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or our advisors’ or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team and our advisors have been involved in businesses and transactions that were not successful.

We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

We may consummate a business combination with a company in any industry we choose and are not limited to any particular industry or type of business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to stockholders than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers, including the recent departure of our former chief financial officer, could have a detrimental effect on us.

Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after the initial public offering), and because our sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances where our public stockholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination. In addition, since our sponsor paid an original purchase price of only approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, certain of our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value.

On October 19, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our formation and operating expenses in consideration for 7,452,500 founder shares. On November 19, 2021, we effected a 1.0102482:1.0000000 split of our common stock, such that our sponsor owns 7,528,875 founder shares. Our sponsor paid an original purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent approximately 20.0% of the outstanding shares after the initial public offering (excluding any shares underlying the private placement units). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, Cantor and CCM

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purchased an aggregate of 1,365,500 private placement units at $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $13,655,000, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.

Furthermore, certain of our officers and directors have a significant economic interest in our sponsor. As a result, the low acquisition cost of the founder shares creates an economic incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we complete a business combination with a target business that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors.

Our independent directors have a financial interest in our founder shares, either directly or through our sponsor. They acquired that interest at no cost. As a result, our independent directors have a financial interest in consummating an initial business combination, even if our stock declines in value after that business combination and our public stockholders experience losses in connection with their investment. However, if we do not consummate our initial business combination, the founder shares would be worthless. The financial interest of our independent directors in the founder shares may give rise to a potential conflict of interest in considering potential target businesses. You should consider this potential conflict of interest in deciding whether to redeem your shares at the time of our initial business combination.

On October 19, 2021, our sponsor purchased 7,452,500 founder shares for a purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. On November 19, 2021, we effected a 1.0102482:1.0000000 split of our common stock, such that our sponsor owns 7,528,875 founder shares. Our independent directors are members of our sponsor, and have a financial interest in the sponsor’s founder shares. Our independent directors acquired that membership interest at no cost. Consequently, our independent directors may profit substantially if we consummate our initial business combination, even if our stock price declines in value after that business combination and our public stockholders, who typically have purchased their units or shares for prices at or about $10.00 each, experience significant losses in connection with their investment. If we fail to consummate an initial business combination, however, the founder shares will be worthless, although in contrast our public stockholders will receive a pro rata distribution of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. As a result, the financial interest of our independent directors in our founder shares may prompt them to consider an initial business combination with a risky target business and/or on terms that may not be favorable to our public stockholders, particularly as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears. You should consider our independent directors’ potential conflict of interest when deciding whether to redeem your shares at the time of our initial business combination.

Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for an initial business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business, and they are not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, other blank check companies prior to us completing our initial business combination. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this Report entitled “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”

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Our officers, directors and advisors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations and may in the future become affiliated with other entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, and our officers and directors may become an officer or director of another special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act, even before we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination.

Our officers, directors and advisors or their affiliates have pre-existing fiduciary and contractual obligations to other companies. Accordingly, they may participate in transactions and have obligations that may be in conflict or competition with our consummation of our initial business combination. As a result, a potential target business may be presented by our management team to another entity prior to its presentation to us and we may not be afforded the opportunity to engage in a transaction with such target business. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Delaware law. 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 officers and directors are not prohibited from becoming either a director or officer of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act.

For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this Report entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including related to those companies or otherwise. The defense or prosecution of these matters could be time-consuming and could divert our management’s attention, and may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.

During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain of those persons have been, may be or may in the future become involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including relating to the business affairs of such companies, transactions entered into by such companies, or otherwise. Individual members of our management team and board of directors also may become involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings involving claims or allegations related to or as a result of their previous personal conduct, either in their capacity as a corporate officer or director or otherwise, and may be personally named in such actions and potentially subject to personal liability as a result of their previous individual conduct or otherwise. Any such liability may or may not be covered by insurance and/or indemnification, depending on the facts and circumstances. The defense or prosecution of these matters could be time-consuming. Any litigation, investigations or other proceedings and the potential outcomes of such actions may divert the attention and resources of our management team and board of directors away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.

Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors, our advisors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons

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from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

Since our officers and directors will be eligible to share in a portion of any appreciation in founder shares purchased at an original purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

The members of our management team have invested in our sponsor by subscribing for units issued by the sponsor. These officers and directors will not receive any cash compensation from us prior to a business combination but through their investment in the sponsor will be eligible to share in a portion of any appreciation in founder shares and private placement units, provided that we successfully complete a business combination. We believe that this structure aligns the incentives of these officers and directors with the interests of our stockholders. However, investors should be aware that, as these officers and directors have paid an original purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share for the interest in the founder shares, this structure also creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we complete a business combination with a target that ultimately declines in value and is not profitable for public investors.

Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.

The market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.

The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.

In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.

We may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, advisors or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated.

Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for an initial business combination as set forth in the section of this Report entitled “Business — Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

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Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.

We may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

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restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

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registration as an investment company;

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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in (i) interest-bearing bank demand deposit accounts, (ii) uninvested, (iii) United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or (iv) money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our securities are not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the

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redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by December 19, 2025, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. Stockholders who do not exercise their redemption rights in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still be able to exercise their redemption rights in connection with a subsequent business combination. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 110,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 101,015,575 and 20,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants. There are no shares of Class B common stock or preferred stock issued and outstanding.

We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity. 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 the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive 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 (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to offer redemption rights in connection with any proposed initial business combination or certain amendments to our charter prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 19, 2025, or (B) 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 common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.

The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:

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may significantly dilute the equity interest of public stockholders;

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may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;

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could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and

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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants.

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Recent volatility in capital markets and lower market prices for our securities may affect our ability to obtaining financing for our initial business combination through sales of shares of our common stock or issuance of indebtedness.

With uncertainty in the capital markets and other factors, financing for our initial business combination may not be available on terms favorable to us or at all. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us could involve additional restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may limit the operations and growth of the surviving company of our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, we could face significant limitations on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

There are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available; if that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

Holders of warrants will not participate in liquidating distributions if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period.

If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the Trust Account, the warrants will expire and holders will not receive any of such proceeds with respect to the warrants. The foregoing may provide a financial incentive to public stockholders to vote in favor of any proposed initial business combination as each of their warrants would entitle the holder to receive or purchase additional shares of common stock, resulting in an increase in their overall economic stake in us. If a business combination is not approved, the warrants will expire and will be worthless.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus for the initial public offering, or to correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public

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warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.

Each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware to be the sole and exclusive forum for any stockholder (including a beneficial owner) to bring (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, employee, agent to us or our stockholders, (c) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, the amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (d) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine, and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, except any action (i) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (ii) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (iii) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction or (iv) any action arising under the federal securities laws, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Although we believe this forum provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Further, if any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to (i) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (ii) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not purport to require suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act to be brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or another court of the State of Delaware. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and the investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as

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adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our reasonable best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us. The private placement units and the private placement warrants will not be fungible with the public units and the public warrants, and, once registered, will trade separately.

Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We issued warrants to purchase 14,375,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered in the initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 1,365,500 private placement units. The private placement units have underlying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 682,750 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.

To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

The private placement units are identical to the public units except that, (i) they are be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis. The private placement units and the private placement warrants will not be fungible with the public units and the public warrants, and, once registered, will trade separately.

Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.

Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. In addition, the warrant agreement provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District

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Court for the Southern District of New York, or a foreign action, in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions, or an enforcement action, and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrantholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrantholder.

The choice-of-forum provision in our warrant agreement may (1) result in increased costs for investors to bring a claim or (2) limit a warrantholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

We have registered the offer and sale of the Class A common stock underlying the public warrants under the Securities Act, however we cannot assure you that such registration will be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain an effective registration statement covering the offer and sale of such shares and maintain a current prospectus with the SEC relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the offer and sale of the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the offer and sale of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock are, at the time of any exercise of a warrant, not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the offer and sale of such shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us.

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Certain provisions of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike most blank check companies, if

(i)

we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share;

(ii)

the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and

(iii)

the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,

then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement units, the shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion of the founder shares and the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Section 203 of the DGCL affects the ability of an “interested stockholder” to engage in certain business combinations, for a period of three years following the time that the stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder.” We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL. Nevertheless, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203 of the DGCL, except that it provides that our sponsor and its affiliates, any of its direct or indirect transferees of at least 15% of our outstanding common stock and any group as to which such persons are party to, will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and will therefore not be subject to such restrictions. These charter provisions may limit the ability of third parties to acquire control of our company.

The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your public shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination.

We offered our units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering, implying an initial value of $10.00 per public share. On October 19, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our formation and operating expenses in consideration for 7,452,500 founder shares. On November 19, 2021, we effected a 1.0102482:1.0000000 split of our common stock, such that our sponsor

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owns 7,528,875 founder shares. Our sponsor paid an aggregate original purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, for the founder shares. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted upon the consummation of our initial business combination.

The value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our common stock at such time is substantially less than $10.20 per share.

Our sponsor, Cantor and CCM have invested in us an aggregate of $13,680,000 comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $13,655,000 purchase price for the 1,365,500 private placement units. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per share upon consummation of our initial business combination, the 8,894,375 shares owned by our sponsor, Cantor, CCM and our officers and directors (including 7,528,875 founder shares and 1,365,500 private placement shares underlying the private placement units) would have an aggregate implied value of $88,943,750. Even if the trading price of our common stock was as low as approximately $1.54 per share, and the private placement warrants were worthless, the value of the shares owned by the sponsor and our officers and directors would be equal to the sponsor’s initial investment in us. As a result, our sponsor is likely to be able to recoup its investment in us and make a substantial profit on that investment, even if our public shares have lost significant value. Accordingly, our management team, which owns interests in our sponsor, may have an economic incentive that differs from that of the public stockholders to pursue and consummate an initial business combination rather than to liquidate and to return all of the cash in the trust to the public stockholders, even if that business combination were with a riskier or less-established target business. For the foregoing reasons, you should consider our management team’s financial incentive to complete an initial business combination when evaluating whether to redeem your shares prior to or in connection with the initial business combination.

General Risk Factors

We are a company with no operating history and no revenues and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are a company established under the laws of the State of Delaware with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until we consummate our initial business combination. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We may be unable to complete a business combination. If we fail to complete a business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. We are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.

On January 24, 2024, the SEC adopted new rules relating to, among other items, disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; the use of projections in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act. These rules may materially increase the costs and time required to negotiate and complete an initial business combination and could potentially impair our ability to complete an initial business combination.

We may be subject to the Excise Tax included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in connection with redemptions of our common stock after December 31, 2022.

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after December 31, 2022. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from whom the shares are repurchased (although it may reduce the amount of cash distributable in a current or subsequent redemption). The amount of the excise tax is 1% of the fair market value of any shares repurchased by the repurchasing corporation during a taxable year, which may be potentially netted by the fair market value of certain new stock issuances by the repurchasing corporation during the same taxable year. During 2024, the IRS issued final regulations with respect to the timing and payment of the excise tax. These regulations provided that the filing and payment deadline for any liability incurred during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 would be October 31, 2024. Any amount of such Excise Tax not paid in full will be subject to additional interest and penalties which are currently estimated at 8% interest per annum and a 0.5% underpayment penalty per month or portion of a month up to 25% of the total liability for any amount that is unpaid from November 1, 2024 until paid in full. We did not repay the excise tax in full by October 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, we accrued approximately $64,000 of interest and penalties in the accompanying statement of operations. We may be required to use funds from sources other than the Trust Account to pay the Excise Tax, and such amounts could be material. Consequently, the Excise Tax may reduce the amount of cash we have available to complete a business combination and may make a transaction with us less appealing to potential business combination targets.

We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any December 31 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”

At December 31, 2024, we had $5,576 of cash held outside the Trust Account. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital are discussed in the section of this Report titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this Report do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Not applicable.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

We have no business operations. Since our initial public offering, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. Therefore, we have not adopted any cybersecurity risk management program or formal processes for assessing cybersecurity risk, which may make us susceptible to heightened cybersecurity risk. Our board of directors is generally responsible for the oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats, if there is any. We have not encountered any cybersecurity incidents since our initial public offering.

Item 2. Properties

Our executive offices are located at 3500 South Dupont Highway, Suite HX-102, Dover, DE 19901 and our telephone number is (510) 214-3750. Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. The cost of our use of this space is included in the $14,500 per month we pay to our sponsor for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

To the knowledge of our management team, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

(a) Market Information

Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are each traded on the Pink Open Market operated on The OTC Market systems under the symbols “PPYAU,” “PPYA” and “PPYAW”, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on January 14, 2022, and our Class A common stock and warrants commenced public trading separately on March 4, 2022.

(b) Holders

On April 14, 2025, there were four (4) holders of record of our units, two (2) holders of record of our shares of Class A common stock and one (1) holder of record of our warrants.

(c) Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

None.

(e) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering, we completed the private sale of an aggregate of 1,365,000 private placement units (1,115,500 private placement units to our sponsor, 212,500 private placement units to Cantor and 37,500 private placement units to CCM) at a purchase price of $10.00 per private placement unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $13,655,000, pursuant to an exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

(f) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None.

(g) Use of Proceeds from the Initial Public Offering

On January 19, 2022, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units, including 3,750,000 units issued pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“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 share. The units were sold at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $287,500,000.

Cantor Fitzgerald acted as the sole bookrunner for the initial public offering. The units sold in the initial public offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-261317), which was declared effective by the SEC on January 13, 2022.

Offering costs for the initial public offering amounted to $20,697,498, consisting of $5,000,000 of upfront underwriting fees, $15,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable (which are held in the trust account), and $572,498 of other offering costs. The

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$15,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable is contingent upon the consummation of a business combination by December 19, 2025, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

A total of $293,250,000, comprised of the proceeds from the initial public offering after offering expenses and a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units, was placed in the trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. On April 12, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders in connection with which the holders of 18,885,901 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.40 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $196,390,058. On August 30, 2023, we held a special meeting of stockholders in connection with which the holders of 7,560,892 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.69 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $80,823,312. On February 16, 2024, we held a special meeting of stockholders (the “February Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved a further amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we must consummate an initial business combination up to eleven (11) times for an additional (1) month each time from February 19, 2024 to January 19, 2025 (which is 36 months from the closing of the IPO) by depositing into the trust account for each one-month extension the lesser of (a) $30,000 and (b) $0.02 for each then outstanding share after giving effect to any redemptions. In connection with the February Special Meeting, the holders of 1,592,678 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.94 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $17,430,006. On January 14, 2025, we held a special meeting in lieu of annual meeting of stockholders (the “2025 Special Meeting”) at which our stockholders approved a further amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend the date by which we have to consummate a business combination from January 19, 2025 to December 19, 2025 (or such earlier date as determined by our Board of Directors). In connection with the 2025 Special Meeting, the holders of 620,479 public shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.34 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $7.0 million. Following such redemptions, 90,050 Public Shares remain outstanding. As of February 28, 2025, a total of approximately $1.0 million remains in the trust account.

Item 6. Reserved.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

References in this Report to “we,” “us” or the “Company” refer to Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are not historical facts and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of this Report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company’s securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated on October 8, 2021, as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar Business Combination with one or more businesses or entities. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector, or geographical location, we intend to focus on industries that complement our management’s background and to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business. We may pursue a transaction in which our stockholders immediately prior to completion of our initial Business Combination, would collectively own a minority interest in the post-Business Combination company. We intend to effectuate our initial Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units held in the Trust Account (defined below), our shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.

Results of Operations

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities through December 31, 2024, were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the IPO (defined below), and, after our IPO, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenue until after the completion of our Business Combination, at the earliest. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income and cash held in a trust account (the “Trust Account”). We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, we had net loss of $1,409,260 primarily due to operating expenses of $1,699,878 driven by general and administrative expense, interest on investments held in Trust Account of $453,653 and income tax expense of $163,035.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had net income of $1,885,275 primarily due to operating expenses of $2,107,007 driven by general and administrative expense of $1,907,007 in addition to the accrual of Delaware franchise taxes of $200,000, interest on investments held in Trust Account of $5,608,405, realized gain on investments held in the Trust Account of $479,857 and income tax expense of $2,095,980.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

For the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash used in operating activities was $1,361,282, mainly on account of the payment of operating expenses incurred to operate the business. Cash provided by investing activities was $17,418,921 and net cash used in financing activities was $16,054,076.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash used in operating activities was $4,355,858, mainly on account of the payment of operating expenses incurred to operate the business. Cash provided by investing activities was $278,627,105 and net cash used in financing activities was $274,589,301.

We intend to use substantially all of the remaining funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions), to complete our initial Business Combination. We may withdraw interest income to pay taxes, if any. Our annual tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

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At December 31, 2024, we had cash of $5,576 held outside of the Trust Account. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, properties or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.

We will need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from our Sponsor, or an affiliate of our Sponsor, stockholders, officers or directors, or third parties. Our officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet our working capital needs. Accordingly, we may not be able to obtain additional financing. If we are unable to raise additional capital, we may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. We cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to us on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of this annual report.

On April 17, 2023, the Company issued a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor. Pursuant to the Promissory Note, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate principal amount of $2.8 million. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and all outstanding amounts under the Promissory Note will be due on the date on which the Company consummates a business combination (the “Maturity Date”). If the Company does not consummate a business combination, it may use a portion of any funds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Promissory Note; however, no proceeds from the Trust Account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the Promissory Note, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. At the Maturity Date, the Sponsor may receive, at its option and in lieu of repayment in cash of all or any portion of the amount outstanding under the Promissory Note, the same consideration to be received by holders of the Company’s Class A common stock at the closing of the Company’s initial business combination, on the basis of two (2) shares of Class A common stock for each $10.00 loaned thereunder. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has borrowed $2,800,000 under the Promissory Note.

In addition, on February 16, 2024, the Company issued a promissory note (the “2024 Promissory Note”) to our Sponsor. Pursuant to the 2024 Promissory Note, our Sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate principal amount of $1.2 million. The 2024 Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and all outstanding amounts under the 2024 Promissory Note will be due on the date on which we consummate a business combination. If the Company does not consummate a business combination, the Company may use a portion of any funds held outside the Trust Account to repay the 2024 Promissory Note; however, no proceeds from the Trust Account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the 2024 Promissory Note, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has borrowed $1,200,000 under the 2024 Promissory Note.

Related Party Transactions

Founder Shares

The information set forth in Note 5 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Related Party Loans

The information set forth in Note 5 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

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Support Services

The information set forth in Note 5 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Registration Rights

The information set forth in Note 6 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Underwriting Agreement

The information set forth in Note 6 of the Notes to the Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1 is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2024. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.

Contractual Obligations

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities. The underwriter is entitled to deferred underwriting commissions of $15,125,000 in the aggregate, as described above. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

JOBS Act

On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of executive compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of unaudited financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of

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assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:

Warrant Liabilities

We account for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to our own Class A common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.

For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in-capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The Company concluded that the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants issued pursuant to the warrant agreement qualify for equity accounting treatment.

Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

We account for our common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. Our common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheets. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.

Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

We historically applied the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net (loss) income per share of the redeemable shares, basic and diluted, is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account by the weighted average number of shares of redeemable common shares outstanding since original issuance. Net (loss) income per share of common shares, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common shares is calculated by dividing the net (loss) income, less income attributable to shares of redeemable common shares, by the weighted average number of shares of non-redeemable common shares outstanding for the periods presented.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-01, “Compensation- Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope Application of Profit Interest and Similar Awards” (“ASU 2024-01”). This ASU provides clarification on when profit interest awards should be accounted for similar to a cash bonus or profit-sharing arrangement in accordance with ASC 710 or as a share-based payment arrangement in accordance with ASC 718. The FASB issued this ASU to address diversity in the practice of accounting for profit interest awards. Management does not believe the adoption of ASU 2024-01 will have a material impact on the accompanying financial statements and disclosures.

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In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”), which will require the Company to disclose specified additional information in its income tax rate reconciliation and provide additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold. ASU 2023-09 will also require the Company to disaggregate its income taxes paid disclosure by federal, state and foreign taxes, with further disaggregation required for significant individual jurisdictions. ASU 2023-09 will become effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company is still reviewing the impact of ASU 2023-09.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. The amendments in this ASU require disclosures, on an annual and interim basis, of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating officer decision maker (“CODM”), as well as the aggregate amount of other segment items included in the reported measure of segment profit or loss. The ASU requires that a public entity disclose the title and position of the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. Public entities will be required to provide all annual disclosures currently required by Topic 280 in interim periods, and entities with a single reportable segment are required to provide all the disclosures required by the amendments in this ASU and existing segment disclosures in Topic 280. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. At December 31, 2024, the Company adopted the standard.

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the information required by this item.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Reference is made to pages F-1 through F-21 following Item 16, which comprise a portion of this Report.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

As of the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, an evaluation of the effectiveness of our “disclosure controls and procedures” (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) was carried out by our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Based upon that evaluation, the CEO and CFO have concluded that as of the end of that fiscal year, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to the management of the registrant, including the CEO and CFO, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

It should also be noted that while the CEO and CFO believe that our disclosure controls and procedures provide reasonable assurance that they are effective, they do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting will prevent all errors and fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived or operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting

As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

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(1)pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company,

(2)provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and

(3)provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2024. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that we did maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024.

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year covered by this Report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

None.

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Directors and Executive Officers

As of the date of this Report, our directors and officers are as follows:


Name	Age	Position
Clay Whitehead	45	Chief Executive Officer and Director
Leonardo Fernandes	40	Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
Alexander Spiro	42	President
Timothy Schenk	46	Chairperson and Director
Daniel Murillo	44	Director
Neil Herceg	44	Director

The experience of our directors and executive officers is as follows:

Clay Whitehead, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Board Director

Mr. Whitehead is an investor, advisor, and growth company CEO. Mr. Whitehead serves as an advisor to Kernel Group Holdings. He previously served as the CEO of Plum Acquisition Corp. I from March 2021 to November 2021. He founded Pomegranate Ventures in 2019 to invest in private, high-growth technology companies in the cloud, enterprise, and consumer sectors. Recent investments include DigitalOcean, Notion, Gitlab, Calm, and Lemonade. Mr. Whitehead has also served as an advisor to the CEOs of several prominent technology companies, including Databricks, Catchpoint, and Auth0 from 2017 to 2018. Mr. Whitehead also co-founded and led PresenceLearning, the leading telehealth platform and marketplace for special education and mental health therapy services for children and teens, from 2009 through 2018. PresenceLearning was ranked as the sixth fastest growing company in San Francisco on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list and eighth on the Glassdoor Employee Choice Award for SMB. The company has scaled to over 1,600 service providers, is profitable, and continues to grow, staying true to its mission of unlocking the potential of all children. We believe Mr. Whitehead is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive investment and management experience and deep specific knowledge of high-growth technology companies.

Leonardo Fernandes, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

Mr. Fernandes joined us as Chief Financial Officer in March 2025. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Fernandes provided capital markets advisory services as an external consultant with LGF CFO Services. Previously, he had been serving as the Chief Financial Officer of Spectaire Holdings Inc. since October 2023 until May 2024 and as Chief Financial Officer of Legacy Spectaire since January 2023. Prior to joining Legacy Spectaire, Mr. Fernandes served as Chief Operating Officer of Lorem LLC, which he co-founded, from March 2021 through January 2023. From September 2020 to March 2021, Mr. Fernandes served as Chief Operating Officer of Pronto Housing, Inc., which he co-founded. Mr. Fernandes served as Chief of Staff at Megalith Capital Management LLC from January 2018 through August 2019. Prior to joining Megalith Capital Management LLC, Mr. Fernandes served as Partner — Head of Cross-Border Investments at RBR Asset Management from 2016 through January 2018. Prior to 2016, Mr. Fernandes served as an associate at Equity International LLC and worked at BR Properties S.A., one of Brazil’s largest commercial real estate investment companies, as a financial analyst and an investor relations manager. Mr. Fernandes has a B.A. in economics and a B.A. in business administration and management from Michigan State University and an MBA from Northwestern University — Kellogg School of Management.

Alexander Spiro, President

Mr. Spiro is a director, investor, and attorney with deep ties in technology and media. Since October 2017, Mr. Spiro has been serving as a Partner of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. Mr. Spiro served as a Manhattan prosecutor from September 2008 to July 2013. Mr. Spiro has, as lead counsel, tried well over 50 cases to verdict. Notably, over the last several years, he has secured a string of significant verdicts for his clients in both federal and state courts. Mr. Spiro also sits on several company boards, both private and public, including SOL Global Investments Corp., Bragg Gaming Group, and Glassbridge Enterprises. He also serves as a Lecturer at

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Harvard Law School. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. Spiro studied bio-psychology at Tuft’s University and worked at Harvard’s Psychiatric Facility, McLean Hospital.

Timothy Schenk, Chairperson and Board Director

Mr. Schenk has served as a director and Chairperson of the board since December 2022. Mr. Schenk is an investment management professional with over 20 years of experience. Mr. Schenk founded Kuleana Capital Management LLC, where he acts as President and Portfolio Manager, in February 2016. Prior to founding Kuleana Capital Management, Mr. Schenk served as an investment professional at a number of hedge funds, including Blue Ridge Capital from 2001 to 2006, White Elm Capital from 2007 to 2010, Newbrook Capital Advisors from 2011-2013, and Elmrox Investment Group from 2014-2016. Mr. Schenk graduated with distinction from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School. We believe Mr. Schenk is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive investment experience.

Daniel Murillo, Board Director

Mr. Murillo has served as a member of the board of directors since December 2022. Mr. Murillo has overseen investment and operating activities at AQP Capital, including acquisitions, dispositions, capital raising, debt financing, property rehabilitation and management since September 2015. His firm, AQP Capital, owns and manages over 1,300 units across more than 120 properties in Southern California with a special focus on workforce multifamily properties. Prior to AQP Capital, Mr. Murillo served as CEO & Founder of Little Black Bag from January 2011 to April 2014, as well as a Venture Capitalist at Greycroft Partners from August 2008 to December 2010. Additionally, Mr. Murillo currently serves on the Board of Directors of Soleil Academy, a Charter School in Lynwood, CA, is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Santa Monica Bay chapter and is a member of the Tocqueville Society of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Mr. Murillo has a BA in Computer Science, Magna Cum Laude, from Amherst College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. We believe Mr. Murillo is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive investment experience and service on the boards of private companies.

Neil Herceg, Board Director

Mr. Herceg has served as a member of the board of directors since January 2023. Mr. Herceg is a real estate investment manager, serving most recently as the principal of Big Creek Real Estate Partners and Blackmount Real Estate Partners where he has overseen the acquisition, financing, asset management, and disposition of over 2,000 multifamily units and several hundred thousand square feet of commercial properties. Prior to founding these firms, Mr. Herceg was the Chief Investment Officer at Cocke Finkelstein Inc., where he grew the firms ownership to roughly 13,000 multifamily units. Mr. Herceg graduated Magna Cum Laude from Miami University and earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. We believe Ms. Herceg is well qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his deep knowledge of and ties to the financial services industry.

Advisory Board

In addition to our management team, other members of our sponsor are available to assist us with a broad range of work streams related to the assessment of potential business combination targets and the implementation of value enhancing initiatives following our initial business combination. Although such individuals are not members of our management team, they are members of our sponsor, and they are available to provide functional expertise as needed. However, such advisors have no obligation to provide advice or services to us. Furthermore, such advisors do not perform board or committee functions, nor do they have any voting or decision-making capacity on our behalf. They are also not subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject, and may have fiduciary duties to other entities, including other special purpose acquisition companies. Our advisory board includes the following:

Ryan M. Gilbert, Advisor

Mr. Gilbert has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of FTAC Zeus Acquisition Corp. since December 2020. Mr. Gilbert has also been the President and Chief Executive Officer of FTAC Parnassus since December 2020. From June 2020 to June 2021, he was the President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of FTAC Olympus Acquisition Corp. Mr. Gilbert brings over 20 years of global financial services expertise as an entrepreneur, angel investor, venture investor, and advisor spanning payments, remittances, credit, insurance, and compliance. Mr. Gilbert is founder and General Partner of Launchpad Capital, a venture capital fund. He was most recently a General Partner at Propel Venture Partners, a venture capital fund backed by BBVA Group. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Propel Venture Partners portfolio companies, including Guideline, Inc., Grabango Co. and Steady Platform,

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Inc. Since July 2015, he has served as an independent director of bKash Limited, Bangladesh’s largest provider of mobile financial services that serves over 45 million users. He has also served as a director of River City Bank, a $3.3 billion community bank based in Sacramento, CA, since October 2012, and served as a director of The Reserve Trust Company, a non-depository Colorado chartered Trust Company, from May 2020 to June 2021. Mr. Gilbert previously served as Chief Executive Officer of BillFloat, Inc. (dba SmartBiz Loans), a consumer finance service company that he co-founded in September 2009. He continues to serve as SmartBiz Loans’ Executive Chairman. He was previously co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of real estate payments company PropertyBridge (acquired by MoneyGram International in 2007). Mr. Gilbert graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is a member of the State Bar of California.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships between any of our current officers or directors.

Number and Terms of Officers and Directors

We have four directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Neil Herceg, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Timothy Schenk and Daniel Murillo, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Clay Whitehead, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Director Independence

A majority of our board of directors is independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Timothy Schenk, Daniel Murillo and Neil Herceg is an “independent director” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

Audit Committee

We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Timothy Schenk, Daniel Murillo and Neil Herceg are members of our audit committee, and Mr. Schenk chairs the audit committee. Under applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Timothy Schenk, Daniel Murillo and Neil Herceg meet the independent director standard.

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Schenk qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

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We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

●

the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;

●

pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;

●

setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;

●

setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

●

obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence;

●

reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and

●

reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

Compensation Committee

We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Timothy Schenk and Daniel Murillo are members of our compensation committee. Timothy Schenk and Daniel Murillo are independent and Mr. Murillo serves as chair of the compensation committee.

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

●

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers’ compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluations;

●

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers;

●

reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;

●

implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

●

assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

●

approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

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●

if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

●

reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to our sponsor of $14,500 per month, until December 19, 2025, for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support, and the payment to Burkland Associates, LLC (f/k/a FintechForce, Inc.)., an entity affiliated with our former Chief Financial Officer, for consulting services, financial planning and analysis, and general professional services. From January to September 2024, the Company paid a monthly fee of $15,000. Beginning in October 2024, the fee was reduced to $10,000 per month. We have also agreed to pay our Chief Financial Officer a fee of $10,000 per month starting in March 2025. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, advisory fee, reimbursement or consulting fee, has been or will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers, directors and advisors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.

Director Nominations

We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a nominating and corporate governance committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Timothy Schenk, Daniel Murillo and Neil Herceg. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.

The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.

We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of identity, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.

Insider Trading Policy

We have adopted insider trading policies and procedures governing the purchase, sale, and/or other dispositions of our securities by directors, officers and employees that are reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and any listing standards applicable to us. A copy of our Insider Trading Policy has been filed as Exhibit 19 to this Annual Report.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to our Registration Statement and copies are available on our website at https://www.papayagrowth.com/ir. You are able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

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Item 11. Executive Compensation

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Since January 13, 2022, except as otherwise indicated, we have paid and will continue to pay: (i) our sponsor a total of $14,500 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support, (ii) our Chief Financial Officer a fee of $10,000 per month starting in March 2025 and (iii) Burkland Associates, LLC (f/k/a FintechForce, Inc.), an entity affiliated with our former Chief Financial Officer, a monthly fee for financial planning and analysis and general professional services ($15,000 per month through September 30, 2024 and $10,000 per month thereafter). Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash (or non-cash) compensation for services rendered to us. We may pay our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, which may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. These individuals and entities are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, advisors or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination are made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 24, 2025 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of common stock, by:

●

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock;

●

each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our common stock; and

●

all our executive officers and directors as a group.

In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 8,984,425 shares of our common stock, consisting of (i) 90,050 shares of our Class A common stock included in the public units, (ii) 7,528,875 shares of our Class A common stock issued pursuant to the Class B Conversion and (iii) 1,365,500 shares of our Class A common stock included in the placement units, issued and outstanding as of March 24, 2025.

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Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these private placement warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Report.


	Class A Common Stock
	Number of
	Shares	Approximate
	Beneficially	Percentage
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner⁽¹⁾	Owned	of Class
Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC	8,644,375	96	%
Clay Whitehead⁽²⁾	8,644,375	96	%
Leonardo Fernandes	—	—
Alexander Spiro	—	—
Timothy Schenk	—	—
Daniel Murillo	—	—
Neil Herceg	—	—
All executive officers and directors as a group (six individuals)	8,644,375	96	%

(1)

Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I, 3500 South Dupont Highway, Suite HX-102, Dover, DE 19901.

(2)

Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. Clay Whitehead is the managing member of our sponsor, and as such has voting and investment discretion with respect to the common stock held of record by our sponsor and may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Mr. Whitehead disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly.

Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Table

None.

Changes in Control

None.

On October 19, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our formation and operating expenses in consideration for 7,452,500 founder shares. On November 19, 2021 we effected a 1.0102482:1.0000000 split of our common stock, such that our sponsor owns 7,528,875 founder shares. Our sponsor paid an original purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent approximately 20.0% of the outstanding shares upon the completion of our initial public offering (excluding any shares underlying the private placement units). The founder shares may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

Our sponsor, Cantor and CCM purchased an aggregate of 1,365,500 private placement units (1,115,500 private placement units to our sponsor, 212,500 private placement units to Cantor and 37,500 private placement units to CCM) at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering for an aggregate purchase price of $13,655,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement units and the private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.

In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants underlying the private placement units are held by Cantor or its designees or affiliates, they are subject to the lock-up and registration rights limitations imposed by FINRA Rule 5110 and the underlying warrants may not be exercised after five years from the commencement of sales for our initial public offering.

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In connection with the Sponsor Transaction, the Acquirer agreed to assume all liabilities and expenses of the Company, including (i) the costs and expenses associated with extending the term of the Company until December 19, 2025, including payments into the trust account not to exceed $30,000 per month without consent, (ii) the normal course costs and expenses for a special purpose acquisition company like the Company, including D&O insurance premiums, and (iii) the expected excise taxes arising from the redemption of our public shares after January 1, 2023. Any remaining cash on our sponsor’s balance sheet at the time of the Sponsor Transaction was available to pay any such assumed liabilities. 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 then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.

We engaged CCM, an affiliate of a passive member of our sponsor, to provide consulting and advisory services in connection with our initial public offering, for which it received customary advisory fees. CCM represents our interests only and is independent of the underwriters. CCM’s fee is equal to 0.3% of the aggregate proceeds of our initial public offering (excluding the proceeds of the exercise of the overallotment option) net of underwriter’s out-of-pocket expenses. We have also engaged CCM as an advisor in connection with our initial business combination for which it will earn an advisory fee of 0.525% of the proceeds of our initial public offering (excluding the proceeds of the exercise of the overallotment option) payable at closing of our initial business combination. CCM will also be entitled to an advisory fee equal to 0.825% of the aggregate proceeds of the exercise of the overallotment option, payable at closing of our initial business combination.

Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, has been or will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals may be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that are made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and determines which expenses and the amount of expenses that are reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.

Prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering and we issued an unsecured promissory note to our sponsor. The promissory note was non-interest bearing, unsecured and was due at the earlier of December 31, 2022 or the closing of our initial public offering, which occurred on January 19, 2022. The loan was repaid upon the closing of our initial public offering out of the $2,200,000 of offering proceeds that was allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions).

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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

On April 17, 2023, we issued a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to our sponsor. Pursuant to the Promissory Note, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to an aggregate principal amount of $2.8 million. The Promissory Note is non - interest bearing and all outstanding amounts under the Promissory Note will be due on the date on which we consummate a business combination (the “Maturity Date”). If we do not consummate a business combination, we may use a portion of any funds held outside the trust account to repay the Promissory Note; however, no proceeds from the trust account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the Promissory Note, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. At the Maturity Date, our sponsor may receive, at its option and in lieu of repayment in cash of all or any portion of the amount outstanding under the Promissory Note, the same consideration to be received by holders of our Class A common stock at the closing of the initial business combination, on the basis of two (2) shares of Class A common stock for each $10.00 loaned thereunder. As of December 31, 2023, we have borrowed $2,624,070 under the Promissory Note.

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.

We entered into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors a form of which is filed as an exhibit to this Report. These agreements require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.

We entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement units, the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares.

Director Independence

A majority of our board of directors is independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Timothy Schenk, Daniel Murillo and Neil Herceg is an “independent director”. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Citrin for services rendered.

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Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Citrin in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Citrin for professional services rendered for the audit of our financial statements and other required filings with the SEC for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 totaled approximately $152,875 and $120,120, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we did not pay Citrin any audit-related fees.

Tax Fees. We did not pay Citrin for tax services, planning or advice for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

All Other Fees. We did not pay Citrin for any other services for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

Pre-Approval Policy

Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. The audit committee pre-approved all of the foregoing services. Since the formation of our audit committee, the audit committee has pre-approved all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).

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PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules

(a)	The following are filed with this report:

(1)	Financial Statements:


		Page
	Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB Firm ID: 2468)	F-1

	Balance Sheets	F-2

	Statements of Operations	F-3

	Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit	F-4

	Statements of Cash Flows	F-5

	Notes to Financial Statements	F-6

(2)	Financial Statements Schedule

All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto beginning on page F-1 of this Report.

(3)

Exhibits

We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB Firm ID: 2468)	F-1
Financial Statements:
Balance Sheets	F-2
Statements of Operations	F-3
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Deficit	F-4
Statements of Cash Flows	F-5
Notes to Financial Statements	F-6

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively, the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Substantial Doubt about the Company’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by the close of business on December 19, 2025, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. In addition, the Company may not have sufficient working capital and may need to borrow additional funds from its Sponsor in order to fund its liquidity needs. Management has determined that liquidity needs, the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.

New York, New York

April 14, 2025

F-1

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

BALANCE SHEETS


	December 31,		December 31,
	2024		2023

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS
Cash	$	5,576	$	2,013
Prepaid expenses and other assets		133,199		43,677
Advance taxes paid		—		41,000
Interest income receivable		25,186		53,054
Total current assets		163,961		139,744
OTHER ASSETS
Cash held in Trust Account		8,038,974		24,976,375
TOTAL ASSETS	$	8,202,935	$	25,116,119

LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE COMMON STOCK, AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	$	774,147	$	480,958
Due to affiliate		348,000		174,000
Advances from related party		84,128		—
Note payable - Related party		4,000,000		2,624,070
State franchise tax payable		—		40,200
Excise tax liability		2,946,433		2,770,478
Income tax payable		39,035		—
Deferred underwriting fees payable		15,125,000		15,125,000
Total current liabilities		23,316,743		21,214,706
Total liabilities		23,316,743		21,214,706

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES REDEEMABLE COMMON STOCK
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption, $0.0001 par value; 710,529 and ; 2,303,207 shares at redemption value of $11.31 and $10.84 per share on December 31, 2024 and 2023 respectively		8,038,974		24,976,375

STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding		—		—
Class A common stock; $0.0001 par value; 110,000,000 shares authorized; 8,894,375 and 1,365,500 shares issued and outstanding excluding 710,529 and 2,303,207 shares subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		890		137
Class B common stock; $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 7,528,875 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		—		753
Additional paid-in capital		—		—
Accumulated deficit		(23,153,671)		(21,075,852)
Total stockholders’ deficit		(23,152,782)		(21,074,962)

TOTAL LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE COMMON STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT	$	8,202,935	$	25,116,119

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS



	For the year		For the year
	Ended		ended
	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
OPERATING EXPENSES
General and administrative	$	1,699,878	$	1,907,007
Franchise tax		—		200,000
Total expenses		1,699,878		2,107,007

OTHER INCOME
Interest earned on Investment in Trust Account		453,653		5,608,405
Realized gain on investments held in Trust Account		—		479,857
Total other income		453,653		6,088,262

INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES		(1,246,225)		3,981,255
Income tax expense		(163,035)		(2,095,980)
NET (LOSS) INCOME	$	(1,409,260)	$	1,885,275

Weighted-average shares outstanding of Class A common stock		8,841,418		13,886,929
Basic and diluted net (loss) income per share, Class A	$	(0.09)	$	0.73
Weighted-average shares outstanding of Class B common stock		946,252		7,528,875
Basic and diluted net (loss) income per share, Class B	$	(0.14)	$	0.09

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2024 AND DECEMBER 31, 2023


	Common stock
	Class A			Class B
											Total
							Additional paid-		Accumulated		stockholders’
	Shares	Amount		Shares	Amount		in capital		deficit		deficit
Balance, January 31, 2023	1,365,500	$	137	7,528,875	$	753	$	—	$	(11,250,903)	$	(11,250,013)
Accretion of Class A common stock to redemption value	—		—	—		—		—		(8,939,746)		(8,939,746)
Excise taxes on stock redemption	—		—	—		—		—		(2,770,478)		(2,770,478)
Net income	—		—	—		—		—		1,885,275		1,885,275
Balance, December 31, 2023	1,365,500	$	137	7,528,875	$	753	$	—	$	(21,075,852)	$	(21,074,962)
Conversion from Class B to Class A common shares	7,528,875		753	(7,528,875)		(753)		—		—		—
Accretion of Class A common stock to redemption value	—		—	—		—		—		(492,605)		(492,605)
Excise taxes on stock redemption	—		—	—		—		—		(175,955)		(175,955)
Net loss	—		—	—		—		—		(1,409,260)		(1,409,260)
Balance, December 31, 2024	8,894,375	$	890	―	$	―	$	—	$	(23,153,672)	$	(23,152,782)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS


	For the year		For the year
	ended		ended
	December 31,		December 31,
	2024		2023
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net (loss) income	$	(1,409,260)	$	1,885,275
Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash used in operating activities:
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account		(453,653)		(5,608,405)
Realized gain on investment held in Trust Account		—		(479,857)
Deferred taxes (benefit)		—		(555,020)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Prepaid expenses and other assets		(89,522)		172,931
Due to affiliate		174,000		159,500
Advances from related party		84,128		—
Accounts payable and accrued expenses		293,190		257,318
Advance taxes paid		41,000		—
State income tax payable		39,035		(27,000)
State franchise tax payable		(40,200)		(160,600)
Net cash flows used in operating activities		(1,361,282)		(4,355,858)

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Withdrawal from Trust Account for tax payments		194,771		3,136,650
Cash deposited in Trust Account		(205,856)		(1,722,916)
Cash withdrawn from Trust Account in connection with Redemption		17,430,006		277,213,371
Net cash provided by investing activities		17,418,921		278,627,105

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Redemption of Common stock		(17,430,006)		(277,213,371)
Proceeds from notes payable - related party		1,375,930		2,624,070
Net cash used in financing activities		(16,054,076)		(274,589,301)

NET CHANGE IN CASH		3,563		(318,054)
CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD		2,013		320,067
CASH, END OF PERIOD	$	5,576	$	2,013
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow activities:
Income taxes paid	$	83,000	$	2,692,000
Supplemental disclosures of noncash financing activities:
Excise taxes on stock redemption	$	175,955	$	2,770,478
Accretion for Class A common stock to redemption value	$	492,605	$	8,939,746

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2024

Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Liquidity

Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2021. The Company is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “Business Combination”).

The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity from October 8, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2024, relates to the Company’s formation and Initial Public Offering (“IPO”), which is described below and, since the IPO, the search for a prospective Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income earned on investments from the proceeds derived from the IPO held in the Trust Account (defined below). The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on January 13, 2022. On January 19, 2022, the Company consummated the IPO of 25,000,000 units (“Units”), including shares of Class A common stock in the Units offered (the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 1,290,500 private placement units (“Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement to the Company’s sponsor, Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (the “Sponsor”), Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), and J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC on behalf of its Cohen & Company Capital Markets division (“CCM”), generating gross proceeds of $12,905,000 which is described in Note 4.

Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units, the Company consummated the sale of 3,750,000 additional Units upon receiving notice of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise its overallotment option (“Overallotment Units”), generating additional gross proceeds of $37,500,000. Simultaneously with the exercise of the overallotment, the Company consummated the private placement of an additional 75,000 Private Placement Units to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $750,000.

Offering costs for the IPO and sale of the Private Placement Units and Overallotment Units amounted to $20,697,498, consisting of $5,000,000 of upfront underwriting fees, $15,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable (which are held in the Trust Account), and $572,498 of other offering costs. As described in Note 6, the $15,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable is contingent upon the consummation of a Business Combination by December 19, 2025, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Following the closing of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units and Overallotment Units, $293,250,000 ($10.20 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO, Overallotment Units, and the Private Placement Units was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”). The amounts placed in the Trust Account are invested in (i) interest - bearing bank demand deposit accounts, (ii) uninvested, (iii) U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or (iv) money market funds selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4) and (d)(5) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below.

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The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units and Overallotment Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% 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 the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

The Company will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.20 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable).

All of the Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”). In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) Subtopic 10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require Class A common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares were issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., Public Warrants as defined in Note 3), the initial carrying value of the Public Shares classified as temporary equity was the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20 “Debt with Conversion and other Options”. The Public Shares are subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately. The Public Shares are redeemable and are classified as such on the balance sheet until such date that a redemption event takes place.

Redemptions of the Company’s Public Shares may be subject to the satisfaction of conditions, including minimum cash conditions, pursuant to an agreement relating to the Company’s Business Combination. If the Company seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination, or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Placement Shares (as defined in Note 4), Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares sold in the IPO, without the prior consent of the Company.

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The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “Initial Stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock in conjunction with any such amendment.

On April 12, 2023, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment (the “Extension Amendment”) to the Certificate of Incorporation to extend the date by which the Company must consummate an initial business combination up to six (6) times for an additional one (1) month each time, from April 19, 2023 to October 19, 2023 (21 months from the closing of the IPO).

On August 30, 2023, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation to extend the date by which the Company must consummate an initial business combination up to four (4) times for an additional (1) month each time from October 19, 2023 to February 19, 2024 by depositing into the Company’s trust account for each one-month extension the lesser of (a) $30,000 and (b) $0.03 for each then outstanding share after giving effect to any redemptions.

On December 7, 2023, the Company, received a letter (the “Letter”) from the staff at The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that, for the 30 consecutive trading days prior to the date of the Letter, the Company’s common stock had traded at a value below the minimum $50,000,000 “Market Value of Listed Securities” (“MVLS”) requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b)(2)(A), which is required for continued listing of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq. The staff at Nasdaq subsequently determined that the Company has regained compliance, accordingly, the staff at Nasdaq have indicated that the matter is closed. On June 5, 2024, the Company was notified that the Company’s securities were transferred to the Nasdaq Capital Market at the opening of business on May 24, 2024.

On February 16, 2024, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation to extend the date by which the Company must consummate an initial business combination up to eleven (11) times for an additional (1) month each time from February 19, 2024 to January 19, 2025 by depositing into the Company’s trust account for each one-month extension the lesser of (a) $30,000 and (b) $0.0225 for each then outstanding share after giving effect to any redemptions. If a Business Combination is not consummated by January 19, 2025, in compliance with the requirements set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation for such an extension (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay (a) its income and franchise taxes and (b) up to $100,000 of dissolution expenses, if any, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, whose redemption will completely extinguish the Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

On January 14, 2025, the Company held a special meeting in lieu of annual meeting of its stockholders. At the Special Meeting, the Company’s stockholders approved (i) an amendment (the “Charter Amendment”) to the Company’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended, the “Charter”) to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination (the “Combination Period”) from January 19, 2025 to December 19, 2025 (or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors); and (ii) an amendment to the Company’s investment management trust agreement, dated January 13, 2022, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (the “IMTA”), to allow the trustee to liquidate the trust account (as amended, the “Trust Account”) established in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) at such time as may be determined by the Company as set forth in the Charter Amendment (the “IMTA Amendment”).

The Initial Stockholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and the Placement Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Initial Stockholders should acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only the $10.20 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the

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Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

The fair value of the 25,000 Founder Shares granted to an independent director by the Sponsor on January 12, 2023, was $43,000 or $1.72 per share. The fair value of the 180,000 Founder Shares granted to certain independent directors by the Sponsor on December 8, 2022 was $414,000 or $2.30 per share, and the fair value of the 410,000 Founder Shares granted to certain independent directors on December 21, 2021 was $3,079,100 or $7.51 per share. During 2022, 180,000 shares of the Founder Shares granted on December 21, 2021 were terminated. On February 16, 2024, the Sponsor determined to convert all the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis (the “Class B Conversion”). Notwithstanding the Class B Conversion, the Sponsor, as well as the officers and directors, will not be entitled to receive any funds held in the Trust Account with respect to any shares of Class A common stock issued to such holders as a result of the Class B Conversion, and no additional amounts will be deposited into the Trust Account in respect of shares of Class A common stock held by the Sponsor. All Founder Shares became Class A common stock and the stockholders retain the same rights after conversion.

On June 5, 2024, the Company received a notice from the Staff stating that the Company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the “Rule”) because it has not timely filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2024 (the “Form 10-Q”) with the SEC. The Rule requires listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the SEC. On July 3, 2024, the Company filed the Form 10-Q with the SEC and was notified by Nasdaq on July 30, 2024 that the matter is now closed.

On January 16, 2025, the Company received a written notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company’s securities will be delisted from The Nasdaq Stock Market by reason of the failure of the Company to complete its initial business combination by January 13, 2025 (36 months from the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement) as required by IM-5101-2. Accordingly, trading in the Company’s Class A Common Stock, Units and Warrants was suspended at the opening of business on January 23, 2025 and a Form 25-NSE was filed by Nasdaq with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which removed the Company’s securities from listing and registration on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After delisting from Nasdaq, the Company’s Class A Common Stock, Units and Warrants began to be quoted on the Pink Open Market operated on The OTC Market systems (“OTC Market”) under the symbols “PPYA,” “PPYAU” and “PPYAW,” respectively.

Liquidity, Going Concern, and Management’s Plan

Prior to the completion of the IPO, the Company lacked the liquidity it needed to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. The Company has since completed its IPO at which time capital in excess of the funds deposited in the Trust Account and/or used to fund offering expenses was released to the Company for general working capital purposes. Accordingly, management has since re-evaluated the Company’s liquidity and financial condition and determined that the Company will need to raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from its Sponsor, stockholders, officers, directors or third parties. The Company’s officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs and there is no guarantee that the Company will receive such funds. As of December 31, 2024, the Company does not have sufficient working capital and will need to borrow additional funds from its Sponsor in order to fund its operations through one year from the date of this filing. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash of $5,576 and a working capital deficit. As of December 31, 2024, $2.8 million has been drawn from the $2.8 million promissory note provided from the Sponsor on April 17, 2023 and $1,200,000 has been drawn from the $1.2 million promissory note provided from the Sponsor on February 16, 2024. See Note 5 for references to “Promissory Note” and “2024 Promissory Note”.

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In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with the authoritative guidance in FASB Accounting Standards Update 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution described in Note 1, should the Company be unable to complete a Business Combination, raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company has until December 19, 2025 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination during the specified period. These financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. As is customary for a special purpose acquisition company, if the Company is not able to consummate a Business Combination by December 19, 2025, it will cease all operations and redeem the Public Shares. Management plans to continue its efforts to consummate a Business Combination prior to December 19, 2025.

Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new 1% U.S. federal excise tax on certain repurchases (including redemptions) of stock by publicly traded U.S. corporations after December 31, 2022. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from whom the shares are repurchased (although it may reduce the amount of cash distributable in a current or subsequent redemption). The amount of the excise tax is 1% of the fair market value of any shares repurchased by the repurchasing corporation during a taxable year, which may be potentially netted by the fair market value of certain new stock issuances by the repurchasing corporation during the same taxable year. In addition, a number of exceptions apply to this excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, this excise tax.

On December 27, 2022, the Treasury published Notice 2023-2, which provided clarification on some aspects of the application of the excise tax. The notice generally provides that if a publicly traded U.S. corporation completely liquidates and dissolves, distributions in such complete liquidation and other distributions by such corporation in the same taxable year in which the final distribution in complete liquidation and dissolution is made are not subject to the excise tax.

As any such excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, it could cause a reduction in the value of the Company’s Class A common stock, cash available with which to effectuate a Business Combination or cash available for distribution in a subsequent liquidation. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a business combination will depend on a number of factors, including (i) the structure of the business combination, (ii) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the business combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with the business combination (or any other equity issuances within the same taxable year of the business combination) and (iv) the content of any subsequent regulations, clarifications, and other guidance issued by the Treasury.

During the second quarter of 2024, the IRS issued final regulations with respect to the timing and payment of the excise tax. These regulations provided that the filing and payment deadline for any liability incurred during the period from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 would be October 31, 2024. Any amount of such Excise Tax not paid in full will be subject to additional interest and penalties which are currently estimated at 8% interest per annum and a 0.5% underpayment penalty per month or portion of a month up to 25% of the total liability for any amount that is unpaid from November 1, 2024 until paid in full.

The Company did not repay the excise tax in full by December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the Company accrued approximately $64,000 interest and penalties in the accompanying statement of operations.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an emerging growth company as defined in Section 102(b)(1) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) which exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting

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standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised, and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard.

This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash

At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had cash balances of $5,576 and $2,013, respectively, with no cash equivalents.

Cash Held in Trust Account

At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company had $8,038,974 and $24,976,375, respectively, held in the Trust Account in cash in primarily one financial institution.

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including Class A common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock is classified as stockholders’ deficit. The Company’s Public Shares sold in the IPO feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, 710,529 and 2,303,207 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheets, respectively.

On April 12, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of its stockholders in connection with which the holders of 18,885,901 Public Shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.3988 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $196,390,058. Following such redemptions, 9,864,099 Public Shares remained outstanding.

On August 30, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of its stockholders in connection with which the holders of 7,560,892 Public Shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.6897 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $80,823,313. Following such redemptions, 2,303,207 Public Shares remained outstanding.

On February 16, 2024, The Company held a special meeting of stockholders in connection with which the holders of 1,592,678 Public Shares exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $10.9438 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $17,430,006. Following such redemptions, 710,529 Public Shares remain outstanding.

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common stock issued to such holders as a result of the Class B Conversion, and no additional amounts will be deposited into the Trust Account in respect of shares of Class A common stock held by the Sponsor (see Note 7).

The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable common stock are affected by charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.

At December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Class A common stock reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:


Gross proceeds	$	287,500,000
Less: Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants		(6,756,250)
Class A common stock issuance costs		(20,213,492)
Plus: Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value		32,719,742
Plus: Accretion of common stock to redemption value		8,939,746
Less: Redemption of common stock		(277,213,371)
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption value as of December 31, 2023		24,976,375
Plus: Accretion of common stock to redemption value		492,605
Less: Redemption of common stock		(17,430,006)
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption value as of December 31, 2024	$	8,038,974

Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

Offering costs consist principally of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs directly related to the IPO. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with Public Warrants are recognized net in equity. Offering costs associated with the Class A common stock issued were initially charged to temporary equity and then accreted to common stock subject to redemption upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounted to $20,697,498, which were charged against additional paid-in capital upon the completion of the IPO.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

Level 1:Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.

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Level 2:Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.

Level 3:Unobservable inputs based on the Company’s assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

Prior to December 11, 2023, funds in the Trust Account were held in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 90 days or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. treasury securities. At December 11, 2023, the Company liquidated the money market funds held in the Trust Account to hold all funds in the Trust account in cash in an interest bearing account until the earlier of consummation of the Company’s initial business combination or liquidation. At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the assets held in the Trust Account are held in cash (not investments held at fair value).

Warrant Instruments

The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the instruments’ specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the instruments are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the instruments meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the instruments are indexed to the Company’s own common shares and whether the instrument holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the instruments are outstanding. The Company concluded that the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants issued pursuant to the warrant agreement qualify for equity accounting treatment.

Income and State Franchise Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statements carrying amounts and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s deferred tax asset had a full valuation allowance recorded against it. The effective tax rate is 13.08% for the year ended December 31, 2024, and 0.00% for the year ended December 31,2023.

While ASC 740 identifies usage of the effective annual tax rate for purposes of an interim provision, it does allow for estimating individual elements in the current period if they are significant, unusual, or infrequent. Computing the effective tax rate for the Company is complicated due to the potential impact of the Company’s change in fair value of a complex financial instrument, the timing of any potential business combination expenses and the actual interest income that will be recognized during the year. The Company has taken a position as to the calculation of income tax expense in the current period based on 740-270-25-3 which states, “If an entity is unable to estimate a part of its ordinary income (or loss) or the related tax (or benefit) but is otherwise able to make a reliable estimate, the tax (or benefit) applicable to the item that cannot be estimated shall be reported in the interim period in which the item is reported.” The Company believes its calculation to be a reliable estimate and allows it to properly take into account the unusual elements that can impact its annualized book income and its impact on the effective tax rate. As such, the Company is computing its taxable income (loss) and associated income tax provision based on actual results through December 31, 2024.

ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals, or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income taxation by major taxing authorities since inception. These examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

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Net (Loss) Income per Common Stock

The Company historically had two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). Earnings and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. The table below presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net (loss) income per share for each class of common stock.


	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2024				2023
	Class A		Class B		Class A		Class B
Basic and diluted net (loss) income per share:
Numerator:
Allocation of net (loss) income, including accretion of temporary equity	$	(780,410)	$	(136,244)	$	10,162,239	$	662,782

Denominator:
Weighted-average shares outstanding		8,841,418		946,252		13,886,929		7,528,875

Basic and diluted net (loss) income per share	$	(0.09)	$	(0.14)	$	0.73	$	0.09

Stock Compensation Expense

In connection with the Company’s IPO, Founder Shares were sold to certain independent directors from among the Sponsor’s pool of Founder Shares at the price paid by the Sponsor (par value of $0.0001). Although these Founder Shares were purchased by the independent directors for value, under ASC 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation” (“ASC 718”), these Founder Shares may be deemed stock-based compensation.

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation expense in accordance with ASC 718, under which stock-based compensation associated with equity-classified awards is measured at fair value upon the grant date and recognized over the requisite service period. To the extent a stock-based award is subject to a performance condition, the amount of expense recorded in a given period, if any, reflects an assessment of the probability of achieving such performance condition, with compensation recognized once the event is deemed probable to occur. The fair value of equity awards has been estimated using a market approach. Forfeitures are recognized as incurred.

The fair value of the 25,000 Founder Shares granted to an independent director by the Sponsor on January 12, 2023, was $43,000 or $1.72 per share. The fair value of the 180,000 Founder Shares granted to certain independent directors by the Sponsor on December 8, 2022 was $414,000 or $2.30 per share, and the fair value of the 410,000 Founder Shares granted to certain independent directors on December 21, 2021 was $3,079,100 or $7.51 per share. During 2022, 180,000 shares of the Founder Shares granted on December 21, 2021 were terminated. The Company used a Monte Carlo Model simulation to arrive at the fair value of the stock compensation. The key assumptions in the option pricing model utilized are assumptions related to expected separation date of Units, anticipated business combination date, purchase price, share-price volatility, expected term, exercise date, risk-free interest rate and present value. The expected volatility as of the IPO closing date was derived based upon similar SPAC warrants and technology exchange funds within the Company’s stated industry target and with terms until the exercise date. The Company’s Founder Shares sold to independent directors (see Note 5) were deemed within the scope of ASC 718 and are subject to a performance condition, namely the occurrence of a Business Combination. Compensation expense related to the Founder Shares transferred is recognized only when the performance condition is probable of occurrence, or more specifically when a Business Combination is consummated. Therefore, no stock-based compensation expense has been recognized for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.

On February 16, 2024, the Sponsor determined to convert all the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis (the “Class B Conversion”). Notwithstanding the Class B Conversion, the Sponsor, as well as the officers and directors, will not be entitled to receive any funds held in the Trust Account with respect to any shares of Class A common stock issued to such holders as a result of the Class B Conversion, and no additional amounts will be deposited into the Trust Account in respect of shares of Class A common stock held by the Sponsor. All Founder Shares became Class A common stock and the stockholders retain the same rights after conversion.

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Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

Note 3 — Initial Public Offering

In the IPO, the Company sold 28,750,000 Units (including 3,750,000 Overallotment Units) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of a redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).

Note 4 — Private Placement Units

On January 19, 2022, simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO and sale of the Overallotment Units, the Company consummated the issuance and sale of 1,365,500 Private Placement Units (including 75,000 Private Placement Units purchased simultaneously with the Overallotment Units) in a private placement transaction at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, generating gross proceeds of $13,655,000, to the Sponsor (1,115,500 Private Placement Units), Cantor (212,500 Private Placement Units), and CCM (37,500 Private Placement Units). Each Private Placement Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (the “Placement Shares”) and one-half of a warrant (the “Private Placement Warrants”). Each whole Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units was added to the proceeds from the IPO (including the sale of the Overallotment Units) to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Units and any underlying securities will be worthless.

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Note 5 — Related-Party Transactions

Founder Shares

On October 19, 2021, the Sponsor purchased 7,452,500 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B common stock”) for an aggregate price of $25,000 (see Note 7). On November 19, 2021, the Company effected a 1.0102482-for-1 split of the Company’s Class B common stock, such that the Sponsor owned 7,528,875 Founder Shares. The Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described below. Holders of Founder Shares may elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The Initial Stockholders agreed to forfeit up to 956,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the overallotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. Since the overallotment option was exercised in full, the 956,250 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture. On February 16, 2024, the Sponsor determined to convert all the outstanding shares of Class B common stock into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis.

The Initial Stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination and (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after the Company’s initial Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property, except to certain permitted transferees. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Company’s Initial Stockholders with respect to any Founder Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Company’s initial Business Combination or (2) if the Company consummates a transaction after the Company’s initial Business Combination which results in the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.

Related-Party Loans

On October 19, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the IPO pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note became due upon the closing of the IPO. The Note was non interest bearing. As of December 31, 2021, the Note had an outstanding balance of $145,000. On January 19, 2022, the day the IPO was consummated, there was $145,000 outstanding on the loan, which was repaid fully on January 24, 2022.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. These warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no Working Capital Loans outstanding.

Issuance of unsecured Promissory Note – Related Party

On April 17, 2023, the Company issued a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor. Pursuant to the Promissory Note, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate principal amount of $2.8 million. The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and all outstanding amounts under the Promissory Note will be due on the date on which the Company consummates a Business Combination (the “Maturity Date”). If the Company does not consummate a Business Combination, it may use a portion of any funds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Promissory Note; however, no proceeds from the Trust Account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the Promissory Note, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. At the Maturity Date, the Sponsor may receive, at its option and in lieu of repayment in cash of all or any portion of the amount outstanding under the Promissory Note, the same consideration to be received by holders of the Company’s Class A common stock at the closing of the Company’s initial business combination, on the basis of two (2) shares of Class A common stock for each $10.00 loaned thereunder.

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The Sponsor (or one or more of its affiliates or third-party designees) made monthly payments of $320,583 from April 2023 to August 2023, $30,000 from September 2023 to January 2024, and $15,987 from February 2024 to September 2024 towards extension payments. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has borrowed $2.8 million under the Promissory Note.

In addition, on February 16, 2024, the Company issued a promissory note (the “2024 Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor. Pursuant to the 2024 Promissory Note, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate principal amount of $1.2 million. The 2024 Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and all outstanding amounts under the 2024 Promissory Note will be due on the date on which the Company consummates a business combination. If the Company does not consummate a business combination, the Company may use a portion of any funds held outside the Trust Account to repay the 2024 Promissory Note; however, no proceeds from the Trust Account may be used for such repayment. If such funds are insufficient to repay the 2024 Promissory Note, the unpaid amounts would be forgiven. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has borrowed $1,200,000 under the 2024 Promissory Note.

Support Services

The Company pays the Sponsor a fee of up to $33,333 per month for the use of office and administrative support services following the consummation of the IPO until the earlier of the consummation of the Business Combination or liquidation. For the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, $174,000 had been accrued as outstanding under this agreement, respectively, and $174,000 had been expensed under the arrangement.

The Company engages Burkland Associates, LLC (f/k/a FintechForce, Inc.), an entity affiliated with the former Chief Financial Officer, for consulting services, financial planning and analysis, and general professional services. From January to September 2024, the Company paid a monthly fee of $15,000. Beginning in October 2024, the fee was reduced to $10,000 per month. As of December 31, 2024, $15,000 had been accrued under this agreement and is included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet and $165,143 had been expensed under the arrangement. As of December 31, 2023, $7,500 had been accrued and paid under this agreement and is included in accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet and $173,730 had been expensed under the arrangement.

Advances from Related Party

For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Sponsor had advanced the Company $84,128 for working capital purposes, of which $0 was repaid during the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the outstanding balance under the advances amounted to $84,128 and $0, respectively.

Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies

Registration Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Units and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement dated January 13, 2022. These holders will be entitled to certain demands and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the IPO to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional Units to cover overallotments, if any, at the IPO price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On January 19, 2022, the underwriters fully exercised their overallotment option and purchased 3,750,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit.

The underwriters were paid an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $5,000,000 in the aggregate, upon the closing of the IPO. An additional $0.50 per unit, or $12,500,000, plus an additional $0.70 per Overallotment Unit or $2,625,000 (or $15,125,000 in the aggregate) is payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

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Note 7 — Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)

Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 110,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were 8,894,375 and 1,365,500 shares of Class A common stock outstanding, excluding 710,529 and 2,303,207 shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption.

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2024, there were no shares of Class B common stock outstanding. As of December 31, 2023, there were 7,528,875 shares of Class B common stock outstanding.

Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

Public Warrants — At December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were 14,375,000 Public Warrants issued and outstanding, including Public Warrants comprising a portion of the Units issued at the IPO.

The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination. No Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of Class A common stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of an initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants:

●

in whole and not in part;

●

at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;

●

upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;

●

if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing at any time after the Public Warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders; and

●

if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the Public Warrants.

If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement.

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The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Class A common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.

Private Placement Warrants — As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were 682,750 Private Placement Warrants outstanding. The Private Placement Warrants underlying the Private Placement Units sold are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable, or salable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holder’s option, and be non-redeemable by the Company. The Private Placement Units and the Private Placement Warrants will not be fungible with the Units and the Public Warrants, and, once registered, will trade separately.

Note 8 — Income Taxes

The Company is incorporated in the State of Delaware and is required to pay franchise taxes to the State of Delaware and California on an annual basis.

The total provision for benefit from income taxes is comprised of the following:


	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Current expense -federal	$	122,880	$	1,800,000
Deferred expense (benefit) - federal		(313,187)		851,000
Current expense - State & local		40,155		—
Deferred expense (benefit) - State & local		(144,621)		(1,637,503)
Change in valuation allowance		457,808		1,082,483
Total income tax expense	$	163,035	$	2,095,980

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The net deferred tax assets and liabilities in the accompanying balance sheets included the following components:


	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Deferred tax assets:		—		—
Start-up costs	$	1,540,291	$	1,082,483
Net operating loss		—		—
Business Combination expenses		—		—
Total deferred tax assets		1,540,291		1,082,483
Deferred tax liability		—		—
Valuation allowance for deferred tax assets		(1,540,291)		(1,082,483)
Net deferred tax asset (liability)	$	—	$	—

A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate (benefit) to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:


	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Statutory federal income tax rate	21.00	%	21.00	%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit	6.98	%	6.98	%
Prior year trueup	(2.89)	%	—
Penalties	(1.44)	%	—
Valuation allowance	(36.74)	%	(27.98)	%
Effective income tax rate	(13.08)	%	0.00	%

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Note 9 – Segment Information

ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” establishes standards for companies to report in their financial statement information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Company’s chief operating decision maker, or group, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance.

The Company’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Financial Officer (“CODM”), who reviews the operating results for the Company as a whole to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing financial performance. Accordingly, management has determined that the Company only has one operating segment.

The CODM assesses performance for the single segment and decides how to allocate resources based on net income or loss that also is reported on the statement of operations as net income or loss. The measure of segment assets is reported on the balance sheet as total assets. When evaluating the Company’s performance and making key decisions regarding resource allocation, the CODM reviews several key metrics included in net income or loss and total assets, which include the following:


	December 31,		December 31,
	2024		2023
Trust Account	$	8,038,974	$	24,976,375
Cash	$	5,576	$	2,013


	For the Year		For the Year
	Ended December 31,		Ended December 31,
	2024		2023
General and administrative expenses	$	1,699,878	$	1,907,007
Interest earned on the Trust Account	$	453,653	$	5,608,405

The CODM reviews interest earned on the Trust Account to measure and monitor stockholder value and determine the most effective strategy of investment with the Trust Account funds while maintaining compliance with the Trust Agreement.

General and administrative expenses are reviewed and monitored by the CODM to manage and forecast cash to ensure enough capital is available to complete a business combination or similar transaction within the business combination period. The CODM also reviews general and administrative costs to manage, maintain and enforce all contractual agreements to ensure costs are aligned with all agreements and budget. General and administrative costs, as reported on the statement of operations, are the significant segment expenses provided to the CODM on a regular basis. The significant segment expenses include insurance costs, legal fees, administrative fees, excise tax interest and penalties and miscellaneous expenses.

All other segment items included in net income or loss are reported on the statement of operations and described within their respective disclosures.

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Note 10 – Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date these financial statements were issued and determined that, other than as set forth below, there were no material subsequent events that would require adjustment or disclosure.

In connection with the approval and implementation of the Charter Amendment, the holders of 620,479 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock issued in the IPO (“Public Shares”) exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.34 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $7.0 million. Following such redemptions, 90,050 Public Shares remain outstanding.

On January 16, 2025, the Company received a written notice (the “Notice”) from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company’s securities will be delisted from The Nasdaq Stock Market by reason of the failure of the Company to complete its initial business combination by January 13, 2025 (36 months from the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement) as required by IM-5101-2. Accordingly, trading in the Company’s Class A Common Stock, Units and Warrants will be suspended at the opening of business on January 23, 2025 and a Form 25-NSE will be filed by Nasdaq with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the Company’s securities from listing and registration on the Nasdaq Stock Market. After delisting from Nasdaq, the Company’s Class A Common Stock, Units and Warrants began to be quoted on the Pink Open Market operated on The OTC Market systems (“OTC Market”) under the symbols “PPYA,” “PPYAU” and “PPYAW,” respectively.

On March 19, 2025, the Board of Directors appointed Leonardo Fernandes as the Company’s chief financial officer, effective the same day. As compensation, Mr. Fernandes will receive a monthly fee of $10,000 from the Company.

F-21

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EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit		Description
1.1		Underwriting Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as representative of the several underwriters (3)
3.1		Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (3)
3.2		Bylaws (1)
3.3		Certificate of Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (5)
3.4		Certificate of Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (6)
3.5		Certificate of Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (7)
3.6		Certificate of Amendment to Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (8)
4.1		Specimen Unit Certificate (2)
4.2		Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate (2)
4.3		Specimen Warrant Certificate (2)
4.4		Warrant Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (3)
4.5		Description of Securities of the Registrant(4)
10.1		Letter Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and among the Company, its officers, its directors and Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (3)
10.2		Promissory Note, dated October 19, 2021, issued to Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (1)
10.3		Private Placement Unit Subscription Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (3)
10.4		Private Placement Unit Subscription Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (3)
10.5		Private Placement Unit Subscription Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC on behalf of its Cohen & Company Capital Markets division (3)
10.6		Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (3)
10.7		Registration Rights Agreement, dated January 13, 2022, by and among the Company and Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (3)
10.8		Securities Subscription Agreement between the Registrant and Papaya Growth Opportunity I Sponsor, LLC (1)
10.9		Form of Indemnity Agreement (2)
10.10		Amendment to the Investment Management Trust Agreement (5)
10.11		Promissory Note (5)
10.12		Amendment to the Investment Management Trust Agreement (6)
10.13		Amendment to the Investment Management Trust Agreement (7)
10.14		Amendment to the Investment Management Trust Agreement (8)
14.1		Code of Ethics(4)
19		Insider Trading Policies and Procedures*
21.1		Subsidiaries of the Registrant*
31.1		Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*
31.2		Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002*
32.1		Certification of the Principal Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**
32.2		Certification of the Principal Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002**
97.1		Executive Incentive Clawback Policy (9)
101.INS*		Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB*		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE*		Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

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104

Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)

*Filed herewith.

**Furnished herewith.

(1)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the SEC on November 24, 2021.

(2)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on December 27, 2021.

(3)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 19, 2022.

(4)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022.

(5)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K/A, filed with the SEC on April 28, 2023.

(6)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on September 1, 2023.

(7)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 20, 2024.

(8)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8 - K, filed with the SEC on January 17, 2025.

(9)	Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 10 - K, filed with the SEC on April 1, 2024.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

April 14, 2025

	PAPAYA GROWTH OPPORTUNITY CORP. I

	By:	/s/ Clay Whitehead
		Name: Clay Whitehead
		Title: Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.


Name	Position	Date
/s/ Clay Whitehead	Director and Chief Executive Officer	April 14, 2025
Clay Whitehead	(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Leonardo Fernandes	Chief Financial Officer and Secretary	April 14, 2025
Leonardo Fernandes	(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ Alexander Spiro	President	April 14, 2025
Alexander Spiro

/s/ Timothy Schenk	Chairperson and Director	April 14, 2025
Timothy Schenk

/s/ Daniel Murillo	Director	April 14, 2025
Daniel Murillo

/s/ Neil Herceg	Director	April 14, 2025
Neil Herceg

Papaya Growth Opportunity Corp. I 10-K