UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form

FORM
10-K

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

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year endedFiscal Year Ended December 31, 2019

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

2022
or
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECU
RIT
IES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from             to             

Commission file number: File Number:
001-39139

Software Acquisition Group Inc.

CURIOSITYSTREAM INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
 
84-1797523

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Ste. 300

Las Vegas, Nevada

8484 Georgia Ave., Suite 700
Silver Spring, Maryland
 89135
20910
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)

(301)
755-2050
(Registrant’s telephone number: 310-991-4982

number, including area code)

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

Title of Each Classeach class
  
Trading
Symbol(s)
  
Name of Each Exchange exchange
on Which Registeredwhich registered
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one half of one redeemable WarrantSAQNUThe Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Class A 
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
  SAQN
CURI
  The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
NASDAQ
Redeemable
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stockstock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share
  SAQNW
CURIW
  The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
NASDAQ

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

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

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange 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 filerAccelerated filer
Non-accelerated filerSmaller 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.  ☐
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 recover 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 Exchange Act).    Yes      No  

As of June 30, 2019,2022, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the registrant’s securities were not publicly traded. The registrant’s units began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on November 20, 2019 and the registrant’s shares of Class A common stock and warrants began trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market on January 6, 2020. The aggregate market value of the Class A voting and
non-voting
common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant,
non-affiliates,
computed by reference to the closing sales price for the Class A common stock on March 19, 2020, asof $1.69 reported on the NasdaqThe NASDAQ Capital Market, was approximately $144,267,500.

$47.8 million.

As of March 20, 2020,29, 202
3
, there were 14,950,00052,961,067 shares of Class Athe registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, issued and 3,737,500 shares of Class B common stock
outstanding.


DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant issuedregistrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to its annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2023 (the “2023 Annual Meeting”), expected to be filed with the Securities and outstanding.Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on or around April 28, 2023 (and, in any event, not later than 120 days after the close of our last fiscal year), are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. Except with respect to information specifically incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, such proxy statement is not deemed to be filed as part hereof.

CURIOSITYSTREAM INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PAGE
PART I
Item 1.Business1
Item 1A.Risk Factors13
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments34
Item 2.Properties34
Item 3.Legal Proceedings34
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures34
   Page

PART III

    Item 1.

Business   6

    Item 1A.

Risk Factors11

    Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments39

    Item 2.

Properties39

    Item 3.

Legal Proceedings40

    Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures40

PART II

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities3541

Item 6.

[Reserved]Selected Financial Data3541

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations3641

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk3953

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data39F-1

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements withWith Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure3954

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures3954

Item 9B.

Other Information39
 55 

    Item 9C.

PART IIIDisclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections   55

PART III

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance4056

Item 11.

Executive Compensation4456

Item 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters4456

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence4656

Item 14.

Principal Accounting Fees and Services47
 56 

PART IV

 

Item 15.

Exhibits, and Financial Statement Schedules4857

Item 16.16

Form 10-K Summary4860

 

i


Part I

CERTAIN DEFINED TERMS

Each of the terms the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” and similar terms used herein refer collectively to CuriosityStream Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise stated.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless otherwise stated or unless the context otherwise requires:

“App Services” means applications developed for iOS, Android, streaming media players and smart tv operating systems.

“Board” means the board of directors of the Company.

“Bundled MVPD Business” refers to our ability to convey a broad scope of rights, including 24/7 “linear” channels, on-demand content library, mobile rights and/or pricing and packaging flexibility, in exchange for an annual fixed fee or fee per subscriber as part of a multi-year agreement.

“Bundled MVPD Partners” means affiliate relationships with MVPDs, broadband and wireless companies in the U.S. and international territories.

“Business Combination” means the acquisitions and transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated August 10, 2020.

“Bylaws” means the Amended and Restated Bylaws of CuriosityStream Inc.

“Charter” means the Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of CuriosityStream Inc.

“Common Stock” means the Common Stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share.

“Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

“Content Licensing Business” means CuriosityStream’s licensing of existing content to certain media companies in a traditional content licensing deal or selected rights to content prior to production.

“DGCL” means the Delaware General Corporation Law.

“Direct Service” or “Direct to Consumer Business” means App Services together with O&O Service.

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

“GAAP” means United States generally accepted accounting principles, consistently applied, as in effect from time to time.

“IPO” means SAQN’s initial public offering of Units consummated on November 22, 2019.

“JOBS Act” means the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended.

“Legacy CuriosityStream” means Curiosity Inc., a Delaware corporation (formerly named CuriosityStream Operating Inc., and prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, CuriosityStream Inc.).

“MVPDs” means multichannel video programming distributors.

 

1


“NASDAQ” means The NASDAQ Capital Market.

“Nebula” means Watch Nebula LLC.

“O&O Service” means our owned and operated website.

“Omnibus Incentive Plan” means our 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

“Partner Direct Business” means, collectively, MVPDs that include Comcast and Cox, and vMVPDs and digital distributors that include Amazon Prime Video Channels, Roku Channels, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

“PIPE” means the issuance and sale to the PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 2,500,000 shares of Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000,000 pursuant to Subscription Agreements between the Company and the PIPE Investors.

“PIPE Investors” means certain third-party investors in the PIPE.

“PIPE Warrants” means the 353,000 warrants issued to PIPE Investors in connection with our Business Combination.

“Private Placement Warrants” means the 3,676,000 warrants issued to Software Acquisition Holdings LLC in a private placement that closed concurrently with our IPO.

“Public Warrants” means the 7,475,000 warrants sold as part of the Units in the IPO.

“SAQN” means Software Acquisition Group Inc. prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

“Sarbanes-Oxley Act” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended.

“SEC” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

“SVOD” means subscription video on-demand.

“Units” means the units of SAQN, each consisting of one share of Common Stock and one-half of one Warrant, with each such Public Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments. On October 14, 2020, the Company’s Common Stock and Public Warrants were listed on NASDAQ under the new trading symbols of “CURI” and “CURIW,” respectively, and all of SAQN’s units separated into their component parts of (i) one share of Common Stock and (ii) one-half (1/2) of one warrant and ceased trading on NASDAQ.

“vMVPDs” means virtual MVPDs.

“Warrants” means the Private Placement Warrants, the PIPE Warrants and Public Warrants.

 

2


CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report, including, without limitation,Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements. All statements, underother than statements of present or historical fact included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, regarding the heading “Management’s DiscussionCompany’s future financial performance, as well as the Company’s strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues, and Analysislosses, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of Financial Conditionmanagement are forward-looking statements. When used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the words “could,” “should,” “will,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” the negative of such terms and Results of Operations,” includesother similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. 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:

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;

our officersand assumptions about future events and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements;

our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;

our pool of prospective target businesses;

failure to maintain the listing on, or the delisting of our securities from, Nasdaq or an inability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange following our initial business combination;

the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities;

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

the lack of a market for our securities;

the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or

our financial performance.

The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on ourcurrently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. The Company cautions you that these forward-looking statements are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company, incident to its business.

These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and current expectations, forecasts and beliefs concerning future developmentsassumptions, 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 (someand uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but areany subsequent date. Although the Company does not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or shouldundertake any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These riskslaws, you are advised to consult any additional disclosures the Company makes in its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and dependCurrent Reports on circumstances that may or may not occur inForm 8-K filed with the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-lookingSEC. Forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even ifAnnual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about the ability of the Company to:

suggest and serve content to its subscriber base;

meet the needs of distributor partners;

increase and retain its subscriber base and increase subscriber hours;

enter into integrated partnerships with corporate partners and advertisers;

develop integrated brand partnerships;

attract and retain sponsors;

effectively market for online sponsorship;

anticipate trends in video consumption;

compete for subscribers and sponsorship spending with other content services;

protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of customers’ personally identifiable information;

meet future liquidity requirements;

continue operating under existing laws and licensing regimes;

license content at favorable rates;

anticipate the uncertainties inherent in the development of new business lines and business strategies;

implement and maintain health and safety initiatives in light of the COVID-19 pandemic;

identify, recruit, retain, incentivize and integrate existing and new employees, advisors and consultants;

attract, train and retain effective officers, key employees and directors;

increase brand awareness;

3


upgrade and maintain information technology systems, including backup systems;

compete in the factual subscription video on-demand category;

acquire, and enhance the capabilities of, its intellectual property;

protect its intellectual property by relying on confidentiality and license agreements with our employees, consultants and third parties, and on trademark and copyright laws;

broaden and stabilize its sources of revenue;

obtain additional capital, including use of the debt market and through the issuance of various types of securities;

enhance future operating and financial results;

meet international and education market expansion plans, including by managing and adjusting its business to address varying international markets;

comply with laws and regulations applicable to its business;

stay abreast of modified or new laws and regulations applying to its business, including copyright and privacy regulation;

improve its review process for complex accounting standards;

negotiate content and other licensing agreements;

invest in content and marketing, including investments in original programming;

invest in our corporate governance, including adding personnel and systems to its administrative and revenue-generating functions;

anticipate and respond to uncertainties associated with product and service development and market acceptance; and

anticipate the impact of new U.S. federal, state and international income tax laws, including the impact on deferred tax assets.

As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the Company’s actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include:

an inability to maintain and develop new and existing revenue-generating relationships and partnerships or to significantly increase the Company’s subscriber base and retain customers;

a failure to develop, acquire and maintain an adequate breadth and depth of content;

the Company’s inability to protect its intellectual property;

the impact of content and pricing changes on subscriber growth;

increased competition in the subscription video on-demand market segment;

the possibility that the Company may be unable to access financing sources;

a failure to attract new and qualified personnel in a timely and effective manner and retain existing personnel;

adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, including but not limited to privacy laws, tax laws, securities regulations and accounting standards;

a failure to maintain adequate privacy and data security systems and protocols;

4


general economic conditions and economic conditions specific to the internet, online commerce and the media industry; and

other risks and uncertainties set forth in “Risk Factors.

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Our business operations are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those outside of our control, that could cause our results to vary from expectations. You should carefully consider these risks and uncertainties when investing in our securities. The principal risks and uncertainties affecting our business include, but are not limited to, the following:

If our efforts to attract and retain users are not successful, our business will be adversely affected.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the various responses to contain it has harmed our industry, disrupted our business, increased our costs, led to delays in content releases and may continue to impact our business and results of operations, as well as our ability to raise additional capital;

Labor shortages could adversely affect our results of operations;

We have a limited operating history and history of net losses, and we anticipate that we will experience net losses for the foreseeable future;

Our operating results are expected to be difficult to predict based on a number of factors that also may affect our long-term performance;

If we are not able to manage our growth, our business could be adversely affected;

Our business could be adversely impacted by costs and challenges associated with strategic acquisitions and investments, including joint ventures;

Certain of our growth strategies are untested, unproven or operations, financial conditionnot yet fully developed;

If we experience excessive rates of user churn, our revenues and liquidity,business will be harmed;

If our efforts to build a strong brand identity and developmentsimprove user satisfaction and loyalty are not successful, we may not be able to attract or retain users, and our operating results may be adversely affected;

We may be unable to compete successfully against current and future competitors, and competitive pressures could harm our business and prospects;

We face risks, such as unforeseen costs and potential liability, in connection with content we acquire, produce, license and/or distribute through our service;

We rely upon a number of partners to make our service available on their platforms and devices;

We are subject to payment processing risk;

Distributors’ failure to promote our content could adversely affect our revenue and could adversely affect our business results;

If we fail to maintain or, in newer markets establish, a positive reputation with consumers concerning our service, including the industrycontent we offer, we may not be able to attract or retain users, and our operating results may be adversely affected;

Changes in competitive offerings for video entertainment, including the potential rapid adoption of piracy-based video offerings, could adversely impact our business;

If government regulations relating to the internet or other areas of our business change, we may need to alter the manner in which we operateconduct our business or incur greater operating expenses;

5


Changes in how we market our service, or increases in our advertising rates, could adversely affect our marketing expenses and user levels may be adversely affected;

We may find it difficult to successfully compete without significant capital investment or loans beyond what is available to us in current and future capital raising efforts;

Emerging industry trends in digital advertising may pose challenges for our ability to forecast or optimize our advertising inventory, which may adversely impact our ability to capture advertising spend;

Our user metrics and other estimates are consistent with the forward-looking statements containedsubject to inherent challenges in this report,measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics may seriously harm and negatively affect our reputation and our business;

We rely on subscription data provided by our third-party distributors and platform partners that has not been independently verified and inaccuracies in that data may seriously harm and adversely affect our reputation and our business;

Our business emphasizes rapid innovation and prioritizes long-term user engagement over short-term financial condition or results of operations, which strategy could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition;

If content providers or developmentsother rights holders refuse to license streaming content or other rights upon terms acceptable to us, our business could be adversely affected;

We may not be indicative of results or developmentsable to generate sufficient cash to service our obligations and any debt we may incur in subsequent periods.

ii

the future;

 

Unless otherwise statedOur cash and cash equivalents could be affected if the financial institutions in this report,which we hold our cash and cash equivalents fail;

If the technology we use in operating our business fails, is unavailable, or does not operate to expectations, our business and results of operation could be adversely impacted;

We could be subject to economic, political, regulatory and other risks arising from our international operations; and

Our stock price may change significantly and you could lose all or part of your investment as a result.

Item 1. Business

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to:in this section to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” or “CuriosityStream” refer to CuriosityStream Inc. and its subsidiaries prior to and following the consummation of the Business Combination. All references in this section to Software Acquisition Group Inc. and SAQN are references to the registrant prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

·“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Software Acquisition Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation;

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

·“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 described herein;

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

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

·“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor 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 were purchased in such 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 were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination;

·“sponsor” are to Software Acquisition Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability 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

iii

Corporate History and Background

PART IOn October 14, 2020, Software Acquisition Group Inc., a special purpose acquisition company and a Delaware corporation (“SAQN”), consummated a reverse merger pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated August 10, 2020 (the “Business Combination”). Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, CuriosityStream Operating Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Legacy CuriosityStream”) became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAQN and the registrant changed its name from “Software Acquisition Group Inc.” to “CuriosityStream Inc.” Following the consummation of the Business Combination, Legacy CuriosityStream changed its name from “CuriosityStream Operating Inc.” to “Curiosity Inc.”

 

Item 1. Business.6


Overview

We are an early stageSAQN, a blank check company, was incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formedon May 9, 2019 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we referbusinesses.

CuriosityStream LLC, Legacy CuriosityStream’s predecessor, was formed in the State of Delaware in June 2008. CuriosityStream LLC officially launched its subscription service to throughout this report as our initial business combination. Since our initial public offering, we have concentrated our efforts on software companies, especially those targeting enterprise vertical sectors ownedU.S. based customers in March 2015 and to international customers in September 2015.

Business Overview

Created by private equityJohn Hendricks, founder of the Discovery Channel and venture capital firmsformer Chairman of Discovery Communications, CuriosityStream is a media and entertainment company that offers premium video and audio programming across the principal categories of factual entertainment, including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle and technology. Our mission is to provide premium factual entertainment that informs, enchants and inspires. We are seeking to meet demand for high-quality factual entertainment via SVOD platforms, as well as via bundled content licenses for SVOD and linear offerings, content licensing, brand sponsorship and advertising, talks and courses and partner bulk sales.

Through the rapid expansion of our library of high-quality titles and by exploiting multiple channels to monetize our programming, we believe that we have achieved global leadership in factual content streaming and are well positioned to capitalize on favorable ongoing industry trends to create value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

CuriosityStream’s award-winning content library features more than 15,000 programs that explore topics ranging from space engineering to ancient history to the rise of Wall Street. Our extensive catalog of originally produced and owned content includes more than 9,500 short-, mid- and long-form video and audio titles, including One Day University and Learn25 recorded lectures that are led by some of the most acclaimed college and university professors in the world. Our library also features a rotating catalog of more than 5,500 internationally licensed videos and audio programs. We typically launch new titles every week, and this content is available on-demand in high- or ultra-high definition. Through new and long-standing international partnerships, we have localized a large portion of our video library in ten different languages.

Our films are produced, co-produced or commissioned by us, or licensed through one of our content partnerships, such as with NHK in Japan, ZED in France and Terra Mater in Austria. Our programs are hosted by and feature scientists, experts and celebrities, such as Stephen Hawking, Sir David Attenborough, Sigourney Weaver and Patrick Aryee. Our programs have received four Emmy nominations, including an Emmy Award win for Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places. Every title on our platform is available on-demand and, other than historical footage or classic documentaries, in high definition or 4K quality.

Through our acquisition of One Day University in 2021, we acquired more than 500 lectures from some of the most popular and acclaimed college and university professors in the United States, on topics ranging from American history to Broadway shows. In addition, through our acquisition of Learn25, we acquired approximately 5,000 episodes of audio content and about 1,250 video episodes, packaged as courses on factual topics ranging from religion to biographies to psychology. These acquisitions enabled us to expand our offering of factual content into audio and educational courses, as well as package our products in special bundles for consumers and business customers.

In 2021, the Company entered into a marketing partnership with and investment into Nebula, an SVOD streaming service owned by Standard Broadcast LLC and its affiliated YouTube creators.

7


Also in 2021, the Company partnered with SPIEGEL TV to accelerate international expansion of CuriosityStream services, taking a one-third stake in the German venture owned by a German media company, Spiegel, and a German documentary producer, Autentic. The joint venture, SPIEGEL TV, includes distribution of two linear cable channels, including one branded as Curiosity Channel, as well as a localized CuriosityStream SVOD service in German-speaking Europe.

Our video content is available directly through our O&O Service and App Services. Our App Services enable access to CuriosityStream on almost every major consumer device, including streaming media players like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, major smart TV brands (e.g., LG, Vizio, Samsung) and gaming consoles like Xbox. Our Direct Service is available in more than 175 countries to any household with a broadband connection. Our existing subscribers currently pay $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year for our standard Direct Service. All new subscribers to our standard Direct Service on and after March 27, 2023, will start to be charged $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year. We also provide a Smart Bundle service for $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Our Smart Bundle membership includes everything in our standard service, plus subscriptions to third-party platforms Tastemade, Topic, SommTV, DaVinci Kids, our equity investee Nebula, and our One Day University stand-alone service.

In addition, we have affiliate agreement relationships with, and our service is available directly from, MVPDs that include Comcast and Cox, and vMVPDs and digital distributors that include Amazon Prime Video Channels, Roku Channels, Sling TV and YouTube TV, which constitute our Partner Direct Business. The MVPD, vMVPD and digital distributor partners making up our Partner Direct Business pay us a license fee for sales to individuals who subscribe to CuriosityStream via the partners’ respective platforms.

The technology associated with our Partner Direct Business is designed to facilitate a consistent user experience across the different interface platforms and operating system applications. We provide value for both our users and ourselves through our analytics algorithm and data collection system. Leveraging our database of anonymized user preferences, ratings and behavior, we are constantly refining our content recommendation engine to suggest and serve content to our customers.

In addition to our Direct to Consumer Business and Partner Direct Business, we have affiliate relationships with our Bundled MVPD Partnersand vMVPDs, which are broadband and wireless companies in the US and international territories to whom we can offer a broad scope of rights, including 24/7 “linear” channels, our on-demand content library, mobile rights and pricing and packaging flexibility, in exchange for an annual fixed fee or fee per subscriber as part of a multi-year agreement. This Bundled MVPD Business offers us the advantages of long-cycle and recurring revenue and the potential to access hundreds of millions of paying subscribers globally. As a young and digital-native company, we are not laden with some of the overhead costs nor over-dependent on lines of business that may hamper the growth of legacy media companies.

Our Content Licensing Business is focused on providing factual content to entertainment media companies. We have the opportunity to provide a turnkey, financially attractive “factual solution” to meet this business demand. We are able to license to certain media companies a collection of our existing titles in a traditional content licensing deal. We are also able to sell selected rights (such as in territories or on platforms that are lower priority for us) to content we create before we even begin production. This latter model reduces risk in our content development decisions and creates content licensing revenue.

Our Enterprise Business is comprised primarily of selling subscriptions in bulk to companies and organizations that in turn offer these subscriptions to their employees and members as an employment benefit or “gift of curiosity.” As of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, 25 companies have purchased annual subscriptions at volume discounts.

Our Other Business is primarily comprised of advertising and sponsorships revenue generated through developing integrated digital brand partnerships designed to offer the chance to be associated with CuriosityStream content in a variety of forms, including short- and long-form program integration, branded social media promotional videos, broadcast advertising spots in our video and audio programs that are made available on our linear programming channels or in front of the paywall, and digital display ads.

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Our business model relies on the collaboration of (1) our content team, which works with more than 150 production companies and distributors across the world to create and acquire programming, (2) our legal and finance teams, which structure and formalize agreements, (3) our creative services and content operations teams, which develop all of the marketing materials, metadata and other assets associated with a piece of content, and (4) our content operations and technology teams, which then deliver our content and services to all manner of devices and streaming platforms for our Direct to Consumer Business, Partner Direct Business and our affiliate relationships with Bundled MVPDs.

Our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $78.0 million. Our net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022 was $50.9 million.

Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a more detailed discussion of our product and service lines and channels through which we generate revenue.

Competition

We compete for the time and attention of our users across different forms of media, including traditional broadcast, cable, satellite and internet-delivered video, other providers of SVOD services (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix), other providers of in-home and mobile entertainment such as radio, music streaming services, and social media and networking websites. Many consumers maintain simultaneous relationships with multiple in-home entertainment providers and can easily shift spending from one provider to another.

We compete with other content providers to attract, engage, and retain users based on several factors, including: the user experience, content range and quality, ease of use of our platform, price, accessibility, perceptions of advertising load, brand awareness and reputation.

Many of our competitors enjoy competitive advantages such as greater brand recognition, legacy operating histories and larger marketing and content budgets, as well as greater financial, technical, human and other resources.

Seasonality

Our membership growth exhibits a seasonal pattern that reflects variations when consumers buy internet-connected screens and when they tend to increase their viewing. Historically, the first quarter, on a relative percentage basis, has represented our greatest streaming membership growth. In addition, our membership growth can be impacted by our content release schedule and changes to pricing.

Intellectual Property

Our success depends upon our ability to protect our technologies and intellectual property. To accomplish this, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including trade secrets, copyrights and trademarks, as well as contractual restrictions. We have confidentiality and proprietary rights arrangements with our employees, consultants and business partners, and we control access to, and distribution of, our proprietary information.

Our registered trademarks in the United States include “Curiosity,” “CuriosityStream” and “One Day University.”

We are the registrant of the internet domain name for our website, www.curiositystream.com, as well as others. We own rights to proprietary processes and trade secrets, including those underlying the CuriosityStream service.

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Government Regulation

As a company conducting business on the internet, we are subject to several foreign and domestic laws and regulations relating to information and network security, data protection, privacy, and governmental access to data, among other things. Many of these laws and regulations are still evolving and could be interpreted, updated, or new laws passed in ways that could harm our business. In the area of information and network security and data protection, the laws in the United States, the European Union (the “EU”), and other jurisdictions globally can require specified actions to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of networks and data. Additionally, laws in many U.S. states require companies to implement specific information security controls to protect certain types of personally identifiable information. Likewise, U.S. states, the EU, China, and other jurisdictions have laws in place requiring companies to notify users, regulators, and sometimes law enforcement if there is a security breach that compromises certain categories of information, including personal information and personally identifiable information.

We are also subject to U.S. federal and state, EU and other foreign laws regarding privacy, the collection of data of minors, and the privacy of customer data. Our privacy policy and terms of use describe our practices concerning the use, transmission and disclosure of customer information and are posted on our website. Any failure to comply with our posted privacy policy or privacy-related laws, obligations, or regulations globally could result in proceedings against us by governmental authorities, individuals, or others. Further, any failure by us to adequately protect the privacy or security of our customers’ information could result in a loss of confidence in our service among existing and potential customers, and ultimately, in a loss of customers and advertisers.

Privacy Policy

We collect and use certain types of information from our customers in accordance with the privacy policy that is posted on our website. We collect personally identifiable information directly from customers when they register to use our service and sign up to receive email newsletters. We may also obtain information about our customers from other customers and third parties. Our policy is to use the collected information to customize and personalize advertising and content for customers and to enhance the customer experience when using our service.

We also use automated data collection technology, such as tracking cookies, to collect online usage information to help us track customer interactions with our service. Third-party advertisers and service partners may also use tracking technologies to collect information regarding use of our platforms.

We have implemented commercially reasonable physical and electronic security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of personally identifiable information. No security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and we may be unable to anticipate or prevent unauthorized access to our customers’ personally identifiable information.

Employees and Human Capital

We had approximately 78 and 83 full-time employees on average, during 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately 65 full-time employees, all of whom were located in the U.S. We have one location, a corporate carve-outs.office plus filming studio and edit suites, in Silver Spring, Maryland (the “Office”). Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and new employees, advisors and consultants. Our ability to attract, retain and improve the effectiveness of our employees is a critical factor for executing our growth strategy. We strive to recruit the best people for the job regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or other differences.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion as well as equitable pay within our workforce. To further some of these initiatives, following our Business Combination, we retained Willis Towers Watson, a leading global

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advisory firm, to review our compensation structure. Our compensation program is designed to attract, retain, and motivate highly qualified employees and executives and is comprised of a mix of competitive base salary, bonus and equity compensation awards, as well as other employee benefits. Almost all current employees have received equity grants with vesting conditions designed to facilitate the retention of personnel and the opportunity to benefit financially from the Company’s potential future growth and profitability. Our 401(k) Retirement Plan includes a Company match of up 100 percent of contributions up to 3 percent of the employee’s compensation and a 50 percent Company match of contributions between 3 percent and 5 percent of the employee’s compensation.

Our human resources strategy is overseen by our Chief Operating Officer and executive team, which aims to provide regular updates to our Board. Our employees are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and we consider our relations with our employees to be good.

In addition, the health and safety of our employees and communities are of primary concern to us. During the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, we took significant steps to protect our workforce, including:

Mandating or allowing remote or hybrid work for all employees;

Establishing additional cleaning and sanitization practices in the Office;

Implementing touchless contact points for most doors in the Office;

Establishing physical distancing procedures for employees in the Office, as necessary;

Requiring (as necessary) or promoting face coverings to be worn in the Office during certain periods and under certain circumstances and having disposable face coverings available for use,

Implementing HEPA air filter system in the conference room in the Office; and

Installing self-service hand sanitizer dispensers in the Office.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to the Company’s Business

If our efforts to attract and retain users are not successful, our business will be adversely affected.

We have experienced significant user growth over the past several years. Our ability to continue to attract users will depend in part on our ability to effectively market our service, consistently provide our users with compelling content choices that keep our users engaged with our service, as well as a quality experience for selecting and viewing factual entertainment. Furthermore, the relative service levels, content offerings, pricing and related features of competitors to our service may adversely impact our ability to attract and retain users. Competitors include other entertainment video providers, such as MVPDs and SVOD services. Users may cancel our service for many reasons, including: a perception that they do not use the service sufficiently, the need to cut household expenses, selection of content is unsatisfactory, competitive services provide a better value or experience and customer service issues are not satisfactorily resolved. Membership may also be impacted by our business relationships with our MVPDs, vMVPDs or other affiliates. For example, when one of our agreements with a Bundled Distribution partner was terminated in the third quarter of 2022, we experienced a decline in subscribers as a result of such termination. Adverse macroeconomic conditions, including inflation, may also adversely impact our ability to attract and retain users. We must continually add new users both to replace cancelled users and to grow our business beyond our current user base. If we do not grow as expected, we may not be able to adjust our expenditures or increase our per user revenues, including by adjusting membership

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pricing, commensurate with the lowered growth rate, such that our margins, liquidity and results of operations may be adversely impacted, and our ability to operate at a net-loss may be strained. If we are unable to successfully compete with current and new competitors in providing compelling content, retaining our existing users and attracting new users, our business will be adversely affected. Further, if excessive numbers of users cancel our service, we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenditures than we currently anticipate to replace these users with new users.

If we do not continuously provide value to our users, including making improvements to our service in a manner that is favorably received by them, our revenue, results of operations and business will be adversely affected.

If consumers do not perceive our service offering to be of value, including if we introduce new or adjust existing features, adjust pricing or service offerings or change the mix of or our investment into our content in a manner that is not favorably received by them, we may not be able to attract and retain users, and accordingly, our revenue, including revenue per paying membership, and result of operations may be adversely affected. For example, in 2022, we introduced a new, free ad-supported streaming channel on the LG channel platform, Curiosity Now, and our Smart Bundle plan. In addition, we may, from time to time, adjust our membership pricing, our membership plans, or our pricing model itself. These and other adjustments we have made or may make in the future may not be well-received by consumers and could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain members, revenues per paying membership, revenue and our results of operations. In addition, we believe that many of our users rejoin our service or originate from word-of-mouth advertising from existing users. If our efforts to satisfy our existing users or adjustments to our service are not successful, we may not be able to attract or retain users, and as a result, our ability to maintain and/or grow our business will be adversely affected.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the various responses to it harmed our industry, disrupted our business, increased our costs, led to delays in content releases and may again impact our business and results of operations, as well as our ability to raise additional capital.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the various responses to it created significant volatility, uncertainty and economic disruption. In response to government mandates, health care advisories and in otherwise responding to employee and vendor concerns, we altered certain aspects of our operations. Other business partners similarly had their operations altered or temporarily suspended. Production pauses caused us and may cause us in the future to temporarily have less new content available on our service, which could negatively impact consumer demand for and member retention to our service and the number of paid memberships. Temporary production pauses or permanent shutdowns in production could result in content asset impairments or other charges and will change the timing and amount of cash outflows associated with production activity.

Recently, there has been a return to more normal societal interactions, including the way we operate our business. However, the full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic and the various responses to it impact our business, operations and financial results continues to depend on numerous evolving factors that we may not be able to accurately predict, including: the duration and scope of the pandemic; governmental, business and individuals’ actions that have been and continue to be taken in response to the pandemic; the availability and cost to access the capital markets; the effect on our customers and customer demand for and ability to pay for our services; increased competition with alternative media platforms and technologies; disruptions or restrictions on our employees’ ability to work and travel; interruptions or restrictions related to the provision of streaming services over the internet, including impacts on content delivery networks and streaming quality; and any stoppages, disruptions or increased costs associated with our development, production, post-production, marketing and distribution of original programming. Future disruptions arising from the ongoing and any new pandemics could have a significant negative impact on our costs of doing business and otherwise negatively impact our results of operations. We will continue to actively monitor the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and may take further actions that alter our business operations, the potential effects of which on our

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business and financial results, customers, suppliers or vendors are unclear. In addition to the potential direct impacts to our business, the global economy may continue to be impacted as a result of the actions taken in response to COVID-19, including through elevated inflation, supply chain disruptions and a sensitive and evolving labor market. To the extent that such a weakened global economy impacts consumers’ ability or willingness to pay for our service or vendors’ ability to provide services to us, especially those related to our distribution and content productions, our business and results of operation may be negatively impacted.

Labor shortages could adversely affect our results of operations.

In 2022 and 2021, many companies experienced labor shortages and other labor-related issues, which were pronounced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of factors may adversely affect the labor force available to us or increase labor costs, including high employment levels, federal unemployment subsidies, increased wages offered by other employers, elevated rates of inflation, vaccine mandates and other government regulations and our responses thereto. As more employers offer remote work, we may have more difficulty recruiting for jobs that require on-site attendance. We have recently observed an overall tightening and increasingly competitive labor market. If we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of performing at a high level, our business could be adversely affected. A sustained labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, or increased turnover within our employee base, caused by COVID-19 or as a result of general macroeconomic factors, could have a material adverse impact on our business and operating results.

We have a limited operating history and history of net losses, and we anticipate that we will experience net losses for the foreseeable future.

You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties encountered by companies in their early stage of development. CuriosityStream LLC, our predecessor, was formed as a Delaware limited liability company in June 2008. CuriosityStream LLC officially launched its subscription service to U.S. based customers in March 2015 and to international customers in September 2015. Accordingly, we have a limited operating history upon which to base an evaluation of our business and prospects.

We have experienced significant net losses since our inception and, given the significant operating and capital expenditures associated with our business plan, anticipate continuing to incur net losses for the foreseeable future. If we do achieve profitability, we cannot be certain that we will be able to sustain or increase such profitability. We incurred a net loss of approximately $50.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. We have not generated positive cash flow from operations, we may not be able to operate at a net loss indefinitely, and we cannot be certain that we will be able to generate positive cash flow from operations in the future. To achieve and sustain profitability, we must accomplish numerous objectives, including broadening and stabilizing our sources of revenue, increasing the number of paying subscribers to our service and increasing the price subscribers pay to access our service. Accomplishing these objectives will require significant capital investments. We cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve these objectives.

Our operating results are expected to be difficult to predict based on a number of factors that also may affect our long-term performance.

We expect our operating results to fluctuate significantly in the future based on a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control and difficult to predict. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be a good indicator of our future or long-term performance. The following factors may affect us from period-to-period and may affect our long-term performance:

our ability to maintain and develop new and existing revenue-generating relationships;

our ability to improve or maintain gross margins in our business;

the amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures relating to expansion of our business, operations and governance;

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our ability to significantly increase our subscriber base and retain customers;

our ability to enforce our contracts and collect receivables from third parties;

our ability to develop, acquire and maintain an adequate breadth and depth of content via original productions, co-productions, commissions and/or licenses;

changes by our competitors to their product and service offerings;

increased competition;

our ability to detect and comply with data collection and privacy regulation and customer questions related thereto in every jurisdiction in which we operate;

changes in promotional support or other aspects of our relationships with our partners through which we make our service available, including the MVPDs and/or the vMVPDs, through which we offer our content;

our ability to effectively manage the development of new business segments and markets, and determine appropriate contract and licensing terms;

our ability to maintain and develop new and existing marketing relationships;

our ability to maintain, upgrade and develop our website, our applications through which we offer our service on our customers’ devices and our internal computer systems;

fluctuations in the use of the internet for the purchase of consumer goods and services such as those offered by us;

technical difficulties, system downtime or internet disruptions;

our ability to attract new and qualified personnel in a timely and effective manner and retain existing personnel;

conflicts of interest involving our founder and principal stockholder, John Hendricks;

our ability to attract and retain sponsors and prove that our sponsorship offerings are effective enough to justify a pricing structure that is profitable for us;

the success of our content licensing to other media companies;

our ability to successfully manage the integration of operations and technology resulting from possible future acquisitions;

governmental regulation and taxation policies; and

general economic conditions and economic conditions specific to the internet, online commerce and the media industry.

If we are not able to manage our growth, our business could be adversely affected.

We have expanded rapidly since we launched our subscription service in March 2015. We anticipate that further expansion of our operations will be required to achieve significant growth in our products, lines of business and user base and to take advantage of favorable market opportunities. Any future expansion will likely place significant demands on our managerial, operational, administrative and financial resources. If we are not able to respond effectively to new or increased demands that arise because of our growth, or, if in responding, our management team has hadis materially distracted from our current operations, our business may be adversely affected. In addition, if we do not have sufficient breadth and depth of content necessary to satisfy increased demand arising from growth in our user base, our user satisfaction may be adversely affected.

We are continuing to expand our operations internationally, scaling our service to effectively and reliably handle anticipated growth in both users and features related to our service. As our offerings evolve, we are

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managing and adjusting our business to address varied content offerings, consumer customs and practices, different technology infrastructure, different markets for factual video content, as well as differing legal and regulatory environments. As we scale our service and introduce new features such as our free streaming channel, Curiosity Now, and our Smart Bundle plan, we are developing technology and utilizing third-party “cloud” computing, technology and other services. We are building out expertise in a number of disciplines, including creative, marketing, legal, finance, and licensing, which requires significant success sourcing,resources and management attention. If we are not able to manage the growing complexity of our business, including improving, refining or revising our systems and operational practices related to our operations and original content, our business may be adversely affected.

Our business could be adversely impacted by costs and challenges associated with strategic acquisitions and investments, including joint ventures.

From time to time, we acquire or invest in businesses, content, and technologies that support our business. The risks associated with such acquisitions or investments (some of which may be unforeseen) include the difficulty of integrating solutions, operations, and personnel; inheriting liabilities and exposure to litigation; failure to realize anticipated benefits and expected synergies; and diversion of management’s time and attention, among other acquisition- and/or investment-related risks. We may not be successful in overcoming such risks, and such acquisitions and investments may negatively impact our business.

In addition, a significant portion of the purchase price of companies we acquire may be allocated to acquired goodwill, which must be assessed for impairment at least annually. If our acquisitions do not yield expected returns, we may be required to take charges to our operating results based on this impairment assessment process, as was the case in 2022. Acquisitions also could result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Furthermore, if we do not integrate an acquired business successfully and in a timely manner, we may not realize the benefits of the acquisition to the extent anticipated. If an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, our operating results, business and financial condition may suffer. Acquisitions and investments may contribute to fluctuations in our quarterly financial results. These fluctuations could arise from transaction-related costs and charges associated with eliminating redundant expenses or write-offs of impaired assets recorded in connection with acquisitions and investments, which could negatively impact our financial results.

We are also currently party to a joint venture, and our participation in such joint venture is subject to risks, including, among other things: (i) shared approval rights over certain major decisions affecting the ownership or operation of the joint venture and any assets owned by the joint venture; (ii) our joint venture counterparts being subject to different laws or regulations than us, which could create conflicts of interest; (iii) our ability to sell our interest in the joint venture, or the joint venture’s ability to sell additional interests of, or assets owned by, the joint venture, being limited to that set forth under the terms of the governing agreements; (iv) the terms of the governing agreements providing our joint venture counterparts the right to exclude us from the joint venture under certain circumstances; (v) the terms of the governing agreements containing non-compete provisions, which may limit other potential business opportunities for us; (vi) a put option that permits our joint venture counterparts to require us to purchase their interest, subject to certain conditions, which, if exercised, would expose us to the full economics and risks of such joint venture, rather than only our proportionate interest therein; and (vii) disagreements with our joint venture counterparts, which may result in arbitration that could be expensive and distracting to management and could delay important decisions. Any of the foregoing risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Certain of our growth strategies are untested, unproven or not yet fully developed.

We intend to increase our revenues through expanding our subscriber base by, among other things, continuing to expand into international markets, expanding into the mobile video market, expanding into the

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corporate social responsibility market, expanding into the branded partnerships market, developing our Content Licensing Business and developing our in-house production studio, Curiosity Studios. Our content is primarily in the English language with subtitling or dubbing in Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Swedish, German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Slovenian in parts of our library and the world where demand exists and we have the language version rights. Our rights to the international distribution of portions of our co-produced or licensed content are subject to certain geographic and platform or media restrictions. However, we intend to seek partnerships with strong platforms in international territories, subject, in each case, to any then-existing geographic and media restrictions on the distribution of any of our content. There can be no assurance that these international partnerships will be successful or result in our meeting revenue targets.

We believe there is an opportunity for us to commission or create content for other program providers. However, there can be no assurance that these partners will, or will continue to, engage us for co-productions or commissioned content, or that we will earn the margins that we expect on such projects.

If we expand into new markets or increase certain operations in connection with our growth strategies, we may be required to comply with new regulatory requirements that could cause us to incur additional expenses, increase our cost of doing business, impose additional burdens on us or otherwise negatively affect our business. In pursuing these growth strategies, we expect to incur significant operating and capital expenditures and, as a result, we expect to continue to experience net losses in the future. It is possible that we will not be able to grow our revenues through these strategies, or if growth is achieved, that it will be maintained for any significant period, or at all.

If we experience excessive rates of user churn, our revenues and business will be harmed.

In order to increase our revenues, we must minimize the rate of loss of existing users while adding new users to our DTC subscription service. Our experience during our operating history indicates that there are many variables that impact churn, including the type of plan selected, user engagement with the platform and length of a user’s subscription to date. As a result, in periods of rapid user growth, we believe that our average churn is likely to increase as the average length of subscription to date decreases. Similarly, in periods of slow user growth, we believe that our average churn is likely to decrease since our average user duration is longer. However, these estimates are subject to change based on a number of factors, including the percentage of users selecting monthly vs. annual plans, increased rates of subscription cancellations and decreased rates of user acquisition. We cannot assure you that these estimates will be indicative of future performance or that the risks related to these estimates will not materialize. Users may cancel their subscription to our service for many reasons, including, among others, a perception that they do not use the service sufficiently, or the belief that the service is a poor value, an increase in the price of the service or that customer service issues are not satisfactorily resolved. We must continually add new users both to replace users who cancel and to continue to grow our business beyond our current user base. If too many of our users cancel our service, or if we are unable to attract new users in numbers sufficient to grow our business, our operating results will be adversely affected. Further, if excessive numbers of users cancel our service, we may be required to incur significantly higher marketing expenditures than we currently anticipate in order to replace these users with new users.

If our efforts to build a strong brand identity and improve user satisfaction and loyalty are not successful, we may not be able to attract or retain users, and our operating results may be adversely affected.

The CuriosityStream brand is only eight years old, and we must continue to build a strong brand identity. To succeed, we must continue to attract and retain a large number of new users which require us to make significant advertising and promotional expenditures. We believe that the importance of brand loyalty will increase with the continued proliferation of SVOD subscription services. If our branding efforts are not successful, however, our ability to attract and retain users will be adversely affected, which may negatively impact our future operating results.

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We may be unable to compete successfully against current and future competitors, and competitive pressures could harm our business and prospects.

Our industry is intensely competitive, and we expect competition to increase in the future as current competitors improve their content offerings and as new participants enter the market. Competition may result in pricing pressures, reduced profit margins, loss of market share or greater difficulty in acquiring growingattractive content, any of which could substantially harm our business and monetizingresults of operations. Many of the companies that are participating in the United States and global SVOD media sector have longer operating histories, larger and broader user bases, significantly greater financial, human, technical and other resources and greater name recognition than we do. These companies, which include Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Paramount, Comcast, BBC, PBS, Fox Networks, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney and others, provide a broader range of content, and could redirect and apply considerable resources to acquired and original factual content. During the COVID-19 pandemic, both established companies and new competitors began developing and creating their own original factual content. In addition, many titles in our content library are subject to non-exclusive licenses, and as a result, our competitors may be able to license many of our popular titles to expand their reach into factual entertainment. If this were to occur, users that already subscribe to these services for other types of content may determine that they do not need to also subscribe to our service. There may also be other competitors, including non-profit and educational organizations and other knowledge sharing focused institutions, that choose to focus on factual content that could directly compete with our SVOD offerings. Well-funded competitors may be better able to withstand economic downturns and periods of slow economic growth and the associated periods of reduced customer spending and increased pricing pressures. Some competitors are able to devote substantially more resources to website and systems development or to investments or partnerships. We may be unable to compete successfully against current and future competitors, and competitive pressures could harm our business and prospects.

We face risks, such as unforeseen costs and potential liability, in connection with content we acquire, produce, license and/or distribute through our service.

As a producer and distributor of content, we face potential liability for negligence, copyright and trademark infringement, or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we acquire, produce, license and/or distribute. We also may face potential liability for content used in promoting our service, including marketing materials. We believe that original programming can help differentiate our service from other offerings, enhance our brand and otherwise attract and retain users. Consequently, we continue to devote resources toward the development, production, marketing and distribution of our original programming. To the extent our original programming does not meet our expectations, in particular, in terms of costs, viewing and popularity, our business, including our brand and results of operations, may be adversely impacted. As a content producer, we are responsible for production costs and other expenses. We also take on risks associated with production, such as completion risk, which were heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the extent we create and sell physical or digital merchandise relating to our original programming, and/or license such rights to third parties, we could become subject to product liability, intellectual property or other claims related to such products. We may decide to remove content from our service, not to place licensed or produced content on our service or discontinue or alter production of original content if we believe such content might not be well received by our users or could be damaging to our brand.

To the extent we do not accurately anticipate costs or mitigate risks, including for content that we obtain but ultimately does not appear on or is removed from our service, or if we become liable for content we acquire, produce, license and/or distribute, our business may suffer. Litigation to defend these claims could be costly and the expenses and damages arising from any liability or unforeseen production risks could harm our results of operations. We may not be indemnified against claims or costs of these types and we may not have insurance coverage for these types of companies. We believe this experience makes us well suited to identify, source, negotiate and execute an initial business combination with the ultimate goal of pursuing attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.claims.

 

Business Strategy17


We rely upon a number of partners to make our service available on their platforms and devices.

We currently offer users the ability to receive streaming content through a host of screens and devices, including televisions, set-top boxes, computers, streaming media players, game consoles and mobile devices. We have executed a number of distribution and licensing agreements with MVPDs, vMVPDs and digital distributors including Amazon, YouTube TV, Roku, Comcast, Cox Communications, Sling TV, Dish and others, as well as with our Bundled Distribution Partners, including Multichoice and TataSky, among others. The future performance of our distribution partners under these distribution agreements is uncertain and we can provide no assurance that our distribution partners can generate the number of paying subscribers to our SVOD service in an amount adequate to produce the revenue required to maintain business operations. In many instances, our agreements also include provisions by which the distribution partner bills consumers directly for the CuriosityStream service or otherwise offers services or products in connection with offering our service. We intend to continue to broaden our relationships with existing partners and to increase our capability to stream our content to other platforms, partners and territories over time. If we are not successful in maintaining existing and creating new relationships, or if we encounter technological, content licensing, regulatory, business or other impediments to delivering our streaming content to our users via these devices and platforms and in these territories, our ability to increase our subscriber base and grow our business, as well as retain existing users, could be adversely impacted.

Our agreements with our partners are typically between one and three years in duration and our business could be adversely affected if, upon expiration, a number of our partners do not continue to provide access to our service or are unwilling to do so on terms acceptable to us, which terms may include the degree of accessibility and prominence of our service. Furthermore, while devices are manufactured and sold by entities other than CuriosityStream, the connection between these devices and CuriosityStream may nonetheless result in consumer dissatisfaction toward CuriosityStream and such dissatisfaction could result in claims against us or otherwise adversely impact our business. In addition, technology changes to our streaming functionality may require that partners update their devices. If partners do not update or otherwise modify their devices, our service and our users’ use and enjoyment of our content could be negatively impacted.

We are subject to payment processing risk.

Our users pay for our service using a variety of different payment methods, including credit and debit cards, gift cards, direct debit and online wallets. We rely on third parties to process payment. Acceptance and processing of these payment methods are subject to certain rules, regulations, and industry standards, including data storage requirements, additional authentical requirements for certain payment methods, and require payment of interchange and other fees. To the extent there are disruptions in our payment processing systems, increases in payment processing fees, material changes in the payment ecosystem, such as large re-issuances of payment cards, delays in receiving payments from payment processors and/or changes to rules or regulations concerning payment processing, our revenue, operating expenses and results of operations could be adversely impacted. In addition, the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations on Russia, Belarus and certain Russian organizations and individuals may disrupt payments we receive for distribution of our content in Russia. In certain instances, we leverage third parties such as our MVPDs and other partners to bill subscribers on our behalf. If these third parties become unwilling or unable to continue processing payments on our behalf, we would have to find alternative methods of collecting payments, which could adversely impact user acquisition and retention. In addition, from time to time, we encounter fraudulent use of payment methods, which could impact our results of operation and if not adequately controlled and managed could create negative perceptions of our service.

Distributors’ failure to promote our content could adversely affect our revenue and could adversely affect our business results.

We will not always control the timing and manner in which our licensed distributors distribute our content offerings. However, their decisions regarding the timing of release and promotional support are important in

 

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determining success. Any decision by those distributors not to distribute or promote our content or to promote our competitors’ content to a greater extent than they promote our content could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results, liquidity and prospects.

If we fail to maintain or, in newer markets establish, a positive reputation with consumers concerning our service and the content we offer, we may not be able to attract or retain users, we may face regulatory scrutiny and our operating results may be adversely affected.

We believe that a positive reputation with consumers concerning our service is important in attracting and retaining users who have many choices when it comes to where to obtain video entertainment. To the extent our content is perceived as low quality, offensive or otherwise not compelling to consumers, our ability to establish and maintain a positive reputation may be adversely impacted. To the extent our content is deemed controversial or offensive by government regulators, we may face direct or indirect retaliatory action or behavior, including being required to remove such content from our service, and our entire service could be banned and/or become subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny across our business and operations. In light of the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations on Russia, Belarus and certain Russian organizations and individuals, our contracts to sell and distribute our content to Russian distributors in Russia may cast us in a negative light with consumers, governmental authorities, business partners or other stakeholders and injure our reputation. Furthermore, to the extent our marketing, customer service and public relations efforts are not effective or result in negative consumer reaction, our ability to establish and maintain a positive reputation may likewise be adversely impacted. Lastly, to the extent we suffer any security vulnerabilities, bugs, errors or other performance failures, our ability to establish and maintain a positive reputation may be adversely impacted. With newer markets, we also need to establish our reputation with consumers and to the extent we are not successful in creating positive impressions, our business in these newer markets may be adversely impacted. In addition, there is an increasing focus from regulators, investors, members and other stakeholders on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters, both in the United States and internationally. To the extent the content we distribute and the manner in which we produce content creates ESG related concerns, our reputation may be harmed.

Changes in competitive offerings for video entertainment, including the potential rapid adoption of piracy-based video offerings, could adversely impact our business.

The market for video entertainment is intensely competitive and subject to rapid change. Through new and existing distribution channels, consumers have increasing options to access video entertainment. The various economic models underlying these channels include subscription, transactional, ad-supported and piracy-based models. All of these have the potential to capture meaningful segments of the video entertainment market. Piracy, in particular, threatens to damage our business. Piracy’s fundamental proposition to consumers is compelling and difficult to compete against, as virtually all content is free. Further, in light of the compelling consumer proposition, piracy services are subject to rapid global growth. In addition, traditional providers of video entertainment, including broadcasters and cable network operators, as well as internet-based e-commerce or video entertainment providers are increasing their internet-based video offerings. Several of these competitors have long operating histories, large customer bases, strong brand recognition and significant financial, marketing and other resources. They may secure better terms from suppliers, adopt more aggressive pricing and devote more resources to product development, technology, infrastructure, content acquisitions and marketing. New entrants may enter the market or existing providers may adjust their services with unique offerings or approaches to providing video entertainment.

Companies also may enter into business combinations or alliances that strengthen their competitive positions. If we are unable to successfully or profitably compete with current and new competitors, our business will be adversely affected, and we may not be able to increase or maintain market share and revenues or achieve profitability.

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If government regulations relating to the internet or other areas of our business change, we may need to alter the manner in which we conduct our business or incur greater operating expenses.

The adoption or modification of laws or regulations relating to the internet, telecommunications or other areas of our business could limit or otherwise adversely affect the manner in which we currently conduct our business. As our service and others like us gain traction in international markets, governments are increasingly looking to introduce new or extend legacy regulations to these services, in particular those related to broadcast media, content obligations or restrictions, treatment of intellectual property, net neutrality or payment for transmission and tax. For example, recent changes to European law enables individual member states to impose levies and other financial obligations on media operators located outside their jurisdiction. It is also currently unknown how the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations on Russia, Belarus and certain Russian organizations and individuals may affect us in the future. We anticipate that several jurisdictions may, over time, impose greater financial and regulatory obligations on us. In addition, the continued growth and development of the market for online commerce may lead to more stringent consumer protection laws, which may impose additional burdens on us. If we are required to comply with new regulations or legislation or new interpretations of existing regulations or legislation, this compliance could cause us to incur additional expenses or alter our business model.

Changes in laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the internet, including laws impacting net neutrality or requiring payment of network access fees, could decrease the demand for our service and increase our cost of doing business. Certain laws intended to prevent network operators from discriminating against the legal traffic that traverse their networks have been implemented in many countries, including across the EU. In others, the laws may be nascent or non-existent. Furthermore, favorable laws may change, including for example, in the United States where net neutrality regulations were somewhat recently repealed. Given uncertainty around these rules, including changing interpretations, amendments or repeal, coupled with potentially significant political and economic power of local network operators, we could experience discriminatory or anti-competitive practices that could impede our growth, cause us to incur additional expense or otherwise negatively affect our business.

Changes in how we market our service, or increases in our advertising rates, could adversely affect our marketing expenses and user levels may be adversely affected.

We utilize a broad mix of marketing and public relations programs, including social media sites, to promote our service to potential new users. We may limit or discontinue use or support of certain marketing sources or activities if advertising rates increase or if we become concerned that users or potential users deem certain marketing practices intrusive or damaging to our brand. If the available marketing channels are curtailed, our ability to attract new users may be adversely affected.

Companies that promote our service and/or host our advertisements may decide that we negatively impact their business or may make business decisions that in turn negatively impact us. For example, if they decide that they want to compete more directly with us, enter a similar business or exclusively support our competitors, we may no longer have access to their marketing channels or they may charge us higher advertising rates, preventing us from advertising at competitive and/or reasonable rates. We also acquire a number of users who rejoin our service after having previously cancelled their subscription. If we are unable to maintain or replace our sources of subscriptions with similarly effective sources, or if the cost of our existing subscription increases, our subscription levels and marketing expenses may be adversely affected.

We utilize marketing to promote our content and drive viewing by our users. To the extent we promote our content inefficiently or ineffectively, we may not obtain the expected acquisition and retention benefits and our business may be adversely affected.

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Emerging industry trends in digital advertising may pose challenges for our ability to forecast or optimize our advertising inventory, which may adversely impact our ability to capture advertising spend.

The digital advertising industry is introducing new ways to measure and price advertising inventory. For example, a significant portion of advertisers are in the process of moving from purchasing advertisement impressions based on the number of advertisements served by the applicable ad server to a new “viewable” impression standard (based on number of pixels in view and duration) for select products. In the absence of a uniform industry standard, agencies and advertisers have adopted several different measurement methodologies and standards. In addition, measurement services may require technological integrations, which are still being evaluated by the advertising industry without an agreed-upon industry standard metric. As these trends in the industry continue to evolve, our sponsorship and advertising fees may be adversely affected by the availability, accuracy and utility of the available analytics and measurement technologies as well as our ability to successfully implement and operationalize such technologies and standards.

Our user metrics and other estimates are subject to inherent challenges in measurement, and real or perceived inaccuracies in those metrics may seriously harm and negatively affect our reputation and our business.

We regularly review key metrics related to the operation of our business, including, but not limited to monthly active users (“MAUs”) and user churn, to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance, and make strategic decisions. These metrics are calculated using internal company data and have not been validated by an independent third party. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates of our user base for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring how our service is used across populations globally.

Errors or inaccuracies in our metrics or data could result in incorrect business decisions and inefficiencies. For instance, if a significant understatement of churn or overstatement of MAUs were to occur, we may expend resources to implement unnecessary business measures or fail to take required actions to attract a sufficient number of users to satisfy our growth strategies.

Some of our demographic data also may be incomplete or inaccurate because users self-report their personal information. Consequently, the personal data we have may differ from our users’ actual information. If sponsors, advertisers, partners or investors do not perceive our user, geographic or other demographic metrics to be accurate representations of our user base, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our user, geographic, or other demographic metrics, our reputation may be seriously harmed. See “—We are at risk of attempts at unauthorized access to our service, and failure to effectively prevent and remediate such attempts could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition.”

We rely on subscription data provided by our third-party distributors and platform partners that has not been independently verified and inaccuracies in that data may seriously harm and adversely affect our reputation and our business.

Our calculation of total paying subscribers includes the subscribers who are accessing our service via a third-party distributor or platform partner. We rely on these third-party distributors and platform partners to provide us with subscriber data. This data is based on verbal, unpublished or confidential reports and has not been validated by us or an independent third party. We use this data, among other things, to evaluate growth trends, measure our performance and make strategic decisions. Reliance on such unconfirmed or unpublished data could lead us to make incorrect calculations, incorrect business decisions or inefficiencies, particularly if these third parties provide inaccurate or incomplete data. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our reputation and business could be seriously harmed or adversely affected.

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Our business emphasizes rapid innovation and prioritizes long-term user engagement over short-term financial condition or results of operations, which strategy could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our business strategy is growing and becoming more complex, and our success depends on our ability to leveragequickly develop and launch new and innovative services. We believe our management team’s industry knowledge, strategic vision, operational expertiseculture fosters this goal. Our focus on complexity and quick reactions could result in unintended outcomes or decisions that are poorly received by our users, advertisers, sponsors or partners. Our culture also prioritizes our long-term user engagement over short-term financial condition or results of operations. We frequently make decisions that may reduce our short-term revenue or profitability if we believe that the decisions benefit the aggregate user experience and will thereby improve our financial performance over the long-term. We also regularly run promotions discounting our service plans from their published prices. No assurance can be provided that such price reductions will produce an increase in subscribers to a level adequate to support sponsorship sales or generate revenue in an amount required to maintain business connections built up over decadesoperations. These decisions may not produce the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case, our user growth and engagement, our relationships with advertisers, sponsors and partners, as well as our business, operating results and financial condition could be seriously harmed.

We may incur non-cash impairment charges for our content assets, goodwill, other intangible assets and equity method investments which would negatively impact our operating results.

We regularly review our long-lived assets, including our content assets, goodwill and other finite-lived intangible assets for impairment. Goodwill is subject to impairment review on an annual basis and whenever potential impairment indicators are present. Other long-lived assets, including our content assets, and finite-lived intangible assets are reviewed when there is an indication that an impairment may have occurred.

We test goodwill for impairment at least annually or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist and other finite-lived intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the varying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Impairment may result from, among other indicators, a decline in the technologyshare price of the Company or market capitalization and negative industry or economic trends.

As a result of a sustained decrease in our share price during the second quarter of 2022, we concluded that a triggering event had occurred and conducted impairment testing of our goodwill balance. As a result of this impairment test, we recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $2.8 million during the second quarter of 2022 as the fair value of the reporting unit was less than the related carrying value.

During the second quarter of 2022, we also determined there were impairment indicators with respect to certain of the Company’s finite-lived intangible assets. As a result, we performed an impairment test by comparing the carrying values of the intangible assets to their respective fair values, which were determined based on forecasted future cash flows. As a result of this impairment test, we recorded an impairment charge of $0.8 million during the second quarter of 2022.

If the decline in our share price continues in 2023, this would require further testing of our content assets, finite-lived intangible assets, or equity method investments, which may result in an impairment. The impairment of all or part of our content assets, finite-lived intangible assets or equity method investments may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. The amount of impairment determined reduces the carrying value of the asset and is expensed in that period as a charge to our results of operations. It is possible that we may never realize the full value of our intangible assets.

The fair value determinations underlying the quantitative aspect of our impairment testing require considerable judgment and are sensitive to changes in underlying assumptions, estimates and market factors. Estimating the fair value of our reporting unit and intangible assets requires us to make assumptions and estimates regarding our future plans, as well as industry, economic and regulatory conditions. If current

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expectations are not met, or if market factors outside of our control change significantly, then our reporting unit or intangible assets might become impaired in the future, adversely affecting our operating results and financial position. The carrying amounts of our content assets, goodwill and finite-lived intangible assets are susceptible to impairment risk if there are unfavorable changes in such assumptions, estimates and market factors. To the extent that business conditions deteriorate or key assumptions and estimates differ significantly from our management’s expectations, it may be necessary to recognize additional impairment charges in the future.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

If content providers or other rights holders refuse to license streaming content or other rights upon terms acceptable to us, our business could be adversely affected.

Our ability to provide our users with content they enjoy depends on content providers and other rights holders’ licensing rights to distribute such content and certain related elements thereof, such as the public performance of music contained within the content we distribute, upon terms acceptable to us. While the license periods and the terms and conditions of such licenses vary, a significant portion of our content is subject to license for a given period. As of December 31, 2022, approximately 78% of our SVOD titles were subject to licenses, approximately 16% of which expire in 2023 and approximately 48% of which expire in 2024. Of the titles that expire in 2023 and 2024, some may be renewed for a one- or two-year term at our unilateral option. If the content providers and other rights holders are not or are no longer willing or able to license us content upon terms acceptable to us, our ability to deliver particular items of content to our subscribers will be adversely affected and/or our costs could increase. Certain licenses for content provide for the content providers to withdraw content from our service relatively quickly, and such content providers could decide that we negatively impact their business or may make business decisions that in turn negatively impact us. For example, certain content providers could decide that they want to compete more directly with us, enter a similar business or exclusively support our competitors, and in such event we may no longer have access to their content at all or only at higher rates. Because of these provisions as well as other actions we may take, content available through our service can be withdrawn on short notice. As competition increases, we may see the cost of programming increase. As we seek to differentiate our service, we are increasingly focused on securing certain exclusive rights when obtaining content, including original content. We are also focused on programming an overall mix of content appealing to our users in a cost-efficient manner. Within this context, we are selective about the titles we add and renew to our service. If we do not maintain a compelling mix of content, our user acquisition and retention may be adversely affected.

Music and certain authors’ performances contained within content we distribute may require us to obtain licenses for such distribution. In this regard, we engage in negotiations with collection management organizations (“CMOs”) that hold certain rights to music and/or other interests in connection with streaming content into various territories. If we are unable to reach mutually acceptable terms with these organizations, we could become involved in litigation and/or could be enjoined from distributing certain content, which could adversely impact our business. Additionally, pending and ongoing litigation, as well as negotiations between certain CMOs and other third parties in various territories, could adversely impact our negotiations with CMOs, or result in music publishers represented by certain CMOs unilaterally withdrawing rights, thereby adversely impacting our ability to negotiate licensing agreements reasonably acceptable to us. Failure to negotiate such licensing agreements could expose us to potential liability for copyright infringement or otherwise increase our costs.

If our trademarks and other proprietary rights are not adequately protected to prevent use or appropriation by our competitors, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished and our business may be adversely affected.

We rely and expect to continue to rely on a combination of confidentiality and license agreements with our sponsor’semployees, consultants and its affiliates’ investment sourcingthird parties with whom we have relationships, as well as trademark and evaluation platformcopyright laws, to identifyprotect our proprietary rights. We may also seek to enforce our proprietary rights through court

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proceedings or other legal actions. We have filed and completewe expect to file from time to time for trademark applications. Nevertheless, these applications may not be approved, third parties may challenge any copyrights or trademarks issued to or held by us, third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe our initialintellectual property rights, and we may not be able to prevent infringement or misappropriation without substantial expense to us. If the protection of our intellectual property rights is inadequate to prevent use or misappropriation by third parties, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our service and methods of operations, the perception of our business combination with a companyand service to users and potential users may become confused in the marketplace, and our ability to attract users may be adversely affected.

We currently hold various domain names relating to our brand, including www.curiositystream.com. Failure to protect our domain names could adversely affect our reputation and brand and make it more difficult for users to find our website and our service. We may be unable, without significant cost or at all, to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon or otherwise decrease the value of our managementtrademarks and Board believes has compelling potential for value creationother proprietary rights.

Intellectual property claims against us could be costly and result in the loss of significant rights related to, among other things, our website, streaming technology, our recommendation and promotion capabilities, title selection processes and marketing activities.

Trademark, copyright and other intellectual property rights are important to us and other companies. Our intellectual property rights extend to our technology, business processes and the content we produce and distribute through our involvement. Mr. Hubermanwebsite. We use the intellectual property of third parties in creating some of our content and Mr. Nikzad,marketing our service through contractual and other rights. From time to time, third parties may allege that we have violated their intellectual property rights. If we are unable to obtain sufficient rights, successfully defend our use, or develop non-infringing technology or otherwise alter our business practices on a timely basis in response to claims against us for infringement, misappropriation, misuse or other violation of third-party intellectual property rights, our business and competitive position may be adversely affected. Many companies are devoting significant resources to developing patents that could potentially affect many aspects of our business. There are numerous patents that broadly claim means and methods of conducting business on the internet. We have not searched patents relative to our technology. Defending ourselves against intellectual property claims, whether they are with or without merit or are determined in our favor, could result in significant costs to our business and diversion of technical and management personnel. It also may result in our inability to use our current website, streaming technology, our recommendation and promotion capability or inability to market our service. We may also have to remove content from our service. As a result of a dispute, we may have to develop non-infringing technology, enter into royalty or licensing agreements, adjust our content, marketing activities or take other actions to resolve the claims. These actions, if required, may be costly or unavailable on terms acceptable to us.

Risks Related to Liquidity

We may find it difficult to successfully compete without significant capital investment or loans beyond what is available to us in current and future capital raising efforts.

Competing in the global media marketplace requires considerable financial resources, especially in the direct-to-consumer SVOD business sector, which requires substantial advertising and marketing expenditures to build widespread brand awareness to a level that produces subscribers and continuous investment in our content offerings. In a global media marketplace with competitors spending greater amounts on programming and marketing and/or content than we do, we may find it difficult to successfully compete without significant capital investment or loans beyond what is available to us in current and future capital raising efforts. No assurance can be provided that we can successfully acquire the amount of capital resources required to successfully compete and survive as a business.

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We have a substantial amount of obligations, including streaming content obligations, which, together with any debt we may incur in the future, could adversely affect our financial position, and we may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our obligations.

We have a substantial amount of obligations, including streaming content obligations. Moreover, we may incur substantial indebtedness in the future and expect to incur other obligations, including additional streaming content obligations. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately $2.9 million of total content liabilities as reflected on our consolidated balance sheet. Such amount does not include content commitments that do not meet the criteria for liability recognition, the amounts of which are significant. For more information on our content obligations, including those not on our balance sheet, see Note 14 in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our obligations, including content obligations, may:

make it difficult for us to satisfy our other financial obligations;

limit our ability to use our cash flow, borrow additional funds or obtain other additional financing for future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general business purposes;

require us to use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to make debt service payments and pay our other obligations when due;

limit our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business and industry;

place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our less leveraged competitors; and

increase our vulnerability to the impact of adverse economic and industry conditions.

The long-term and fixed cost nature of our content commitments may limit our operating flexibility and could adversely affect our liquidity and results of operations.

In connection with licensing content, we typically enter into multi-year commitments with content providers. We also enter into multi-year commitments for content that we produce, either directly or through third parties, including elements associated with these productions such as non-cancellable commitments under talent agreements. The payment terms of these agreements are not tied to usage or the size of our user base but may be determined by costs of production or tied to such factors as titles licensed. Such commitments, to the extent estimable under accounting standards, are included in Note 14 in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Given the multiple-year duration and largely fixed cost nature of content commitments, if user acquisition and retention do not meet our expectations, our margins may be adversely impacted. Payment terms for certain content commitments, such as content we directly produce, will typically require more up-front cash payments than other content licenses or arrangements whereby we do not cash flow the production of such content. To the extent user and/or revenue growth do not meet our expectations, our liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected as a result of content commitments and accelerated payment requirements of certain agreements. In addition, the long-term and largely fixed cost nature of our content commitments may limit our flexibility in planning for or reacting to changes in our business and the markets in which we operate. If we license and/or produce content that is not favorably received by consumers in a territory, or is unable to be shown in a territory, acquisition and retention may be adversely impacted and given the long-term and fixed cost nature of our content commitments, we may not be able to adjust our content offerings quickly and our results of operations may be adversely impacted.

We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service our obligations and any debt we may incur in the future.

Our ability to make payments on our obligations and any debt we incur in the future will depend on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to

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certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. Since inception, our cash flows from operating activities have been negative. We may be unable to attain a level of cash flows from operating activities or maintain the level of liquidity sufficient to permit us to pay our obligations, including amounts due under our streaming content obligations, and the principal, premium, if any, and interest on any debt we incur. We may or may not be able to accurately predict the ultimate impact on our levels of liquidity from our cash flows and such predictions are subject to change.

If we are unable to service our obligations, including any debt we may incur in the future, from cash flows, we may need to refinance or restructure all or a portion of such obligations prior to maturity. Our ability to refinance or restructure obligations, including any debt we may incur in the future, will depend upon the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. If the financial markets become difficult or costly to access, including due to rising interest rates, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates or other changes in economic conditions, our ability to raise additional capital may be negatively impacted, and any refinancing or restructuring could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. If our cash flows are insufficient to service our then-existing debt and other obligations, we may not be able to refinance or restructure any of these obligations on commercially reasonable terms or at all and any refinancing or restructuring could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

If our cash flows are insufficient to service our obligations, including any debt we may incur in the future, and we are unable to refinance or restructure these obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to sell material assets or operations to meet our then-existing debt and other obligations. We cannot assure you that we would be able to implement any of these alternative measures on satisfactory terms or at all or that the proceeds from such alternatives would be adequate to meet any debt or other obligations then due. If it becomes necessary to implement any of these alternative measures, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Our cash and cash equivalents could be adversely affected if the financial institutions in which we hold our cash and cash equivalents fail.

Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. If we were unable to access all or a significant portion of the amounts we have deposited at financial institutions for any extended period of time, we may not be able to pay our operational expenses or make other payments until we are able to move our funds to accounts at one or more other financial institutions, which process could cause a temporary delay in making payments to our vendors and employees and cause other operational challenges.

Risks Related to Information Technology

Any significant disruption in or unauthorized access to our computer systems or those of third parties that we utilize in our operations, including those relating to cybersecurity or arising from cyber-attacks, could result in a loss or degradation of service, unauthorized disclosure of data, including user and corporate information, or theft of intellectual property, including digital content assets, which could adversely impact our business.

Our reputation and ability to attract, retain and serve our users is dependent upon the reliable performance and security of our computer systems, mobile and other user applications, and those of third parties that we utilize in our operations. These systems may be subject to cyber incident, damage or interruption from earthquakes, adverse weather conditions, lack of maintenance due to human error or oversight, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, power loss or telecommunications failures. Interruptions in, destruction or manipulation of these

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systems, or with the supportinternet in general, could make our service unavailable or degraded or otherwise hinder our ability to deliver streaming content. Service interruptions, errors in our software or the unavailability of Mr. Nikou, leverage their partnership, investment experience, deep networkcomputer systems used in our operations, delivery or user interface could diminish the overall attractiveness of our user service to existing and technology industry expertise to identify and generate attractive acquisition opportunities among lower middle-market software companies.

potential users.

Our management team hascomputer systems, mobile and other applications and systems of third parties we use in our operations are vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, including cyber-attacks and loss of confidentiality, integrity or availability, both from state-sponsored and individual activity, such as hacks, unauthorized access, computer viruses, denial of service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins and similar disruptions and destruction. Such systems may periodically experience in:directed attacks intended to lead to interruptions and delays in our service and operations as well as loss, misuse or theft of data or intellectual property. Any attempt by hackers to obtain our data (including user and corporate information) or intellectual property (including digital content assets), disrupt our service, or otherwise access our systems, or those of third parties we use, if successful, could harm our business, be expensive to remedy, expose us to potential liability and damage our reputation. We have implemented certain systems and processes to thwart hackers and protect our data and systems. From time to time, we have experienced an unauthorized release of certain digital content assets, however, to date these unauthorized releases have not had a material impact on our service or systems. There is no assurance that hackers may not have a material impact on our service or systems in the future. Our insurance does not cover expenses related to such disruptions, losses or unauthorized access. Efforts to prevent hackers from disrupting our service or otherwise accessing our systems are expensive to implement and may limit the functionality of or otherwise negatively impact our service offering and systems. Any significant disruption to our service or access to our systems could result in a loss of users, liability and adversely affect our business and results of operation.

Operating companies, setting and changing strategies, and identifying, mentoring and recruiting exceptional talent;

Developing and growing companies, both organically and through strategic transactions and acquisitions, and expanding the product range and geographic footprint of a number of target businesses;

Investing in private and public technology companies to accelerate their growth and maturation;

Sourcing, structuring, acquiring, and selling businesses;

Accessing the capital markets; and

Fostering relationships with sellers, capital providers and target management teams.

Business Combination Criteria

OurWe utilize our own communications and computer hardware systems located either in our facilities or in that of a third-party web hosting provider. In addition, we utilize third-party “cloud” computing services in connection with our business combination criteria will not be limitedoperations. We also utilize our own and third-party content delivery networks to a particular industryhelp us stream factual entertainment in high volume to CuriosityStream users over the internet. Problems faced by us or geographic sector, however, givenour third-party Web hosting, “cloud” computing, or other network providers, including technological or business-related disruptions, as well as cybersecurity threats, could adversely impact the experience of our management teamusers, resulting in a loss of users, which could adversely affect our business and board,results of operations.

We rely upon Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) to operate certain aspects of our service and any disruption of or interference with our use of AWS would impact our operations and our business would be adversely affected.

AWS provides a distributed computing infrastructure platform for business operations, or what is commonly referred to as a “cloud” computing service. We have architected our software and computer systems so as to utilize data processing, storage capabilities and other services provided by AWS. Currently, we intendrun the vast majority of our computing on AWS. In addition, Amazon’s retail division competes with us for users, and Amazon could use, or restrict our use of, AWS to focusgain a competitive advantage against us. Because we rely heavily on AWS for computing infrastructure and we cannot easily switch our searchAWS operations to another cloud provider, any disruption of or interference with our use of AWS would impact our operations and our business would be adversely affected.

If the technology we use in operating our business fails, is unavailable, or does not operate to expectations, our business and results of operations could be adversely impacted.

We utilize a combination of proprietary and third-party technology to operate our business. This includes the technology that we have developed to recommend and promote content to our consumers as well as enable fast and efficient delivery of content to our users and their various consumer electronic devices. If our recommendation and promotion capabilities do not enable us to predict and recommend titles that our users will enjoy, our ability to attract and retain users may be adversely affected. We also utilize third-party technology to

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help market our service, process payments and otherwise manage the daily operations of our business. If our technology or that of third parties we utilize in our operations fails or otherwise operates improperly, including as a result of “bugs” in our development and deployment of software, our ability to operate our service, retain existing users and add new users may be impaired. In addition, any harm to our users’ personal computers or other devices caused by software used in our operations could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Interruptions or delays in service arising from our own systems or from our third-party vendors could impair the delivery of our service and harm our business.

We rely on systems housed at our own premises and at those of third-party vendors, including network service providers and data center facilities, to enable viewers to stream our content in a dependable and efficient manner. We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, periodic service interruptions and delays involving our own systems and those of our third-party vendors. We do not currently maintain live fail-over capability that would allow us to instantaneously switch our streaming operations from AWS to another cloud provider in the event of a service outage at AWS. We house the primary, current copy of our library database at our main premises. We update copies of our content on a weekly basis and house these copies offsite. Both our own facilities and those of our third-party vendors are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures and similar events. They also are subject to break-ins, hacking, denial of service attacks, sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism, terrorist acts, natural disasters, human error, the financial insolvency of our third-party vendors and other unanticipated problems or events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in interruptions in our service and the unauthorized access to, or alteration of, the content and data contained on our systems and that these third-party vendors store and deliver on our behalf.

We do not exercise complete control over our third-party vendors, which makes us vulnerable to any errors, interruptions, or delays in their operations. Any disruption in the services provided by these vendors could have a significant adverse impact on our business reputation, customer relations and operating results. Upon expiration or termination of any of our agreements with third party vendors, we may not be able to replace the services provided to us in a timely manner or on terms and conditions, including service levels and cost, that are favorable to us, and a transition from one vendor to another vendor could subject us to operational delays and inefficiencies until the transition is complete.

Some of our services and technologies may use open-source software, companies with an enterprisewhich may restrict how we use or distribute our service or require that we release the source code of certain services subject to those licenses.

Some of our services and technologies may incorporate software licensed under open-source licenses. Such open-source licenses often require that source code subject to the license be made available to the public and that any modifications or derivative works to open-source software continue to be licensed under open-source licenses. Few courts have interpreted open-source licenses, and the manner in which these licenses may be interpreted and enforced is therefore subject to some uncertainty. We rely on multiple employee and non-employee software programmers to design our proprietary technologies, and since we may not be able to exercise complete control over the development efforts of all such programmers we cannot be certain that they have not incorporated open-source software into our products and services without our knowledge, or that they will not do so in the future. In the event that portions of our proprietary technology are determined to be subject to certain open source licenses, we may be required to publicly release the affected portions of our source code, be forced to re-engineer all or a portion of our technologies, or otherwise be limited in the licensing of our technologies, each of which could reduce the value of approximately $300 millionour services and technologies and materially and adversely affect our ability to $750 million.sustain and grow our business.

 

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Changes in how network operators handle and charge for access to data that travel across their networks could adversely impact our business.

We have identifiedrely upon the following general criteriaability of consumers to access our service through the internet. If network operators block, restrict or otherwise impair access to our service over their networks, our service and guidelinesbusiness could be negatively affected. To the extent that network operators implement usage-based pricing, including meaningful bandwidth caps, or otherwise try to monetize access to their networks by data providers, we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophycould incur greater operating expenses and our management’s experience,user acquisition and retention could be negatively impacted. Furthermore, to the extent network operators create tiers of internet access service and either charge us for or prohibit us from having our content available through these tiers, our business could be negatively impacted.

Most network operators that provide consumers with access to the internet also provide these consumers with multichannel video programming. As such, many network operators have an incentive to use their network infrastructure in a manner adverse to our continued growth and success. To the extent that network operators are able to provide preferential treatment to their data as opposed to ours or otherwise implement discriminatory network management practices, our business could be negatively impacted.

We are at risk of attempts at unauthorized access to our service, and failure to effectively prevent and remediate such attempts could have an adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition.

We may be impacted by attempts of third parties to manipulate and exploit our software for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access to our service. If in the future we believefail to successfully detect and address such issues, it may have artificial effects on our key performance indicators, such as advertising reach. It should be noted that since unauthorized access to our service may in the future happen through exploitation of software vulnerabilities, once a new method of doing so is developed by third parties, the level of unauthorized access (and attendant negative financial impact described above, if at all) may increase over time as third parties share the method until we find a way to prevent the unauthorized access, assuming we are importantable to do so at all. Additionally, individuals using unauthorized versions of our application are unlikely to subscribe to our paid CuriosityStream service. Moreover, once we detect and correct such unauthorized access and any key performance indicators it affects, investor confidence in evaluating prospectivethe integrity of our key performance indicators could be undermined. All of the above consequences of unauthorized access to our service could have material and adverse effects on our business, combination opportunities.operating results and financial condition.

Risks Related to Privacy

Privacy concerns could limit our ability to collect and leverage our user data and disclosure of user data could adversely impact our business and reputation.

In the ordinary course of business and in particular in connection with content acquisition and merchandising our service to our users, we collect and utilize data supplied by or obtained from our users. We use these criteriaare subject to laws, rules and guidelines to evaluate business combination opportunities, but we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet one or more of these criteriaregulations in the United States and guidelines.

Large and growing market. We focus on investments in industry segments that we believe demonstrate attractive long-term growth prospects and reasonable overall size or potential;

Attractive, inherently profitable business with high operating leverage. We seek to invest in companies that we believe possess not only established business models and sustainable competitive advantages, but also inherently profitable unit economics;

Strong management teams. We spend significant time assessing a company’s leadership and personnel and evaluating what we can do to augment and/or upgrade the team over time if needed;

Opportunity for operational improvements.We seek to identify businesses that we believe are stable but at an inflection point and would benefit from our ability to drive improvements in the company’s processes, go-to-market strategy, product or service offering, sales and marketing efforts, geographical presence and/or leadership team;


Differentiated products or services.We evaluate metrics such as recurring revenues, product life cycle, cohort consistency, pricing per product or customer, cross-sell success and churn rates to focus on businesses whose products or services are differentiated or where we see an opportunity to create value by implementing best practices;

Compelling growth prospects. We view growth as an important driver of value and will seek companies whose growth potential can generate meaningful upside;

Limited technology risk. We seek to invest in companies that have established market-tested product or service offerings;

Appropriate valuations.We seek to be a disciplined and valuation-centric investor that will invest on terms that we believe provide significant upside potential with limited downside risk; and

Benefit from Being a Public Company.We intend to pursue a business combination with a company that we believe will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluationin other jurisdictions relating to the meritsprivacy and security of a particular initial business combination may be based,personal information, including, but not limited to, the extent relevant,EU’s General Data Protection Regulation or the “GDPR,” the United Kingdom’s GDPR, the U.S. Video Privacy Protection Act (“VPPA”), the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) (as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”)) and other state laws designed primarily to protect consumer’s personal data as collected online. Credit card networks may also require us to employ certain security and privacy controls, and failure to comply with these obligations may lead to significant liabilities. The GDPR imposes strict requirements for processing personal data of individuals within the European Economic Area (“EEA”). Companies that must comply with the GDPR face increased compliance obligations and risk, including more robust regulatory enforcement of data protection requirements and potential fines for noncompliance. In addition, the transfer of personal data from the EU and the UK to countries such as the Untied States, which have not been granted “adequacy” status for EU or UK GDPR purposes, are currently impermissible absent contractual arrangements between the data transferring entity in the EU/UK and the data recipient in the United States. This complicates our operations and makes them more expensive to implement.

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Within the United States, several of our competitors have been sued under the VPPA, a statute that was enacted in 1988 to prohibit video rental stores from disclosing customers’ video rental records without the customers’ consent. We cannot predict the courts’ views of the theories asserted in the cases brought against streaming services under the VPPA, and thus we cannot predict the likely outcome of the claims against the streaming services who are defendants in these cases. The plaintiffs in these cases are seeking damages on these general guidelinesa class-wide basis, understanding the VPPA provides for statutory damages of up to $2,500 per violation, as well as other considerations, factorspotential relief.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) has in recent years increased its focus on data privacy and criteriasecurity and used its broad authority under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to sue companies for allegedly unfair and/or deceptive practices involving personally identifiable data. This includes recent actions claiming that the sharing of website and mobile application users’ IP addresses or browsing history constitutes an unfair and deceptive practices where express consent from the users for the sharing was not obtained. The FTC has imposed consent orders on defendants in such cases that include prohibitions on sharing any personal information with third parties for advertising purposes, and as part of one recent consent order, obtained a fine from the defendant for $7.8 million.

With respect to state law in the United States, the CCPA’s amendment by the CPRA has resulted in significant new compliance obligations for companies that collect personal information about California residents. The CCPA provides for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action with statutory damages for certain data breaches, which may increase the frequency and likelihood of data breach litigation. The statute is now enforceable by a new California data protection agency, the California Privacy Protection Agency, which is charged with, and has, issued detailed implementing regulations and used its enforcement authority aggressively. The Agency’s latest set of regulations are detailed and complex, and create significant administrative and operational burdens for our management teamCompany.

The global data protection landscape is rapidly evolving, and we are or may deem relevant.become subject to numerous state, federal and foreign laws, requirements and regulations governing the collection, use, disclosure, retention, and security of personal data. Implementation standards and enforcement practices are likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, and we cannot yet determine the impact future laws, regulations, standards, or perception of their requirements may have on our business. This evolution may create uncertainty in our business, affect our ability to operate in certain jurisdictions or to collect, store, transfer, use and share personal information, necessitate the acceptance of more onerous obligations in our contracts, result in liability or impose additional costs on us. The cost of compliance with these laws, regulations and standards is high and is likely to increase in the future. Any actual or perceived failure to comply with data privacy laws or regulations, or related contractual or other obligations, or any perceived privacy rights violation, could lead to investigations, claims, and proceedings by governmental entities and private parties, damages for contract breach, and other significant costs, penalties, and other liabilities, as well as harm to our reputation and market position.

Other businesses have been criticized by privacy groups and governmental bodies for attempts to link personal identities and other information to data collected on the internet regarding users’ browsing and other habits. Increased regulation of data utilization practices, including new and evolving laws globally, self-regulation, or findings under existing laws that limit our ability to collect, transfer and use information and other data, could have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, if we were to disclose information and other data about our users in a manner that was objectionable to them, our business reputation could be adversely affected, and we could face potential legal claims, reputational loss, or enforcement actions that could impact our operating results. Internationally, we may become subject to additional and/or more stringent legal obligations concerning our treatment of customer and other personal information, and data generally, such as laws regarding data localization and/or restrictions on data export. Failure to comply with these obligations could subject us to liability, and to the eventextent that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compellingneed to us than the characteristics described above,alter our business model or practices to adapt to these obligations, we would pursue such opportunity.could incur additional expenses.

 

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Our Acquisition, Investmentreputation and Post-Closing Processrelationships with users would be harmed if our user data, particularly billing data, were to be accessed by unauthorized persons.

In evaluating prospective business combinations,We maintain personal data regarding our users, including names and email addresses. This data is maintained on our own systems as well as that of third parties we conduct a thorough due diligence review process that will encompass, amonguse in our operations. With respect to billing data, such as credit card numbers, we and our subscribers rely on third parties to collect and secure such information. We take measures to protect against unauthorized intrusion into our users’ data. Despite these measures we, our payment processing services or other things:third-party services we use such as AWS, Stripe or PayPal, could experience an analysis of overall industry and competitive conditions, a review of historical financial and operating data, meetings with incumbent management and employees, interaction with third-parties who are industry experts, on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal and other reviews as we deem appropriate.unauthorized intrusion into our users’ data. We also utilizemay be required to notify regulators about any actual or perceived data breach (including the expertise of our management team and our sponsor’s and its affiliates’ resources in analyzing and evaluating operating plans, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target businessEU Lead Data Protection Authority) as well as the suitabilityindividuals who are affected by the incident within strict time periods. In the event of such a breach, current and potential users may become unwilling to provide the targetinformation to us necessary for them to become users. Additionally, we could face legal claims or regulatory fines or penalties for such a public company.breach. The costs relating to any data breach could be material, even though we currently carry insurance against the risk of a data breach. We also maintain employment and personal information concerning our employees. Should an unauthorized intrusion into our users’ or employees’ data occur, our business could be adversely affected and our broader reputation with respect to data protection could be negatively impacted.

Risks Related to International Operations

We could be subject to economic, political, regulatory and other risks arising from our international operations.

Operating in international markets requires significant resources and management attention and will subject us to regulatory, economic and political risks that may be different from or incremental to those in the United States. In addition to the risks that we face in the United States, our international operations involve risks that could adversely affect our business, including:

 

new and different sources of competition;

different and more stringent user protection, data protection, privacy and other laws, including data localization requirements;

adverse tax consequences such as those related to changes in tax laws or tax rates or their interpretations, and the related application of judgment in determining our global provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets or liabilities or other tax liabilities given the ultimate tax determination is uncertain;

different or more onerous or costly rights society collection royalties and charges;

the need to adapt our content and user interfaces for specific cultural and language differences, including in-licensing a certain portion of our content assets before we have developed a full appreciation for its performance within a given territory;

difficulties in complying with territorial licenses;

difficulties and costs associated with staffing and managing foreign operations;

management distraction;

political or social unrest, global hostilities and economic instability, including the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces and the economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations on Russia, Belarus and certain Russian organizations and individuals;

compliance with U.S. laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, export controls and economic sanctions, and local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to government officials;

difficulties in understanding and complying with local laws, regulations and customs in foreign jurisdictions;

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regulatory requirements or government action against our service, whether in response to enforcement of actual or purported legal and regulatory requirements or otherwise, that results in disruption or non-availability of our service or particular content in the applicable jurisdiction;

foreign intellectual property laws, such as the EU copyright directive, or changes to such laws, which may be less favorable than U.S. law and, among other issues, may impact the economics of creating or distributing content, anti-piracy efforts, or our ability to protect or exploit intellectual property rights;

fluctuations in currency exchange rates, which have and may continue to impact revenues and expenses of our international operations and expose us to foreign currency exchange rate risk, which we do not currently hedge against but may do so in the future;

profit repatriation and other restrictions on the transfer of funds;

differing payment processing systems as well as consumer use and acceptance of electronic payment methods, such as payment cards;

censorship requirements that cause us to remove or edit content or make other accommodations that lead to consumer disappointment or dissatisfaction with our service;

low usage and/or penetration of internet-connected consumer electronic devices;

availability of reliable broadband connectivity and wide area networks in targeted areas for expansion;

integration and operational challenges as well as potential unknown liabilities in connection with companies we may acquire or control;

differing, and often more lenient, laws and consumer understanding/attitudes regarding the illegality of piracy;

negative impacts from trade disputes; and

implementation of regulations designed to stimulate the local production of film and TV series in order to promote and preserve local culture and economic activity, including local content quotas, investment obligations, and levies to support local film funds. For example, the EU recently revised its Audio Visual Media Services Directive to require that European works comprise at least thirty (30) percent of media service providers’ catalogs, and to require prominence of those works.

These and other factors may cause us to adjust our business plans, including expanding or ceasing certain operations in certain countries, and the execution of our strategies. Our failure to manage any of these risks successfully could harm our international operations and could have an adverse effect on our overall business and results of operations.

We are potentially subject to taxation related risks in multiple jurisdictions, and changes in U.S. and non-U.S. tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, results of operations or financial condition.

We are not prohibited from pursuinga U.S.-based company potentially subject to tax in multiple U.S. and non-U.S. tax jurisdictions. Significant judgment will be required in determining our global provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets or liabilities and in evaluating our tax positions on a worldwide basis. While we believe our tax positions are consistent with the tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we conduct our business, it is possible that these positions may be overturned by jurisdictional tax authorities, which may have a significant impact on our global provision for income taxes.

Tax laws are dynamic and subject to change as new laws are passed and new interpretations of the law are issued or applied. Proposals to reform U.S. tax laws could significantly impact how U.S. companies are taxed and may increase our U.S. corporate effective tax rate. Although we cannot predict whether or in what form any

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such proposals will pass, certain proposals under consideration, if enacted into law, could have an initialadverse impact on our effective tax rate, income tax expense, and cash flows. In addition, governmental tax authorities are increasingly scrutinizing the tax positions of companies. Many countries in the EU, as well as a number of other countries and organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, are actively considering changes to existing tax laws that, if enacted, could increase our tax obligations in countries where we do business. If U.S. or non-U.S. tax authorities change applicable tax laws, our overall taxes could increase, and our business, combinationfinancial condition or results of operations may be adversely impacted.

In particular, taxing authorities in many jurisdictions have targeted online platforms as a means to collect indirect taxes in connection with transactions taking place over the Internet. An increasing number of jurisdictions are considering or have adopted new tax measures, such as digital services taxes or online sales taxes, targeting online commerce. Such taxes generally are imposed on digital transactions executed by a non-resident entity with a local end-user or local end-consumer. If enacted and applicable, such taxes may increase our worldwide effective tax rate, create tax and compliance obligations in jurisdictions in which we previously had none and adversely affect our financial position. Proliferation of these or similar unilateral tax measures may continue unless broader international tax reform is implemented.

Risks Related to Human Resources

We may lose key employees or may be unable to hire qualified employees, and the failure to maintain and improve our company thatculture may adversely affect our business.

We rely on the continued service of our senior management and other key individuals, our Chairman and the founder of our predecessor CuriosityStream LLC, John Hendricks and our President and Chief Executive Officer, Clint Stinchcomb, members of our executive team and other key employees and the hiring of new qualified employees. In our industry, there is affiliated withsubstantial and continuous competition for highly skilled business, product development, technical and other personnel. We may not be successful in recruiting new personnel and in retaining and motivating existing personnel, which may be disruptive to our sponsor, officers, directors or OpenGate (including any investment vehicle advised by OpenGate or its affiliates), subjectoperations. Our effort to certain approvalsretain and consents.develop personnel may also result in significant additional expenses, which could affect our profitability. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or OpenGate (including any investment vehicle advised by OpenGate or its affiliates), we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders fairness opinions that our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.

Our Business Combination Process

Members ofaddition, there may be changes in our management team directly or indirectly ownthat may be disruptive to our founders shares, and/or private placement warrants, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, eachbusiness. In 2022, we experienced the turnover of our officersChief Financial Officer and directors may have a conflict of interest with respectChief Strategy Officer. If our management team, including any new hires we make, fails to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. 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,work together effectively and to the extent the director or officer is permittedexecute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. If we experience high executive turnover, fail to refer that opportunityadapt our business practices to us without violating another legal obligation.

Our officers have agreed notindustry expectations, fail to become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which has publicly filed a registration statementimplement succession plans for key employees, encounter difficulties associated with the SEC, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021.


Our Management Team

Memberstransition of members of our management team, are not obligatedsuccessful in recruiting new personnel or in retaining and motivating existing personnel, in instilling our culture in new employees, or maintaining and improving our culture as we grow, our operations may be disrupted, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Risks Related to devote any specificOwnership of Our Common Stock

Our stock price may change significantly and you could lose all or part of your investment as a result.

The trading price of our Common Stock is likely to be volatile. The stock market recently has experienced extreme volatility. This volatility often has been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. You may not be able to resell your shares at an attractive price due to a number of hoursfactors such as those listed in “Risks Relating to the Company’s Business” and the following:

results of operations that vary from the expectations of securities analysts and investors;

results of operations that vary from those of our competitors;

changes in expectations as to our matters but they devote as muchfuture financial performance, including financial estimates and investment recommendations by securities analysts and investors;

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declines in the market prices of their time as they deem necessarystocks generally;

strategic actions by us or our competitors;

announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, joint ventures, other strategic relationships or capital commitments;

any significant change in our management;

changes in general economic or market conditions or trends in our industry or markets;

changes in business or regulatory conditions, including new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our affairs untilbusiness;

future sales of our Common Stock or other securities;

investor perceptions or the investment opportunity associated with our Common Stock relative to other investment alternatives;

the public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by us or third parties, including our filings with the SEC;

litigation involving us, our industry, or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors;

guidance, if any, that we provide to the public, any changes in this guidance or our failure to meet this guidance;

the development and sustainability of an active trading market for our Common Stock;

actions by institutional or activist stockholders;

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles; and

other events or factors, including those resulting from natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or responses to these events.

These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our Common Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, price volatility may be greater if the public float and trading volume of our Common Stock is low. Declines in the market price of our Common Stock or failure of the market price to increase could also harm our ability to retain key employees, reduce our access to capital, incur impairment charges and otherwise harm our business. During the year ended December 31, 2022, there was a decline in the Company’s market capitalization, based upon the Company’s publicly quoted share price, below the Company’s carrying or book value. As a result of the sustained decline in our share price, we were required to perform impairment testing of our content assets, goodwill, definite-lived intangible assets, and other long-lived assets, which resulted in impairment charges being recorded in the period related to our goodwill and certain definite-lived intangible asset balances, which is discussed in further detail under Note 2 in the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements.

In the past, following periods of market volatility, stockholders have completedinstituted securities class action litigation. If we were involved in securities litigation, it could have a substantial cost and divert resources and the attention of executive management from our initial business combination.regardless of the outcome of such litigation.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they downgrade our stock or our sector, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our Common Stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. In addition, some financial analysts may have limited expertise with our model and operations. Furthermore, if one or more of the analysts

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who do cover us downgrade our stock or industry, or the stock of any of our competitors, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on our Common Stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on your investment in our Common Stock unless you sell your shares of our Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment (for any debt we may incur in the future) and there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on shares of our Common Stock for the foreseeable future. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends on shares of our Common Stock will be at the sole discretion of our Board. Our Board may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax, and regulatory restrictions, implications on the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us and such other factors as our Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any future indebtedness we incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our Common Stock unless you sell your shares of our Common Stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by us or our stockholders in the public market could cause the market price for our Common Stock to decline.

The mass sale of shares of our Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our Common Stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that it deems appropriate.

In particular, the shares of our Common Stock reserved for future issuance under our Omnibus Incentive Plan will become eligible for sale in the public market once those shares are issued, subject to provisions relating to various vesting agreements, lock-up agreements (if any) and, in some cases, limitations on volume and manner of sale applicable to affiliates under Rule 144, as applicable, and the general availability of Rule 144 to such affiliates. A total of 7,725,000 shares of our Common Stock were reserved for issuance under our Omnibus Incentive Plan at inception. In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of time that any membershares of our management team devotes in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in many industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure 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 extentCommon Stock issued in connection with an initialinvestment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of Common Stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.

Certain of our stockholders may engage in business combinationactivities that compete with us or otherwise conflict with our interests.

Certain of our stockholders are in the business of making investments in companies and may from time to time acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. Our Charter provides that none of the stockholder parties, any of their respective affiliates or any director who is not employed by us (including any non-employee director who serves as one of our officers in both his director and officer capacities) or his or her affiliates will have any duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same business activities or similar business activities or lines of business in which we operate. The stockholder parties also may pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.

 

Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas35


We are an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s 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“emerging growth company,” and the abilityreduced disclosure requirements applicable to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.

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

investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such,Act, and may remain an emerging growth company for up to five years following our initial public offering. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are eligiblepermitted and plan to take advantage of certainrely on exemptions from various reportingcertain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emergingemerging growth companies” including, but not limited to,companies. These exemptions include not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firmauditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404, not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation, in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-bindingnonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, the information we provide to stockholders will be different than the information that is available with respect to other public companies. For example, in the proxy statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting, we will not include all of the executive compensation related information that would be required if we were not an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our Common Stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securitiesCommon Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securitiesCommon Stock, and the prices of our securitiesstock price 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,the IPO, or (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07$1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, 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.

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Financial Position

With funds available for an initial business combination in the amount of $144,487,410 as of December 31, 2019, after payment of up to $5,232,500 of deferred underwriting fees, in each case before feesperiod and expenses associated with our initial business combination, 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 warrants, 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), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

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

We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.

Sources of Target Businesses

Target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our public filings and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, 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 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. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, 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 $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.


We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly 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.

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

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

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

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. 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, or the “Investment Company Act”. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% 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.

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

The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.


Lack of Business Diversification

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

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

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 intend to 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 assetsNo
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the companyNo
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the companyNo
Merger of the company with a targetYes

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

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;

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

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

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Permitted Purchases of our Securities

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

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

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

Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and

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

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 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 as of December 31, 2019 was approximately $10.01 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 the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

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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. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.

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

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

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 be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

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

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

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.

If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 5,606,251, or 37.5%, of the 14,950,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and our sponsor, officers and directors do not purchase any public shares) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

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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 20% 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 20% 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 20% 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 Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) 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(3) 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 $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

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 May 22, 2021.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only until May 22, 2021 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021, 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 within such time period.


Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021. However, our sponsor, officers or directors 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 May 22, 2021.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

We expect to use the amounts held outside the trust account ($1,093,408 as of December 31, 2019) to pay for all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, if we do not complete an initial business combination prior to May 22, 2021, 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 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 warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. 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 $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

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

In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter 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) $10.00 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 $10.00 per public share.

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, 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 underwriter of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to use the amounts held outside the trust account ($1,093,408 as of December 31, 2019) to pay any such potential claims. 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 May 22, 2021 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 May 22, 2021, 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 May 22, 2021, 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 our 18th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.

Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 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 underwriter of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.


If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 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 to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021 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 May 22, 2021, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may 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.

Employees

We currently have 2 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 whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and 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 financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 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 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 $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer which meansunder the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million asrules of the prior June 30th, 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 carefully consider all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this report, including the financial statements, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

We are an early stage company with limited operating history and no revenues, and you have little basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are an early stage company with limited operating results, and no revenues. Because we lack any significant operating history, you have very little 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 our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

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.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as 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. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 5,606,251, or 37.5%, of the 14,950,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and our sponsor, officers and directors do not purchase any public shares) in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% 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.

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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.

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 not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, 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. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock results in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our business combination. 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 underwriter 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 May 22, 2021. 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.

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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 $10.01 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019) and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021. 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), 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 $10.01 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.

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.

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, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. 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.

SEC.

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,JOBS Act provides 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.

15

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 completionan emerging growth company can take advantage of an initial business combination, and then only in connectionextended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properlystandards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemptionavail ourselves 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 substancethis exemption from new or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021 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 May 22, 2021, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. 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.revised accounting standards.

NasdaqNASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our units, Class A common stockCommon Stock and warrantsWarrants are listed on Nasdaq.NASDAQ. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NasdaqNASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination.future. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination,NASDAQ, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and$2,500,000 for companies trading on NASDAQ), a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per and a $1.00 minimum share our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

price.

If NasdaqNASDAQ delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

 

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

 

reduced liquidity for our securities;

reduced liquidity for our securities;

 

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;

a determination that our Common Stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our 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;

 

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

 

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

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

 

36


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.” Since our units, Class A common stockCommon Stock and warrantsWarrants are listed on Nasdaq,NASDAQ, they are covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of ourcovered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. WhileIf we are not aware of a state having used these powerswere 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. Further, if we werebe no longer listed on Nasdaq,NASDAQ, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.securities.

16

Our shareholders are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants 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 at the time of our initial public offering, 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 securities are immediately tradable. Moreover, 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.

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 20% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 20% 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 20% of the shares sold in our 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 initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in openAn active, liquid trading 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 20% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

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 $10.01 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), 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 will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, 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 only receive $10.01 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.

If funds available to us outside of 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, 2019, we had $1,093,408 held outside the trust account that is available to us 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. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.01 per share, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.


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 $10.00 per share.

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we have sought and will continue to seek to have all vendors, service providers, 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 theyCommon Stock 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. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriter of the 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 $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, 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) $10.00 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 $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter 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, 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 independent 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) $10.00 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 $10.00 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 $10.00 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 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.

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, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.

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.

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,sustained, which may make it difficult for usyou to complete our initial business combination.

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

restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

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:

registration as an investment company;

adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

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 will be 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.

Common Stock you purchased.

We do not believecannot predict the extent to which investor interest in us will sustain a trading market or how active and liquid 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 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 in 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 trusteewould remain. If an active and liquid trading market 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 initial public offering was 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 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 redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021, 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 May 22, 2021, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. 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 $10.01 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be 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.

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 May 22, 2021, we 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 the 18th month from the closing of our initial public offering 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 do not intend to comply 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 May 22, 2021 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.

20

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.

In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq (or until December 31, 2020). Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, 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.

We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not 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. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.

We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus 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 shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are 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 from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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, 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 of 1933, as amended, or 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. We will use our best 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 there is no exemption 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 will 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 shares of 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 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 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 in our initial public offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.


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, 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. 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.

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 the agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise 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.

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. 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 units 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.

Past performance by our management team and its affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.

Past performance by our management team and its 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. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their 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 their affiliates have been involved in businesses and transactions that were not successful. Our officers and directors have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.


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

Although we intend to focus on identifying companies in sectors where we have experience, we will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in this sector after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. 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 investors 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.

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 $10.01 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.

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,sustained, 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.

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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. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 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. As of December 31, 2019 there were 72,835,000 and 6,262,500 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible intodifficulty selling any shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. Shares of Class B common stock are also convertible at the option of the holder at any time.

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 (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provideCommon Stock that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, 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 on any initial business combination. 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 redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021 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:

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our initial public offering;

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

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

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

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 $10.01 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 requires substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. The cost incurred up to the point that we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination 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 $10.01 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, based on the balance of our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.

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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.

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 could have a detrimental effect on us.

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 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 or not 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.

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.

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 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 do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for 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. 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.

Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Until we consummate our initial business combination, we are engaged in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and 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, although our officers may not become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which has publicly filed a registration statement with the SEC, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021, or such later period as may be approved by our stockholders.

Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.

Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. 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, 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 or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

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 or directors. 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.

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, business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

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Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

As of the date of this report, our initial shareholders own an aggregate of 3,737,500 founder shares. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,740,000 private placement warrantspurchase at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($4,740,000 inabove the aggregate) 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 sponsorprice you purchased it 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.

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.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, 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:

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

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;

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

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;

our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;

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;

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

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

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

other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants 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.

As of December 31, 2019, $144,487,410 was available for completing our initial business combination (which includes $5,232,500 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).


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:

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

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.

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.

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, except that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriter’s fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. 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 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.


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 securities offered through this registration statement, 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.

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 completionfailure of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.

Our amendedactive and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions relatedliquid trading market to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants 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 20% 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 redeem 100% of our public shares on a business combination if we do not complete our initial business combination by May 22, 2021, 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 stockholderscontinue would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

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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.

If the target businesses of an initial business combination is larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants 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 $10.01 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 couldlikely have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. Nonevalue of our officers, directorsCommon Stock. An inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or stockholders is required totechnologies by using our shares as consideration.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents could delay or prevent a change of control.

Certain provisions of our Charter and Bylaws may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, defer or prevent a merger, acquisition, tender offer, takeover attempt or other change of control transaction that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares held by our stockholders.

These provisions 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 $10.01 per share based on our trust account (as of December 31, 2019), and our warrants will expire worthless.for, among other things:

 

Our initial stockholders may 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 20%the ability of our issuedBoard to issue one or more series of preferred stock;

advance notice for nominations of directors by stockholders and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendmentsfor stockholders 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 wouldinclude matters to be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration ofat our annual meetings;

certain limitations on convening special stockholder meetings;

limiting 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 meetingability of stockholders to elect new directors prioract by written consent;

providing that our Board is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our Bylaws;

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” boardremoval of directors only a minorityfor cause and only upon the affirmative vote 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.

Our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common stock if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.

The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this report and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares shall convert into Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of the initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us. Additionally, the aforementioned adjustment will not take into account any shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with the business combination. Accordingly, the holders of the founder shares could receive additional shares of Class A common stock even if the additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued solely to replace those shares that were redeemed in connection with the business combination. The foregoing may make it more difficult and expensive for us to consummate an initial business combination.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. 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 exerciseCommon Stock entitled to vote generally in the election of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.directors; and

 

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 warrantscertain provisions may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approvalonly by the holdersaffirmative vote of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, 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.

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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 adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period 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 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 in our initial public offering. 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 so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Our warrants and founder shares 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 sold warrants to purchase 7,475,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units sold in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we sold in a private placement, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 4,740,000 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 3,737,500 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth 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 and conversion rights 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 value66.7% of the shares of Class A common stock issuedCommon Stock entitled to completevote generally in the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the costelection of acquiring the target business.directors.

The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these 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.

A provision of our warrant agreement mayThese anti-takeover provisions could make it more difficult for usea third-party to consummate an initial business combination.

Unlike some other blank check companies,acquire us, even 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 willthird-party’s offer may 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.

A market for our securities may not fully develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and priceconsidered beneficial by many of our securities.

The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.

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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 in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be 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 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.

We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are 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.stockholders. As a result, our stockholders may be limited in their ability to obtain a premium for their shares. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

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Our Charter designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.

Our Charter provides that, subject to limited exceptions, any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, stockholder or employee to us or our stockholders, (3) action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our Charter or Bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court does not have accesssubject matter jurisdiction thereof, another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware. Our Charter provides that the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive forum provision shall not apply to claims seeking to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of our Charter described above. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our Charter inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, 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 adversely affect our business and financial condition.

General Risk Factors

Our Private Placement Warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our Private Placement Warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.

On April 12, 2021, the SEC Staff issued a statement, expressing its view that certain information theyterms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may deem important. Werequire the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the balance sheet as opposed to equity (“the SEC Staff Statement”). As a result, we amended the accounting treatment of our Private Placement Warrants and included the derivative liabilities related to the embedded features contained within our Private Placement Warrants on our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the consolidated statements of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we recognize the non-cash gains or losses on our Private Placement Warrants each reporting period, and the amount of such gains or losses could be an emerging growth company for upmaterial.

From time to five years, although circumstancestime, we may be engaged in legal proceedings that could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market valueincur unforeseen expenses and could occupy a significant amount of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 millionmanagement’s time and attention.

From time to time, we may be subject to litigation or claims that could negatively affect our business operations and financial position. As we have grown, we have seen a rise in the number of litigation matters brought against us. These matters have included or could in the future include patent infringements, copyright infringement and other claims related to our content, use of music, employment claims, claims about our platform’s compliance with disability accommodation, data collection and privacy law, as well as consumer and securities class actions, each of which are typically expensive to defend. Litigation disputes could cause us to incur unforeseen expenses, result in content unavailability, service disruptions and otherwise occupy a significant amount of our management’s time and attention, any June 30 before that time, inof which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. could negatively affect our business operations and financial position.

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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 attractiveincur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, NASDAQ’s listing requirements and other applicable securities laws and regulations, and, as a result, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur prior to becoming a public company. These expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect these rules and regulations to continue to increase our reliance on these exemptions, the trading priceslegal and financial compliance costs and to make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly. The demands associated with being a public company may disrupt regular operations of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities andbusiness by diverting the trading pricesattention of some of our securities maysenior management team away from revenue producing activities to management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting our ability to attract and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty in both retaining professionals and managing and growing our businesses. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being requiredsubject 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 an 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 comparisondelisting of our Common Stock, fines, sanctions and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation. Any of these effects could harm our business, financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted outcondition, and results of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.operations.

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

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.

resources.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2020. 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, forcontrols. 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 thatHowever, in the event we are deemed to be an accelerated filer or a blank checklarge accelerated filer or otherwise no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, makes compliancewe will be required to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensomeindependent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement 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.control over financial reporting. The developmentmaintenance of the internal control of any such entitysystem to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the timeimpose obligations on us and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

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Provisionsrequire substantial additional financial and management resources. Further, material weaknesses in our amendeddisclosure controls and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to payinternal control over financial reporting have been discovered 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 difficultpast and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

be discovered in the future.

We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactionscannot assure you that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware 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, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware 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 (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in 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), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. We cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision containedadditional material weaknesses in our amended and restated certificateinternal control over financial reporting now or in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition, results of incorporationoperations or cash flows. If we are unable to be inapplicableconclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or unenforceable in an action,if our independent registered public accounting firm determines that we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. 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. Ashave a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

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 breachesmaterial weakness in our systems or infrastructure, orinternal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriationaccuracy and completeness of our assets, proprietary informationfinancial reports, the market price of our securities could decline, 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.

33

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 operationssanctions or opportunities outside ofinvestigations by NASDAQ, 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:

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

rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

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

tariffs and trade barriers;

regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

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

currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

rates of inflation;

cultural and language differences;

employment regulations;

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

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

deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

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.

Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread throughout China and other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. A significant outbreak of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that 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.  Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. 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 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-19SEC or other mattersregulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of global concern continue for an extensive period of time,public companies, could also restrict our abilityfuture access 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.capital markets.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our principal operational offices are located in Silver Spring, Maryland, where we lease approximately 15,500 square feet of office space, under a lease expiring in February 2033, pursuant to which we currently pay approximately $45,000 per month escalating annually to $57,000 per month through the end of the lease term. We believe that this facility is adequate to meet our current and near-term needs.

 

None.39


Our computing needs are primarily serviced from our cloud infrastructure provided by Amazon Web Services. We retain backup copies of our content on our own data center infrastructure. The backup sites enable additional fault tolerance and will support our continued growth.

Item 2. Properties.

We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our principal executive offices at 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Ste. 300, Las Vegas, Nevada 89135. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per-month aggregate fee our sponsor charges us for general and administrative services. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.Proceedings

ToFrom time to time, we may become involved in legal proceedings arising in the knowledgeordinary course of our management, there is no litigation currently pending againstbusiness. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, if determined adversely to us, anywe believe would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our business, results of our officersoperations, financial condition or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Disclosures

Not applicable.

 

40


34

Part II

PART II

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

Market Information

Our units, Class A common stockCommon Stock and warrantsWarrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital MarketNASDAQ under the symbols “SAQNU,” “SAQN”“CURI” and “SAQNW,“CURIW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on November 20, 2019,our Common Stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and our Class A common stock and warrants commenced separate public trading on January 6, 2020.

Holders

On March 20, 2020, there was one holder of recorddevelopment of our units, one holderbusiness. We do not expect to pay any cash dividends on our Common Stock in the foreseeable future. Payment of recordfuture dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our Class A common stock andtwoBoard and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, restrictions contained in current or future financing instruments, provisions of applicable law, and other factors our Board deems relevant.

Holders

As of March 29, 2023, there were approximately 134 holders of record of our warrants.Common Stock, and 9 holders of record of our Warrants. The actual number of holders of our Common Stock is greater than this number of record holders and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners but whose shares of our Common Stock are held in street name by banks, brokers and other nominees.

Securities Authorized for Issuance UnderRecent Sales of Unregistered Equity Compensation Plans

Securities

None.

 

Recent SalesUse of Unregistered SecuritiesProceeds

Not Applicable.

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None.

Item 6. Selected[Reserved]

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

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

35

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

AllThe following discussion and analysis provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our results of operations and financial condition. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements other than statements of historical factand notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including without limitation, statements underthe risks faced by us described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regardingto “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the Company” are intended to mean the Company’s financial position, business strategy and operations of CuriosityStream Inc.

41


Overview

Created by John Hendricks, founder of the plansDiscovery Channel and objectivesformer Chairman of managementDiscovery Communications, CuriosityStream is a media and entertainment company that offers premium video and audio programming across the principal categories of factual entertainment, including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle and technology. Our mission is to provide premium factual entertainment that informs, enchants and inspires. We are seeking to meet demand for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Form 10-K, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management,high-quality factual entertainment via SVOD platforms, as well as assumptions made by,via bundled content licenses for SVOD and information currently availablelinear offerings, content licensing, brand sponsorship and advertising, talks and courses and partner bulk sales.

We operate our business as a single operating segment that provides premium streaming content through multiple channels, including the use of various applications, partnerships and affiliate relationships. We generate our revenue through six products and services: Direct to Consumer Business, Partner Direct Business, Bundled Distribution, Content Licensing, Enterprise Subscriptions and Other. The table below shows our revenue generated through each of the foregoing products and services for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021:

   Year Ended December 31, 
   2022   2021 

Direct to Consumer (Subscriptions—O&O and App Services)

  $29,489    38  $23,519    33

Partner Direct (License Fees—Affiliates)

   4,631    6   4,240    6

Bundled Distribution (License Fees—Affiliates)

   11,726    14   14,332    20

Content Licensing

   24,691    32   24,758    35

Enterprise (Subscriptions—O&O Service)

   5,520    7   1,302    2

Other

   1,986    3   3,110    4
  

 

 

     

 

 

   

Total Revenues

  $78,043     $71,261   
  

 

 

     

 

 

   

CuriosityStream’s award-winning content library features more than 15,000 programs that explore topics ranging from space engineering to ancient history to the rise of Wall Street. Our extensive catalog of originally produced and owned content includes more than 9,500 short-, mid- and long-form video and audio titles, including One Day University and Learn25 recorded lectures that are led by some of the most acclaimed college and university professors in the world. Our library also features a rotating catalog of more than 5,500 internationally licensed videos and audio programs. Every month, we launch dozens of new video titles, which are available on-demand in high- or ultra-high definition. Through new and long-standing international partnerships, we have localized a large portion of our video library in ten different languages.

Our video content is available directly through our O&O Service and App Services. Our App Services enable access to CuriosityStream on almost every major consumer device, including streaming media players like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, major smart TV brands (e.g., LG, Vizio, Samsung, Sony) and gaming consoles like Xbox. Our Direct Service is available in more than 175 countries to any household with a broadband connection. Our existing subscribers currently pay $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year for our standard Direct Service. All new subscribers to our standard Direct Service on and after March 27, 2023, will start to be charged $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year. We also provide a Smart Bundle service for $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year. Our Smart Bundle membership includes everything in our standard service, plus subscriptions to third-party platforms Tastemade, Topic, SommTV, DaVinci Kids, our equity investee Nebula, and our One Day University stand-alone service.

The MVPD, vMVPD and digital distributor partners making up our Partner Direct Business pay us a license fee for sales to individuals who subscribe to CuriosityStream via the partners’ respective platforms. We have affiliate agreement relationships with, and our service is available directly from, major MVPDs that include Comcast, Cox, Dish and vMVPDs and digital distributors that include Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple Channel, Roku Channel, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

42


In addition to our Direct to Consumer and Partner Direct businesses, we have affiliate relationships with our Bundled MVPD Partners and vMVPDs, which are broadband and wireless companies in the U.S. and international territories to whom we can offer a broad scope of rights, including 24/7 “linear” channels, our on-demand content library, mobile rights and pricing and packaging flexibility, in exchange for an annual fixed fee or fee per subscriber.

In our Content Licensing business, we license to certain media companies a collection of our existing titles in a traditional content licensing deal. We also sell selected rights (such as in territories or on platforms that are lower priority for us) to content we create before we even begin production. This latter model reduces risk in our content development decisions and creates content licensing revenue.

Our Enterprise business is comprised primarily of selling subscriptions in bulk to companies and organizations that in turn offer these subscriptions to their employees and members as an employment benefit or “gift of curiosity.” As of the date of the filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, 25 companies have purchased annual subscriptions at volume discounts.

Our Other business is primarily comprised of advertising and sponsorship revenue. We offer companies the opportunity to be associated with CuriosityStream content in a variety of forms, including short- and long-form program integration, branded social media promotional videos, advertising spots in our video and audio programs that are made available on our linear programming channels or in front of the paywall, and digital display ads.

In the future, we hope to continue developing integrated digital brand partnerships with advertisers. These sponsorship campaigns offer companies the chance to be associated with CuriosityStream content in the forms described above. We believe the impressions accumulated in these multi-faceted campaigns would roll up to verifiable metrics for the clients. We executed one such advertising agreement in 2021 with Nebula and two such sponsorships in 2020.

Key Factors Affecting Results of Operations

Our future operating results and cash flows are dependent upon a number of opportunities, challenges, and other factors, including our ability to efficiently grow our subscriber base, increase our prices and expand our service offerings to maximize subscriber lifetime value. In particular, we believe that the following factors significantly affected our results of operations over the last two fiscal years and are expected to continue to have significant effects:

Revenues

Currently, the main sources of our revenue are (i) subscriber fees from the Direct to Consumer Business and Direct Subscribers, (ii) license fees from affiliates who receive subscriber fees for access to CuriosityStream content from such affiliates’ subscribers (“Partner Direct Business” and “Partner Direct Subscribers”), (iii) bundled license fees from distribution affiliates (“Bundled MVPD Business” and “Bundled MVPD Subscribers”), (iv) license fees from content licensing arrangements (“Content Licensing”), (v) subscriber fees from our Enterprise business, and (vi) Other revenue, including advertising and sponsorships. As of December 31, 2022, we had approximately 23 million paying subscribers, including Direct Subscribers, Partner Direct Subscribers, Bundled MVPD Subscribers, and Enterprise subscribers.

Since the Company was founded in 2015, we have generated the majority of our revenues from Direct Subscribers in the form of monthly or annual subscription plans. Our existing subscribers currently pay $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year for our standard Direct Service, or $9.99 per month or $69.99 per year for our premium Direct Service. All new subscribers to our standard Direct Service on and after March 27, 2023 will start to be charged $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year. Currently, our premium Direct Service pricing and pricing for existing subscribers will remain unchanged. However, we may in the future increase the price of these existing

43


subscription plans, which may have a positive effect on our revenue from this line of our business. The MVPD, vMVPD and digital distributor partners making up our Partner Direct Business pay us a license fee. We recognize subscription revenues ratably during each subscriber’s monthly or yearly subscription period. We pay a fixed percentage distribution fee to our partners for subscribers accessing our platform via App Services to compensate these partners for access to their customer and subscriber bases. Our MVPD, vMVPD and digital distributor partners host and stream our content to their customers via their own platforms, such as set top boxes in the case of most MVPDs. We do not incur billing, streaming or backend costs associated with content distribution through our MVPD, vMVPD and digital distributor partners.

Operating Costs

Our primary operating costs relate to the cost of producing and acquiring our content, the costs of advertising and marketing our service, personnel costs, and distribution fees. Producing and co-producing content and commissioned content is generally more costly than content acquired through licenses.

The Company’s management. Actualbusiness model is subscription based as opposed to a model generating revenues at a specific title level. Content assets (licensed and produced) are predominantly monetized as a group and therefore are reviewed in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. If such changes are identified, the aggregated content library will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs for assets that have been, or are expected to be, abandoned are written off. For a discussion of the accounting policies for content impairment write-down and management estimates involved therein, see “- Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” below.

Further, our advertising and marketing expenditures and personnel costs constitute primary operating costs for our business. These costs may fluctuate based on advertising and marketing objectives and personnel needs. In general, we intend to focus marketing dollars on efficient customer acquisition. With respect to personnel costs, we focus on revenue-generating personnel, such as sales staff and roles that support the improvement, maintenance and marketing of our Direct Service.

44


Results of Operations

The financial data in the following table sets forth selected financial information derived from our audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 and shows our results could differ materiallyof operations as a percentage of revenue or as a percentage of costs, as applicable, for the periods indicated. We conduct business through one operating segment, CuriosityStream.

   Year ended December 31,       
   2022  2021  $ Change  %
Change
 
   (in thousands)       

Revenues

       

Subscriptions

  $35,009   45 $24,821   35 $10,188   41

License fees

   41,048   52  43,330   61  (2,282  (5%) 

Other

   1,986   3  3,110   4  (1,124  (36%) 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total Revenues

  $78,043   100 $71,261   100 $6,782   10

Operating expenses

       

Cost of revenues

   51,536   39  36,673   30  14,863   41

Advertising and marketing

   40,709   30  52,208   42  (11,499  (22%) 

General and administrative

   37,479   28  34,859   28  2,620   8

Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets

   3,603   3  —     0  3,603   n/ m 
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

  $133,327   100 $123,740   100 $9,587   8
  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Operating loss

   (55,284   (52,479   (2,805  5

Other income (expense)

       

Change in fair value of warrant liability

   5,404    15,182    (9,778  (64%) 

Interest and other income

   176    486    (310  (64%) 

Equity interests loss

   (846   (464   (382  82
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

  $(50,550  $(37,275  $(13,275  36
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Provision for income taxes

   367    360    7   2
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net loss

  $(50,917  $(37,635  $(13,282  35
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

  

 

 

 

n/m – percentage not meaningful

Revenue

Revenue for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 was $78.0 million and $71.2 million, respectively. The increase of $6.8 million, or 10% is primarily due to a $10.2 million increase in subscription revenue, partially offset by a $2.3 million decrease in license fee revenue, and a $1.1 million decrease in license fee revenue.

The increase in subscription revenue of $10.2 million resulted primarily from those contemplated by the forward-looking statementsa $6.0 million increase in subscriber fees received from Direct Subscribers for annual and monthly plans and a $4.2 million increase in corporate subscriptions related to subscription bulk agreements.

The decrease in license fee revenue of $2.3 million is due to an adjustment recorded as a result of certain factors detailedan amendment to one of the Company’s content licensing agreements.

The decrease in other revenue of $1.1 million is primarily due to a one-time services agreement entered into with an affiliate during the year ended December 31, 2021.

45


Operating Expenses

Operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 were $133.3 million and $123.7 million, respectively. This increase of $9.6 million, or 8%, primarily resulted from the following:

Cost of Revenues: Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022 increased to $51.5 million from $36.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. Cost of revenues primarily includes content amortization, hosting and streaming delivery costs, payment processing costs and distribution fees, commission costs and subtitling and broadcast costs. This increase of $14.8 million, or 41%, is primarily due to the increase in content amortization of $11.4 million, primarily driven by the increase in content licensing arrangements and an increase in the number and cost of titles published during 2022 compared to 2021. The balance of the increase in cost of revenues is due to an increase in revenue share expense related to bundled arrangements with other streaming services of $3.4 million compared to the prior period.

Advertising & Marketing: Advertising and marketing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022, decreased to $40.7 million from $52.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This decrease of $11.5 million, or 22% is primarily due to a net decrease in digital and tv advertising of $11.7 million, and a decrease of $10.0 million in agency fees, partner platforms, and brand awareness advertising compared to the prior year, partially offset by an increase in radio and print advertising of $10.2 million compared to the prior period.

General and Administrative: General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022, increased to $37.5 million from $34.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase of $2.6 million, or 8%, is primarily attributed to an increase in legal, accounting, and other professional fees of $1.3 million, an increase in salaries and other compensation expense of $0.2 million, as well as immaterial changes across various cost categories totaling a $1.1 million increase.

We expect to incur additional expenses in future periods as we continue to invest in our filingscorporate governance to support the Company’s activities as a public company, including adding personnel and systems to our administrative and revenue-generating functions.

Impairment of Goodwill and Intangible Assets: We also recorded a goodwill and intangibles asset impairment charge of $3.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2022 as a result of the impairment analyses performed. The impairment charge was applied against the entire balance of goodwill and substantially all of the intangible assets balance. There were no such impairment charges recorded during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Operating Loss

Operating loss for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 was $55.3 million and $52.5 million, respectively. The increase of $2.8 million, or 5%, in operating loss primarily resulted from the increases to our operating expenses of $9.6 million, or 8%, partially offset by the increase in revenue of $6.8 million, or 10%, in each case during the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, as described above.

Change in Fair Value of Warrant Liability

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized a $5.4 million gain compared to a $15.2 million gain recognized during the year ended December 31, 2021, each resulting from a decrease in the fair value of the liabilities related to the Private Placement Warrants for the respective periods.

Interest and other income (expense)

Interest and other income for the year ended December 31, 2022 was comparable to the year ended December 31, 2021.

46


Equity Interests Loss

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded $0.8 million equity interests loss related to the equity investments in the Spiegel Venture and Nebula, compared to $0.5 million equity interests loss during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Provision for Income Taxes

Due to generating losses before income taxes in each of the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, we had a provision for income taxes of $0.4 million in each respective period. The provision for income taxes is primarily related to foreign withholding income taxes. Our provision for income taxes differs from the federal statutory rate primarily due to the Company being in a full valuation allowance position and not recognizing a tax benefit attributable to generated losses for either federal or state income tax purposes.

Net Loss

Net loss for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 was $50.9 million and $37.6 million, respectively. The increase in net loss of $13.3 million, or 35%, is primarily due to the decrease in the change in the fair value of warrant liability of $9.8 million and the increase in total operating expenses of $9.6 million, partially offset by the increase in total revenues of $6.8 million, in each case during the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, as described above.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, of $40.5 million. In addition, the Company had debt securities classified as available for sale investments totaling $15.0 million, which were classified as short-term investments. All of the Company’s investments in debt securities can be readily converted to cash to meet the Company’s ongoing operating cash flow needs. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we incurred a net loss of $50.9 million and used $39.5 million of net cash in operating activities, used $0.2 million of net cash in financing activities, while investing activities provided $62.7 million of net cash.

On February 8, 2021, we consummated a registered public offering (the “Offering”) of 6,500,000 shares of Common Stock plus an over- allotment option, exercised in full by the underwriters, to purchase up to 975,000 additional shares of Common Stock. The net proceeds to us from the Offering were $94.1 million, after deducting $6.8 million in underwriting discounts and commissions and transaction expenses. We also incurred offering expenses in connection with the SEC.Offering of $0.7 million. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we received funds of approximately $54.9 million for the exercise of 4.8 million Public Warrants.

We believe that our cash flows from financing, combined with our current cash levels and investments in debt securities that are readily convertible to cash will be adequate to support our ongoing operations, capital expenditures and working capital for at least the next twelve months. We believe that we have access to additional funds, if needed, through the capital markets to obtain further financing under the current market conditions.

Our principal uses of cash are to acquire content, promote our service through advertising and marketing, and provide for working capital to operate our business. We have experienced significant net losses since our inception, and, given the significant operating and capital expenditures associated with our business plan, we anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses.

 

47


Cash Flows

The following table presents our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

   For the year ended
December 31,
 
   2022  2021 
   (in thousands) 

Net cash used in operating activities

  $(39,523 $(73,242

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

   62,701   (74,935

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

   (218  148,340 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

  $22,960  $163 
  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Cash flow from operating activities primarily consists of net losses, changes to our content assets (including additions and amortization), and other working capital items.

During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded a net cash outflow from operating activities of $39.5 million and $73.2 million, respectively, or a decreased outflow of $33.7 million, or 46%.

The net cash outflow used by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2022, was primarily due to our $50.9 million net loss, $6.4 million addback of net non-cash expenses net of content additions, and $5.0 million of net cash provided by changes in operating assets and liabilities. The most significant components of net non-cash expenses include amortization of content assets of $39.3 million and stock-based compensation expense of $6.6 million, substantially offset by additions to content assets of $34.8 million and the change in the fair value of warrant liability of $5.4 million. The components of changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily attributed to an increase in accounts receivable of $11.9 million, and increase in other assets of $3.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in deferred revenue of $8.3 million, increase in accounts payable of $2.7 million, and decrease in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $4.6 million.

The net cash outflow used by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2021, was primarily due to our $37.6 million net loss, $34.0 million of net non-cash expenses and net of content additions, and $1.6 million of net cash used by changes in operating assets and liabilities. The most significant component of net non-cash expenses include amortization of content assets of $27.9 million and stock-based compensation expense of $7.0 million, partially offset by additions to content assets of $65.6 million and the change in the fair value of warrant liability of $15.2 million. The most significant components of changes in operating assets and liabilities were primarily attributed to an increase in deferred revenue of $10.0 million and increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities of $7.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in accounts receivable of $16.2 million, and decrease in other assets of $2.7 million.

Cash Flow Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities

Cash flow from investing activities consists of purchases, sales and maturities of investments, business acquisitions and equity investments and purchases of property and equipment.

During the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded a net cash inflow from investing activities of $62.7 million and a net cash outflow from investing activities of $74.9 million, respectively. The net cash inflow provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2022, was primarily due to the sale and maturities of investments in debt securities of $66.8 million, partially offset by purchases of investments in debt securities of $1.5 million and investments in Nebula of $2.4 million. The net cash outflow used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021, was primarily due to purchases of investments in debt securities

48


of $151.9 million, investment in Nebula and Spiegel Venture of $9.6 million and acquisitions of One Day University (“ODU”) and Now You Know Media Inc. (“Learn25”) of $5.4 million, which were partially offset by sales and maturities of investments in debt securities of $92.3 million.

Cash Flow from Financing Activities

During the year ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, we recorded net cash outflow from financing activities of $0.2 million and a net cash inflow from financing activities of $148.3 million, respectively. The net cash inflow during the year ended December 31, 2021 of $148.3 million was primarily attributable to the receipt of proceeds from the issuance of Common Stock of $94.1 million (net of $6.8 million of underwriting discounts and commissions), the exercise of 4.8 million Public Warrants resulting in cash proceeds of $54.9 million, and the exercise of stock options of $0.5 million, partially offset by the payments of transaction costs related to the issuance of Common Stock of $0.7 million, with no comparable activity during the year ended December 31, 2022. Further, the net cash outflow during the year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily attributed to withholding tax payments of $0.2 million related to the vesting of restricted stock units, compared to $0.5 million of such outflows during the year ended December 31, 2021.

Capital Expenditures

Going forward, we expect to continue making expenditures for additions to our content assets and purchases of property and equipment, although at a slower rate than in previous periods. The amount, timing and allocation of capital expenditures are largely discretionary and within management’s control. Depending on market conditions, we may choose to defer a portion of our budgeted expenditures until later periods to achieve the desired balance between sources and uses of liquidity and prioritize capital projects that we believe have the highest expected returns and potential to generate cash flow. Subject to financing alternatives, we may also increase our capital expenditures significantly to take advantage of opportunities we consider to be attractive.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of December 31, 2022, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be readoperation is based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in conjunctionaccordance with U.S. GAAP. Certain amounts included in or affecting the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewherepresented in this Report. Certain information contained inAnnual Report and related disclosure must be estimated, requiring management to make assumptions with respect to values or conditions which cannot be known with certainty at the discussion and analysistime the financial statements are prepared. Management believes that the accounting policies set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Overview

We are a blank check company formed undercomprise the laws of the State of Delaware on May 9, 2019most important “critical accounting policies” for the purposeCompany. A critical accounting policy is one which is both important to the portrayal of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganizationcompany’s financial condition and results of operations and requires management’s most difficult, subjective or other similar Business Combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific Business Combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.

The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a Business Combination:

may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is 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
may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants.

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
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;
our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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;
our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
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;


limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We are incurring 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 from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after the Initial Public Offering. We incur expensescomplex judgments, often as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accountingthe need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain. Management evaluates such policies on an ongoing basis, based upon historical results and auditing compliance),experience, consultation with experts and other methods that management considers reasonable in the particular circumstances under which the judgments and estimates are made, as well as management’s forecasts as to the manner in which such circumstances may change in the future.

Content Assets

The Company acquires, licenses and produces content, including original programming, in order to offer customers unlimited viewing of factual entertainment content. The content licenses are for due diligence expenses.a fixed fee and specific windows of availability. Payments for content, including additions to content assets and the changes in related liabilities, are classified within “Net cash used in operating activities” on the consolidated statements of cash flows.

 

49


The Company recognizes its content assets (licensed and produced) as “Content assets, net” on the consolidated balance sheets. For licenses, the Company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability at the gross amount of the liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known, and the title is accepted and available for streaming. For productions, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the production, including development costs, direct costs, and production overhead.

Based on factors including historical and estimated viewing patterns, the Company previously amortized the content assets (licensed and produced) in “Cost of revenues” on the consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the shorter of each title’s contractual window of availability or estimated period of use, beginning with the month of first availability. Starting July 1, 2021, the Company amortizes content assets on an accelerated basis in the initial two months after a title is published on the Company’s platform, as the Company has observed and expects more upfront viewing of content, generally as a result of additional marketing efforts. Furthermore, the amortization of original content is more accelerated than that of licensed content. We review factors that impact the amortization of the content assets on a regular basis and the estimates related to these factors require considerable management judgment. The Company continues to review factors impacting the amortization of content assets on an ongoing basis and will also record amortization on an accelerated basis when there is more upfront use of a title, for instance due to significant content licensing.

The Company’s business model is generally subscription based as opposed to a model generating revenues at a specific title level. Content assets (licensed and produced) are predominantly monetized as a group and therefore are reviewed in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. If such changes are identified, the aggregated content assets will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost or fair value. In addition, unamortized costs for assets that have been, or are expected to be, abandoned are written off.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquisitions over the amount assigned to tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired less liabilities assumed. At least annually, in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist, management performs a review to determine if the carrying value of goodwill is impaired. The identification and measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of fair value at the Company’s reporting unit level, which is the same or one level below the operating segment level. The Company determined that it has one reporting unit.

The Company performs an initial assessment of qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events and circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of relevant events and circumstances, the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value and there is no indication of impairment, no further testing is performed; however, if the Company concludes otherwise, an impairment test must be performed by estimating the fair value of the reporting unit and comparing it with its carrying value, including goodwill.

Intangible assets other than goodwill are carried at cost and amortized over their estimated useful lives. Amortization is recorded within General and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company reviews identifiable finite-lived intangible assets to be held and used for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated undiscounted cash flows resulting from May 9, 2019 (inception) throughuse of the asset and its ultimate disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value.

During the second quarter of 2022, the Company experienced a sustained decrease in its share price, and this triggering event was an indication that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the Company’s single

50


reporting unit was below its carrying value. The Company performed an interim goodwill impairment test of its goodwill as of June 30, 2022 and recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $2.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2022 as the fair value of the reporting unit was less than the related carrying value. This charge is included in impairment of goodwill and intangible assets on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019, we had net2022.

The determination of the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit was based on a combination of the income and the market approach. The Company applied equal weighting to each of $7,341,the approaches in determining the fair value of the reporting unit. Under the income approach, the Company utilized discounted cash flows of forecasted future cash flows based on future operational expectations and discounted these cash flows to reflect their relative risk. The cash flows used are consistent with those the Company uses in its internal planning, which consistsreflect actual business trends experienced and the Company’s long-term business strategy. Under the market approach, the Company utilized the guideline public company method and guideline transaction method to develop valuation multiples and compare the Company to similar publicly traded companies. The significant assumptions under each of interestthe approaches include, among others: revenue projections (which are dependent on future customer subscriptions and content licensing agreements), operating expenses, discount rate, control premium and a terminal growth rate. The cash flows used to determine the fair values are dependent on a number of significant management assumptions, such as the Company’s expectations of future performance and the expected future economic environment, which are partly based upon the Company’s historical experience. The Company also considered its market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the reporting unit fair value.

During the second quarter of 2022, the Company also determined there were impairment indicators with respect to certain of the Company’s definite-lived intangible assets. As a result, the Company performed an impairment test by comparing the carrying values of the intangible assets to their respective fair values, which were determined based on forecasted future cash flows. As a result of this impairment test, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $0.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2022, which is reflected as a component of impairment of goodwill and intangible assets on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In order to further validate the reasonableness of fair value as determined by the income on marketable securities heldand market approaches described above, a reconciliation to market capitalization is then performed by estimating a reasonable control premium and other market factors. Future changes in the Trust Accountjudgments, assumptions and estimates that are used in the impairment testing for our asset group could result in significantly different estimates of $219,910, offsetfair value.

Revenue recognition

Subscriptions—O&O Service

The Company generates revenue from monthly subscription fees from its O&O Service. CuriosityStream subscribers enter into month-to-month or annual subscriptions with the Company. The Company bills the monthly subscriber on each subscriber’s monthly anniversary date and recognizes the revenue ratably over each monthly membership period. The annual subscription fees are collected by the Company at the start of the annual subscription period and are recognized ratably over the subsequent twelve-month period. Revenues are presented net of the taxes that are collected from subscribers and remitted to governmental authorities.

Subscriptions—App Services

The Company also earns subscription revenues through its App Services. These subscriptions are similar to the O&O Service subscriptions, but are generated based on agreements with certain streaming media players as well as with Smart TV brands and gaming consoles. Under these agreements, the streaming media player

51


typically bills the subscriber directly and then remits the collected subscriptions to the Company, net of a distribution fee. The Company recognizes the gross subscription revenues when earned and simultaneously recognizes the corresponding distribution fees as an expense. The Company is the principal in these relationships as the Company retains control over service delivery to its subscribers.

License Fees—Affiliates

The Company generates license fee revenues from MVPDs such as Comcast and Cox as well as from vMVPDs such as Amazon and Sling TV (MVPDs and vMVPDs are also referred to as affiliates). Under the terms of the agreements with these affiliates, the Company receives license fees based upon contracted programming rates and subscriber levels reported by the affiliates. In exchange, the Company licenses its content to the affiliates for distribution to their subscribers. The Company earns revenue under these agreements either based on the total number of subscribers multiplied by rates specified in the agreements or based on fixed fee arrangements. These revenues are recognized over the term of each agreement when earned.

License Fees—Content Licensing

The Company has distribution agreements which grant a licensee limited distribution rights to the Company’s programs for varying terms, generally in exchange for a fixed license fee. Revenue is recognized once the content is made available for the licensee to use.

The Company’s performance obligations include (1) access to its SVOD platform via the Company’s O&O Service and App Services, (2) access to the Company’s content assets, and (3) licenses of specific program titles. In contracts containing the right to access the Company SVOD platform, the performance obligation is satisfied as access to the SVOD platform is provided post any free trial period. In contracts which contain access to the Company’s content assets, the performance obligation is satisfied as access to the content is provided. For contracts with licenses of specific program titles, the performance obligation is satisfied as that content is made available for the customer to use.

Recently Issued and Adopted Financial Accounting Standards

Leases

As an EGC, the JOBS Act allows the Company to delay adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are applicable to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act until such time as the Company is no longer considered to be an EGC.

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”), which requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating costs of $210,617leases under current U.S. GAAP. ASU 2016-02 requires a lessee to recognize a lease liability and a provisionright-of-use asset for income taxeseach lease with a term longer than twelve months. The new guidance also requires additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures related to the nature, timing and uncertainty of $1,952.cash flows arising from leases. The Company adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2022, using a modified retrospective approach and electing to use the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, which allows for the carry forward of historical lease classification for existing leases on the adoption date and does not require the assessment of existing lease contracts to determine whether the contracts contain a lease or initial direct costs. Prior periods were not retrospectively adjusted.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

On November 22, 2019, we consummatedThe adoption of this standard resulted in the Initial Public Offeringrecognition of 14,950,000 units, which includes the full exercise by the underwritersoperating lease liabilities of their over-allotment option$5.3 million, with corresponding right-of-use (ROU) assets in the amount of 1,950,000 units,hed at a price$4.0 million, net of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $149,500,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 4,740,000 Private Placement Warrants to our Sponsor at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrants, generating gross proceeds of $4,740,000.existing deferred rent and lease

 

Following the Initial Public Offering and the sale52


incentives of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $149,500,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $8,745,223 in transaction costs, consisting of $2,990,000 of underwriting fees, $5,232,500 of deferred underwriting fees and $522,723 of other offering costs.

For the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, cash used in operating activities was $158,869. Net income of $7,341 was offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $219,910. Changes in operating assets and liabilities provided $53,700 of cash from operating activities.

As of December 31, 2019, we had marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $149,719,910 (including approximately $220,000 of interest income earned from investments in a money market fund that invests primarily in U.S. treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less). Interest income on the balance in the Trust Account may be used by us to pay taxes. Through December 31, 2019, we have not withdrawn any interest earned on the Trust Account.We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less income taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions), to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our 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.

As of December 31, 2019, we had $1,093,408 of cash 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, plants 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 fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a 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 identical to the Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.

We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the Trust Account. In addition, following our Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.

Off-balance sheet financing arrangements

We$1.3 million. The Company did not have any off-balance sheet arrangementsfinance lease liabilities as of December 31, 2019.

Contractual obligations

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative supportadoption date. There was no cumulative effect adjustment to the Company. We began incurring these fees on November 19, 2019 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlieropening balance of the completionaccumulated deficit as of the Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.

The underwriters are entitled to deferred feeJanuary 1, 2022. Adoption of three and half percent (3.50%) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $5,232,500. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of 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 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:

Common stock subject to possible redemption

We account for common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with thethis new guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” 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 eventsdid not solely within the Company’s 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 occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.

Net loss per common share

We apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Common stock subject to possible redemption which is not currently redeemable and is not redeemable at fair value, has been excluded from the calculation of basic net loss per common share since such shares, if redeemed, only participate in their pro rata share of the Trust Account earnings. Our net income is adjusted for the portion of income that is attributable to common stock subject to possible redemption, as these shares only participate in the earnings of the Trust Account and not our income or losses.

Recent accounting standards

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effectimpact on ourthe consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. Refer to Note 13 for further information regarding the impact of adoption of Topic 842 on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Standards Effective in Future Periods


Financial Instruments—Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-03”).” The amendments in this update introduce a new standard to replace the incurred loss impairment methodology under current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. Subsequent to the initial standards, the FASB has also issued several ASUs to clarify specific topics. ASU 2016-13 is effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2023. The Company does not expect the implementation of ASU 2016-13 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures aboutAbout Market Risk

Not applicable.

 

As of December 31, 2019, we were not subject to any market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, including amounts in the Trust Account, have been invested in U.S. government treasury bills, notes or bonds with a maturity of 185 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in U.S. treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.53


Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

This information appears following Item 15

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Index to Audited Financial Statements of this Report and is included herein by reference.

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

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and proceduresCuriosityStream Inc. as of December 31, 2019, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information.

None.


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:

NameAgePosition
Jonathan S. Huberman54Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
Mike Nikzad55Vice President of Acquisitions and Director
Andrew K. Nikou42Director
C. Matthew Olton53Director
Stephanie Davis55Director
Steven Guggenheimer54Director
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis58Director

Jonathan Huberman, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer since inception, has over 25 years of high-tech business leadership experience. From 2017 to 2019 Mr. Huberman was Chief Executive Officer of Ooyala, a provider of media workflow automation, delivery and monetization solutions, which he and Mike Nikzad, our Vice President of Acquisitions and a Director, acquired from Telstra in 2018. Together with Mr. Nikzad, they turned around an underperforming company and sold Ooyala’s three core business units to Invidi Technologies, Brightcove (NASDA:BCOV) and Dalet (EPA: DLT), major players in the same sector. Previously, Mr. Huberman served as the Chief Executive Officer of Syncplicity, a SaaS enterprise data management company, which he sourced and acquired from EMC and engineered an exit to Axway (EPA: AXW). Prior to this, from 2013 to 2015, Mr. Huberman was the Chief Executive Officer of Tiburon, an enterprise software company serving the public safety sector which he sold to Tritech Systems, and before that he was the Chief Executive Officer at Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a consumer and distributed enterprise storage solutions provider. After Iomega was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2008, Mr. Huberman served as President of the Consumer and Small Business Division of EMC. In addition to his experience leading turnarounds and exits at five technology companies, Mr. Huberman spent nine years as an investor for the Bass Family interests where he led investments in private and public companies. He also had senior roles leading the operations of the technology investments of the Gores Group and Skyview Capital. In the last five years he has served as a director of Aculon, Inc., a privately held provider of easy-to-apply nanotech surface-modification technologies, as well as Venture Corporation Limited (SGX:V03) a high-tech design and manufacture firm based in Singapore. Mr. Huberman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Princeton University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational, management and investment experience in the software and technology industries.

Mike Nikzad, has served as our Vice President of Acquisitions since inception and as one of our Directors since November 2019, has over two decades of business leadership experience in software, technology and consumer electronics companies, where he has worked on numerous corporate turnarounds and exits. Mr. Nikzad was President and Chief Operating Officer at Ooyala from 2017 until its sale in 2019. Prior to Ooyala, in the last five years Mr. Nikzad has held C-suite positions and led company operations at Syncplicity, a SaaS enterprise data management company and NewNet Communication Technologies, a telecommunications company, as well as serving as an Operating Partner at SilverStream Capital. Prior to this, he also held management and executive positions in EMC Corp’s (NYSE: EMC) Consumer and Small Business division and at Iomega Corporation, a consumer and distributed enterprise storage solutions provider. Mr. Nikzad has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Utah State University and has completed the Stanford GSB Strategic Marketing Management Program. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the software and telecommunications industries.

Andrew K. Nikou, who has served as one of our Directors since November 2019, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of OpenGate, a global private equity firm specializing in the acquisition and operation of businesses to create new value through operational improvements, innovation and growth. To date, OpenGate, through its legacy and fund investments, has executed more than 30 acquisitions including corporate carve-outs, management buy-outs, special situations and transactions with private sellers across North America and Europe. As of March 29, 2019, OpenGate Capital Management, LLC (the firm’s registered investment advisor) managed approximately $802 million in client assets on a discretionary basis. Prior to this, from 2001 to 2004, Mr. Nikou worked in business development for Platinum Equity, where he established their European Business Development operations in Paris, France. Of the nearly 20 pre-fund investments made by affiliates of OpenGate, a few were in distressed entities that subsequently filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Nikou has been named as a defendant in certain adversarial proceedings related to such bankruptcy cases alleging various claims, which Mr. Nikou vigorously disputes, believes to be meritless, and is aggressively contesting. Mr. Nikou holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive private equity, investment and business development experience.

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C. Matthew Olton, who has served as one of our Directors since November 2019, has been Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development at Tenable Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TENB), a cyber exposure protection provider, since August 2019. Prior this, he was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Ventures, at Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC). In this role, Mr. Olton oversaw Symantec’s global mergers and acquisitions activity and managed Symantec’s corporate venture investments. Prior to joining Symantec, he was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at Dell Technologies Capital from 2016 to 2018, and was responsible for global mergers and acquisitions and related activity for the family of companies that comprises Dell Technologies including Dell, Dell EMC, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and Boomi. Prior to Dell Technologies Capital, Matt was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at EMC Corporation from 2006 to 2016. Mr. Olton started his career as an M&A attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University, a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and an MBA from Northeastern University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive investment and management experience in the software industry.

Stephanie Davis, who has served as one of our Directors since November 2019, has, since 2017 served as a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry where she leads the Private Equity/Technology practice in North America and is a member of the CEO & Board practices and the Global Technology Practice. She is an expert in executive talent and leadership and has spent over two decades working with Chief Executive Officers to build their leadership capabilities and teams. Ms. Davis works extensively with public and private company board of directors on succession and board recruitment. She is a frequent speaker on board governance and women in the boardroom. Since 2019, Ms. Davis has been a member of the board of directors of biopharmaceutical company, Athenex (NASDAQ:ATNX). Prior to joining Korn Ferry in 2017, Ms. Davis spent 17 years at Spencer Stuart where she was a member of the CEO & Board Practice. During her tenure, she co-founded the Business/ Technology Services practice, led the Software practice, and managed global private equity relationships. Ms. Davis has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is well qualified to serve on our Board due to her extensive consulting and private and public company board experience.

Steven Guggenheimer, who has served as one of our Directors since November 2019, has since 2018 served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) responsible for its artificial intelligence business as well as Microsoft’s engagement with its independent software vendor partners. Over his 26 years at Microsoft, Mr. Guggenheimer has held leadership roles in strategically important areas including close to a decade helping to build Microsoft’s hardware and software ecosystem as the head of Developer Evangelism (DX) and the OEM division from 2008 to 2018. He has also worked on the product teams for Microsoft’s Application Platform, Windows, IE, MSN, SQL Server, Visual Studio and more. Mr. Guggenheimer received a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from the University of California, Davis, and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Stanford University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the software industry.

Peter H. Diamandis, MD, who has served as one of our Directors since November 2019, is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, a non-profit foundation which since 1996 has designed and operated large-scale incentive competitions. He is also the Executive Founder of Singularity University, a graduate-level Silicon Valley institution founded in 2008 that counsels the world’s leaders on exponentially growing technologies. He is the Vice Chairman and co-Founder of Human Longevity, Inc., a company focused on extending the human lifespan, since 2014 and the Vice Chairman and co-Founder of Celularity Inc., a commercial-stage cell therapeutics company delivering allogenic cellular therapies engineered from the postpartum human placenta. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Diamandis has started over 20 companies in the areas of longevity, space, venture capital and education. Dr. Diamandis also co-founded BOLD Capital Partners, a venture fund investing in exponential technologies, in 2015, and is a New York Times Bestselling author. He earned degrees in Molecular Engineering and Aerospace Engineering from MIT and holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management experience in the technology industry.

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

We have seven directors. Our board of directors are 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. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq, or until December 31, 2020. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Olton and Diamandis, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Ms. Davis and Mr. Guggenheimer, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Huberman, Nikzad and Nikou, 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.

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.

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Audit Committee

Our audit committee is comprised of Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton and Guggenheimer, and Mr. Olton chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton and Guggenheimer meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.

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

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which detail the principal functions of the audit committee, which include:

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

Our compensation committee of the board of directors is comprised of Ms. Davis and Mr. Diamandis. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Ms. Davis and Mr. Diamandis are independent and Ms. Davis chairs the compensation committee.

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

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

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;

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 $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, has been or will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. 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 will be 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 corporate governance and nominating 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 participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton, Guggenheimer and Diamandis. 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 professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our common stock to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. These reporting persons are also required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely upon a review of such forms, we believe that during the yearears ended December 31, 2019 there were no delinquent filers.

Availability of Documents

We have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics, our audit committee charter, our nominating committee charter2022 and compensation committee charter as exhibits to the registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering. You will be 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.

2021

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

Executive Officer and Director Compensation

None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, 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 our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals 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. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to 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 20, 2020 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock, by:

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and
all our executive officers and directors as a group.


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. Unless otherwise indicated, the business address for the individuals and entities named below is C/O Software Acquisition Group Inc., 1980 Festival Plaza Drive, Se. 300, Las Vegas Nevada 89135.

  Class A
Common Stock
  Class B
Common Stock (2)
 
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
  % of
Class
  Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
  % of
Class
 
Officers and Directors                
Jonathan Huberman (1)          3,737,500   100%
Mike Nikzad (1)          3,737,500   100%
Andrew K. Nikou (1)          3,737,500   100%
C. Matthew Olton (3)                
Stephanie Davis (3)                
Steven Guggenheimer (3)                
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis (3)                
All Executive Officers and Directors as a Group (7 individuals)                
                 
5% or More Shareholders                
Software Acquisition Holdings LLC (1)          3,737,500   100%
Weiss Asset Management LP (4)  800,200   5.35%        
Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (5)  800,000   5.35%        
Kepos Capital LP (6)  844,515   5.65%        

(1)Our sponsor is the record holder of these shares. Jonathan Huberman, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of our Board, Mike Nikzad a member of our Board, and AKN Investments II, LLC are the managing members of the our sponsor. Andrew K. Nikou, a member of our board of directors, is the managing member and President of AKN Investments II, LLC. As such, each may be deemed to have or share voting and dispositive power of the Class B Common Stock held directly by our sponsor. Each such entity or person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly.
(2)Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment.
(3)Each of these individuals holds an interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly.
(4)Pursuant to a Schedule 13G filed by Weiss Asset Management LP with the SEC on February 14, 2020, Weiss Asset Management is the sole investment manager to a private investment partnership (the “Partnership”) and a private investment fund (“Fund”). WAM GP is the sole general partner of Weiss Asset Management. Andrew Weiss is the managing member of WAM GP. Shares reported for WAM GP, Andrew Weiss, and Weiss Asset Management include shares beneficially owned by the Partnership and the Fund. The principle business address for each of these entities and individuals is 222 Berkeley St., 16th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02116.
(5)Pursuant to a Schedule 13G filed by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (“Polar”) with the SEC on February 12, 2020, Polar is the investment advisor to Polar Multi-Strategy Master Fund, which directly owns the shares of Class A Common Stock. The business address for the entities named herein is 401 Bay Street., Suite 900, PO Box 19, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4, Canada.
(6)Pursuant to a Schedule 13G filed by Kepos Capital LP (“Kepos Capital”), Kepos Capital is the investment adviser to certain funds and accounts who directly hold the shares of Class A Common Stock reported herein. Mark Carhart is the managing member of Kepos Capital GP LLC, the general partner of Kepos Capital. The principal business address of each of the entities and individuals named herein is 11 Times Square, 35th Floor, New York, New York 10036.

The table above does not include the shares of common stock underlying the private placement warrants held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this report.

Changes in Control

Not applicable.


Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.

In June 2019, our sponsor purchased 3,593,750 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.007 per share. In November 2019, we effected a stock dividend for 0.04 share for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,737,500 founder shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. The founder shares (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.

Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,740,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($4,740,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at $4,740,000. 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 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.

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 have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

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, 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 will 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 will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be 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.

Our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were due at the earlier of December 31, 2019 or the closing of our initial public offering. The loan was repaid upon the closing of our initial public offering out of the estimated $750,000 of offering proceeds that had been allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions).

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.

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 have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to 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.

Related Party Policy

Our audit committee must review and approve any related person transaction we propose to enter into. Our audit committee charter details the policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest and may raise questions as to whether such transactions are consistent with the best interest of our company and our stockholders. A summary of such policies and procedures is set forth below.

Any potential related party transaction that is brought to the audit committee’s attention will be analyzed by the audit committee, in consultation with outside counsel or members of management, as appropriate, to determine whether the transaction or relationship does, in fact, constitute a related party transaction. At its meetings, the audit committee will be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits to us and to the relevant related party.


In determining whether to approve a related party transaction, the audit committee must consider, among other factors, the following factors to the extent relevant:

whether the terms of the transaction are fair to us and on the same basis as would apply if the transaction did not involve a related party;
● whether there are business reasons for us to enter into the transaction;
● whether the transaction would impair the independence of an outside director; and
● whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interest for any director or executive officer.

Any member of the audit committee who has an interest in the transaction under discussion must abstain from any voting regarding the transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the audit committee, participate in some or all of the audit committee’s discussions of the transaction. Upon completion of its review of the transaction, the audit committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the transaction.

Director Independence

Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be 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 Ms. Davis and Messrs. Olton, Guggenheimer and Diamandis are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors 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 Marcum LLP, or Marcum, for services rendered.

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 totaled $36,565. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services 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. We did not pay Marcum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards for the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019.

Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax planning and tax advice for the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019.

All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for other services for the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019.

Pre-Approval Policy

Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve 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).


Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K:

(1)Financial Statements:

Page
F-2
F-3
F-4
F-5
F-6
F-6
Notes to Financial StatementsF-7

(2)Financial Statement Schedules:

None.

(3)Exhibits

We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

Not applicable.

48

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
No.
  Description
1.1Underwriting Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and among the Company and B. Riley FBR, Inc. (1)
3.1Certificate of Incorporation. (3)
3.2Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. (1)
3.3Bylaws. (3)
4.1Warrant Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent.(1)

4.2

Description of the Company’s Securities
10.1Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee. (1)
10.2Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and the Sponsor. (1)
10.3Letter Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and among the Company, its officers, its directors and the Sponsor. (1)
10.4Administrative Support Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and the Sponsor. (1)
10.5Securities Subscription Agreement, dated June 25, 2019, between the Registrant and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC. (2)
10.7Private Placement Warrant Purchase Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and the Sponsor. (1)
31.1Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
32.1Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**

101.INSXBRL Instance Document*
101.SCH  XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema*
101.CAL  XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase*
101.LAB  XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase*
101.PREXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*
101.DEFXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*

*Filed herewith
**Furnished herewith

(1)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on November 25, 2019.
(2)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the Commission on November 8, 2019.
(3)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the Commission on October 25, 2019.

49

SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting FirmF-2
Financial Statements:F-7 
Balance SheetF-3
Statement of OperationsF-4
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ EquityF-5
Statement of Cash FlowsF-6
F-7 to F-16F-8

F-1

Table of ContentsREPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the ShareholdersStockholders and the Board of Directors of
Software Acquisition Group CuriosityStream Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheetsheets of Software Acquisition GroupCuriosityStream Inc. (the “Company”)Company) as of December 31, 2019,2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes incomprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) throughended December 31, 2019,2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial“consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as ofat December 31, 2019,2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) throughended December 31, 2019,2022, in conformity with accounting principlesU.S. generally accepted in the United States of America.

accounting principles.

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 audit.audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”)(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 auditaudits 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,audits 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 auditaudits 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 auditaudits 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 providesaudits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Marcum LLP
MarcumLLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
New York, NY
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
Baltimore, Maryland
March 20, 2020

SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

BALANCE SHEET

DECEMBER 31, 2019

ASSETS   
Current assets   
Cash $1,093,408 
Prepaid expenses  128,133 
Total Current Assets  1,221,541 
     
Marketable securities held in Trust Account  149,719,910 
Total Assets $150,941,451 
     
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY    
Current liabilities    
Accrued expenses $179,881 
Income taxes payable  1,952 
Total Current Liabilities  181,833 
     
Deferred underwriting fee payable  5,232,500 
Total Liabilities  5,414,333 
     
Commitments    
     
Common stock subject to possible redemption, 14,044,440 shares at redemption value  140,527,112 
     
Stockholders’ Equity    
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding   
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 905,560 issued and outstanding (excluding 14,044,440 shares subject to possible redemption)  91 
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 3,737,500 shares issued and outstanding  374 
Additional paid-in capital  4,992,200 
Retained earnings  7,341 
Total Stockholders’ Equity  5,000,006 
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity $150,941,451 

2023

F-2

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except par value)
   
December 31,
2022
  
December 31,
2021
 
        
Assets
         
Current assets         
Cash and cash equivalents  $40,007  $15,216 
Restricted cash   500   2,331 
Short-term investments in debt securities   14,986   65,833 
Accounts receivable, net   10,899   23,493 
Other current assets   3,118   6,413 
          
Total current assets   69,510   113,286 
          
Investments in debt securities   —     15,430 
Investments in equity method investees   10,766   9,987 
Property and equipment, net   1,094   1,342 
Content assets, net   68,502   72,682 
Intangibles, net   251   1,369 
Goodwill   —     2,793 
Operating lease
right-of-use
assets
   3,702   —   
Other assets   288   689 
          
Total assets
  $154,113  $217,578 
          
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit)
         
Current liabilities         
Content liabilities  $2,862  $9,684 
Accounts payable   6,065   3,428 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities   7,752   12,429 
Deferred revenue   14,281   22,430 
          
Total current liabilities   30,960   47,971 
          
Warrant liability   257   5,661 
Non-current
operating lease liabilities
   4,648   —   
Other liabilities   622   2,011 
          
Total liabilities
   36,487   55,643 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stockholders’ equity (deficit)
         
Common stock, $0.0001 par value – 125,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021; 52,853 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022; 52,677
shares 
issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021
   5   5 
Additional
paid-in
capital
   358,760   352,334 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (40  (222
Accumulated deficit   (241,099  (190,182
          
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)   117,626   161,935 
          
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit)
  $154,113  $217,578 
          
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.


F-3

Table of ContentsSOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 9, 2019 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2019

Operating and formation costs $210,617 
Loss from operations  (210,617)
     
Other income:    
Interest income  219,910 
     
Income before provision for income taxes  9,293 
Provision for income taxes  (1,952)
Net income $7,341 
     
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1)  3,535,964 
     
Basic and diluted net loss per common share(2) $(0.02)

(1)Excludes an aggregate of up to 14,044,440 shares subject to possible redemption.
(2)Net loss per share – basic and diluted excludes income attributable to common stock subject to possible redemption of $81,958 for the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019.

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except for per share data)
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
            2022            
  
2021
 
        
Revenues
  $78,043  $71,261 
Operating expenses
         
Cost of revenues   51,536   36,673 
Advertising and marketing   40,709   52,208 
General and administrative   37,479   34,859 
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets   3,603   —   
          
    133,327   123,740 
          
Operating loss
   (55,284  (52,479
Change in fair value of warrant liability   5,404   15,182 
Interest and other income   176   486 
Equity interests loss   (846  (464
          
Loss before income taxes
   (50,550  (37,275
Provision for income taxes   367   360 
          
Net loss
  $(50,917 $(37,635
          
Net loss per share
         
Basic  $(0.96 $(0.73
Diluted  $(0.96 $(1.02
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
         
Basic   52,787   51,482 
Diluted   52,787   51,789 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.


F-4

Table of ContentsSOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 9, 2019 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2019

  Class A
Common Stock
  Class B
Common Stock
  Additional
Paid-in
  Retained  Total
Stockholders’
 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Capital  Earnings  Equity 
Balance – May 9, 2019 (inception)    $     $  $  $  $ 
                             
Issuance of common stock to Sponsor        3,737,500   374   24,626      25,000 
                             
Sale of 14,950,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts and offering expenses  14,950,000   1,495         140,753,282      140,754,777 
                             
Sale of 4,740,000 Private Placement Warrants              4,740,000      4,740,000 
                             
Common stock subject to possible redemption  (14,044,440)  (1,404)        (140,525,708)     (140,527,112)
                             
Net income                   7,341   7,341 
                             
Balance – December 31, 2019  905,560  $91   3,737,500  $374  $4,992,200  $7,341  $5,000,006 

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(in thousands)
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
            2022            
  
2021
 
        
Net loss
  $(50,917 $(37,635
Other comprehensive income (loss)         
Unrealized gain (loss) on available for sale securities   182   (232
          
Total comprehensive loss
  $(50,735 $(37,867
          
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.


F-5

Table of ContentsSOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 9, 2019 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2019

Cash Flows from Operating Activities:   
Net income $7,341 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities:    
Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account  (219,910)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:    
Prepaid expenses  (128,133)
Accrued expenses  179,881 
Income taxes payable  1,952 
Net cash used in operating activities  (158,869)
     
Cash Flows from Investing Activity:    
Investment of cash in Trust Account  (149,500,000)
Net cash used in investing activity  (149,500,000)
     
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:    
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor  25,000 
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid  146,510,000 
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants  4,740,000 
Proceeds from promissory note – related party  235,540 
Repayment of promissory note – related party  (235,540)
Payment of offering costs  (522,723)
Net cash provided by financing activities  150,752,277 
     
Net Change in Cash  1,093,408 
Cash – Beginning   
Cash – Ending $1,093,408 
     
Non-cash investing and financing activities:    
Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption $140,516,760 
Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption $10,352 
Deferred underwriting fee payable $5,232,500 

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholder’s Equity (Deficit)
(in thousands)
   
Common Stock
   
Additional
Paid-in

Capital
  
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive

Income (Loss)
  
Accumulated

Deficit
  
Total
Stockholders’
Equity

(Deficit)
 
   
Shares
  
Amount
 
                     
Balance as of December 31, 2020
  
 
40,289
 
 
$
4
 
  
$
197,507
 
 
$
10
 
 
$
(152,547
 
$
44,974
 
Net loss   —     —      —     —     (37,635  (37,635
Stock-based compensation, net   80   —      6,510   —     —     6,510 
Issuance of Common Stock   7,475   1    94,100   —     —     94,101 
Common Stock issuance costs   —     —      (707  —     —     (707
Exercise of Options   120   —      502   —     —     502 
Exercise of Warrants   4,733   —      54,422   —     —     54,422 
Cancellation of escrow shares   (20  —      —     —     —     —   
Other comprehensive loss   —     —      —     (232  —     (232
                           
Balance as of December 31, 2021
  
 
52,677
 
 
$
5
 
  
$
352,334
 
 
$
(222
 
$
(190,182
 
$
161,935
 
                           
Net loss   —     —      —     —     (50,917  (50,917
Stock-based compensation, net   176   —      6,426   —     —     6,426 
Other comprehensive income   —     —      —     182   —     182 
                           
Balance as of December 31, 2022
  
 
52,853
 
 
$
5
 
  
$
358,760
 
 
$
(40
 
$
(241,099
)
 
 
$
117,626
 
                           
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.


F-6

Table of ContentsSOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

CuriosityStream Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
            2022            
  
2021
 
        
Cash flows from operating activities
   
Net loss  
$

(50,917 $(37,635
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities         
Change in fair value of warrant liability   (5,404  (15,182
Additions to content assets   (34,771  (65,637
Change in content liabilities   (6,822  7,568 
Amortization of content assets   39,291   27,881 
Depreciation and amortization expenses   699   612 
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets   3,603   —   
Amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts associated with investments in debt securities, net   1,191   3,085 
Stock-based compensation   6,644   6,964 
Equity interests loss   846   464 
Other
non-cash
items
   1,141   240 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities         
Accounts receivable   11,862   (16,236
Other assets   3,355   (2,652
Accounts payable   2,654   (127
Accrued expenses and other liabilities   (4,645  7,414 
Deferred revenue   (8,250  9,999 
          
Net cash used in operating activities   (39,523  (73,242
          
Cash flows from investing activities
         
Purchases of property and equipment   (130  (351
Business acquisitions   —     (5,362
Investment in equity method investees   (2,438  (9,638
Sales of investments in debt securities   22,893   50,377 
Maturities of investments in debt securities   43,873   41,900 
Purchases of investments in debt securities   (1,497  (151,861
          
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities   62,701   (74,935
          
Cash flows from financing activities
         
Exercise of stock options   —     502 
Exercise of warrants   —     54,898 
Payments related to tax withholding   (218  (454
Proceeds from issuance of Common Stock   —     94,101 
Payment of offering costs   —     (707
          
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities   (218  148,340 
          
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   22,960   163 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period   17,547   17,384 
          
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period  
$

40,507  $17,547 
          
Supplemental disclosure:
         
Cash paid for taxes  
$

614  $269 
Cash paid for operating leases   486   348 
Right-of-use
assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease liabilities
(1)
   3,965   —   
(1) Includes adoption of new leasing guidance effective January 1, 2022. See Note 13 for further details.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-7

Note 1—Organization and business
On October 14, 2020, Software Acquisition Group Inc. (the “Company”) is, a blank checkspecial purpose acquisition company incorporated inand a Delaware on May 9, 2019. The Company was formed for the purposecorporation (“SAQN”), consummated a reverse merger pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businessesMerger, dated August 10, 2020 (the “Business Combination”). Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, CuriosityStream Operating Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Legacy CuriosityStream”) became a wholly owned subsidiary of SAQN, and the registrant changed its name from “Software Acquisition Group Inc.” to “CuriosityStream Inc.” Following the consummation of the Business Combination, Legacy CuriosityStream changed its name from “CuriosityStream Operating Inc.” to “Curiosity Inc.”
The principal business of CuriosityStream is to provide customers with access to high quality factual content via a direct subscription video
on-demand
(“SVOD”) platform accessible by internet connected devices, or indirectly via distribution partners who deliver CuriosityStream content via the distributor’s platform or system. The online library available for streaming spans the entire category of factual entertainment including science, history, society, nature, lifestyle, and technology. The library is composed of more than
si
x
 thousand accessible
on-demand
and
ad-free
productions and includes shows and series from leading
non-fiction
producers.
The Company’s content assets are available directly through its owned and operated website (“O&O Service”), mobile applications developed for iOS and Android operating systems (“App Services”), and via the platforms and systems of third-party partners in exchange for license fees. The Company is an early stageoffers subscribers a monthly or annual subscription. The price for a subscription varies depending on the content included (e.g., Direct Service or Smart Bundle service) and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to alllength of the risks associatedsubscription (e.g., monthly or annual) selected by the customer. As an additional part of the Company’s App Services, it has built applications to make its service accessible on almost every major customer device, including streaming media players like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, major smart TV brands (e.g., LG, Vizio, Samsung) and gaming consoles. In addition, CuriosityStream has affiliate agreement relationships with, early stage and emerging growth companies.

As of December 31, 2019, theits content assets are available through, certain multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) and virtual MVPDs (“vMVPDs”). The Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 relatesalso has distribution agreements which grant other media companies certain distribution rights to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination.programs, referred to as content licensing deals. The Company willalso sells selected rights (such as in territories or on platforms that are not generate any operating revenues until aftercurrently being exploited by the completionCompany) to content created before production begins.


Note 2—Basis of a Business Combination, atpresentation and summary of significant accounting policies
Basis of presentation
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated financial statements include the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the formaccounts of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.

The registration statements for the Company’s Initial Public Offering were declared effective on November 19, 2019. On November 22, 2019, the Company consummatedand its wholly owned subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Use of estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP and the Initial Public Offering of 14,950,000 units (the “Units”rules and with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriterregulations of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 1,950,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $149,500,000, which is described in Note 3.

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 4,740,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to Software Acquisition Holdings, LLC (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $4,740,000, which is described in Note 4.

Transaction costs amounted to $8,745,223 consisting of $2,990,000 of underwriting fees, $5,232,500 of deferred underwriting fees and $522,723 of other offering costs. In addition, As of December 31, 2019, cash of $1,093,408 was held outside of the Trust Account (as defined below) and is available for the payment of offering costs and for working capital purposes.

Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on November 22, 2019, an amount of $149,500,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering, and the sale of the Private Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, as described below.


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. NASDAQ rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing of a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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 that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

The Company will provide its 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. In connection with a proposed Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 20% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.

The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account ($10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.

If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of theU.S Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.

The Company’s Sponsor has agreed (a) to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination, (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek stockholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by May 22, 2021 (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no 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 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of applicable law. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission 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 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 assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has 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) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 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 monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure its stockholders that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. 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.

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 (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Emerging growth company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it 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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its 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.

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. 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 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.


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the reported amountsconsolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant items subject to such estimates include the content asset amortization policy, the assessment of the recoverability of content assets, equity method investments, intangible assets and goodwill, the fair value of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the datefor allocation of the financial statements andpurchase price of companies acquired, the reported amountsfair value of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2019.

Marketable securities held in Trust Account

At December 31, 2019, the assets held in the Trust Account were substantially held in a money market fund that invests primarily in U.S. Treasury Bills.

Common stock subject to possible redemption

The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” 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 is 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, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.

Income taxes

The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an assetshare-based awards and liability approach to financial accountingclassified warrants, and reporting for income taxes. Deferredmeasurement of income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions 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. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2019. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.

liabilities.

SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

Net loss per common share

Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Shares of common stock subject to possible redemption at December 31, 2019, which are not currently redeemable and are not redeemable at fair value, have been excluded from the calculation of basic loss per share since such shares, if redeemed, only participate in their pro rata share of the Trust Account earnings. The Company has not considered the effect of warrants to purchase 12,215,000 shares of common stock that were sold in the Initial Public Offering and the private placement in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.

Reconciliation of net loss per common share

The Company’s net income is adjusted for the portion of income that is attributable to common stock subject to possible redemption, as these shares only participate in the earnings of the Trust Account and not the income or losses of the Company. Accordingly, basic and diluted loss per common share is calculated as follows:

  For the
Period from
May 9,
2019
(inception)
through
 
  December 31,
2019
 
Net income $7,341 
Less: Income attributable to shares subject to redemption  (81,958)
Adjusted net loss $(74,617)
     
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted  3,535,964 
     
Basic and diluted net loss per share $(0.02)

Concentration of credit risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents, investments, and accounts in areceivable. The Company maintains its cash, cash
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equivalents, and investments with high credit quality financial institution, which,institutions; at times, such balances with the financial institutions may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limitapplicable FDIC-insured limits.
Accounts receivables, net are typically unsecured and are derived from revenues earned from customers primarily located in the United States and Germany.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the top three customers accounted for 21% of $250,000. the Company’s revenues
with
no customer individually
accounting
for 10% of the Company’s revenues. These same three customers accounted for 28% of the Company’s accounts receivables as of December 31, 2022.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the top three customers accounted for 27% of the Company’s revenues 
with
o
ne of these customers account
i
ng
 for more than 10% of the Company’s revenues. These same three customers accounted for 34% of the Company’s accounts receivables as of December 31, 2021.
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
The Company hadconsiders investments in instruments purchased with an original maturity of 90 days or less to be cash equivalents. The Company also classifies amounts in transit from payment processors for customer credit card and debit card transactions as cash equivalents.
Restricted cash maintained under agreements that legally restrict the use of such funds is not experiencedincluded within cash and cash equivalents and is reported in a separate line item on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
A reconciliation of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents in the consolidated balance sheets to cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the consolidated statements of cash flows as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   
(in thousands)
 
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 40,007   $ 15,216 
Restricted cash   500    2,331 
           
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  $40,507   $17,547 
           
As of December 31, 2022, restricted cash includes cash deposits required by a bank as collateral related to corporate credit card agreements of $0.5 million. On March 4, 2022, the Now You Know Media Inc. (“Learn25”) holdback of $0.2 million was paid to the previous owners of Learn25 from escrow funds previously classified as restricted cash. On April 16, 2022, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan was forgiven, and $1.2 million of funds were released from escrow to the Company and reclassified from restricted cash to cash and cash equivalents. On May 11, 2022, the One Day University (“ODU”) holdback of $0.5 million was paid to the previous owners of ODU from escrow funds previously classified as restricted cash.
Fair value measurement of financial instruments
Fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. The applicable accounting guidance establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability and are developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company.
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Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability. The guidance establishes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 – Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Level 3 – Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurements. The Company reviews the fair value hierarchy classification at each reporting period. Changes in the observability of valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy.
The Company’s assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis include its investments in money market funds and corporate, U.S. government, and municipal debt securities. Level 1 inputs were derived by using unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets in active markets and were used to value the Company’s investments in money market funds and U.S. government debt securities. Level 2 inputs were derived using prices for similar investments and were used to value the Company’s investments in corporate and municipal debt securities.
The Company’s liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis include its Private Placement Warrants. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants is considered a Level 3 valuation and is determined using the Black-Scholes valuation model. Refer to Note 7 for significant assumptions which the Company used in the fair value model for the Private Placement Warrants.
The Company’s remaining financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value because of the short-term maturity of these instruments.
Investments
The Company holds investments in money market funds, government debt securities, and corporate debt securities which the Company classifies as
available-for-sale.
The investments are therefore carried at fair value based on unadjusted quoted market prices (Level 1) and quoted prices for comparable assets (Level 2).
Unrealized gains and losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss, a component of stockholders’ equity (deficit). Realized gains and losses are reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income or loss into earnings as a component of net income or loss. The Company evaluates unrealized losses on investments, if any, to determine if other-than-temporary impairment is required to be recognized. No such other-than-temporary impairments were recognized during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. Investments in debt securities that will mature within one year of the balance sheet dates are reflected as Short-term investments in debt securities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Equity method investments
The Company applies the equity method of accounting to investments when it has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee. Significant influence is presumed to exist when the Company owns betw
een 20% and 50%
of the voting interests in the investee, but the Company also applies judgment regarding its level of influence over the investee by considering key factors such as ownership interest,
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representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material intercompany transactions. The Company’s equity method investments are initially reported at cost and then adjusted each period for the Company’s share of the investee’s income or loss and dividends paid, if any. The Company’s proportionate share of the net income (loss) resulting from these investments is reported under the line item captioned “Equity interests income (loss)” on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company classifies distributions received from equity method investments using the cumulative earnings approach on the consolidated statements of cash flows.
The Company assesses investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an investment may not be recoverable. Management reviewed the underlying net assets of its investees as of December 31, 2022, and determined that the Company’s proportionate economic interest in its investees was not impaired. The carrying value of the Company’s equity method investments is reported as “Investment in equity method investees” on the consolidated balance sheets.
Accounts receivables, net
Accounts receivable is comprised of receivables from subscriptions revenue, license fees revenue, and other revenue. The Company records accounts receivable net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance is determined based on a review of the estimated collectability of the specific accounts and historical loss experience and existing economic conditions. Uncollectible amounts are written off against the allowance for doubtful accounts once management believesdetermines collection of an amount, or a portion thereof, to be less than probable. As of December 31, 2022, and 2021, allowance for doubtful accounts amounted to
 $0.1
million.
Content assets, net
The Company acquires, licenses, and produces content, including original programming, in order to offer customers unlimited viewing of factual entertainment content. The content licenses are for a fixed fee and specific windows of availability. Payments for content, including additions to content assets and the changes in related liabilities, are classified within “Net cash used in operating activities” on the consolidated statements of cash flows.
The Company recognizes its content assets (licensed and produced) as “Content assets, net” on the consolidated balance sheets. For licenses, the Company capitalizes the fee per title and records a corresponding liability at the gross amount of the liability when the license period begins, the cost of the title is known, and the title is accepted and available for streaming. For productions, the Company capitalizes costs associated with the production, including development costs, direct costs and production overhead.
Based on factors including historical and estimated viewing patterns, the Company previously amortized the content assets (licensed and produced) in “Cost of revenues” on the consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the shorter of each title’s contractual window of availability or estimated period of use, beginning with the month of first availability. Starting July 1, 2021, the Company amortizes content assets on an accelerated basis in the initial two months after a title is published on the Company’s platform, as the Company has observed and expects more upfront viewing of content, generally as a result of additional marketing efforts. Furthermore, the amortization of original content is more accelerated than that of licensed content. The Company reviews factors that impact the amortization of the content assets on a regular basis and the estimates related to these factors require considerable management judgment. The Company continues to review factors impacting the amortization of content assets on an ongoing basis and will also record amortization on an accelerated basis when there is more upfront use of a title, for instance due to significant content licensing.
The Company’s business model is generally subscription based as opposed to a model generating revenues at a specific title level. Content assets (licensed and produced) are predominantly monetized as a group and
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therefore are reviewed in aggregate at a group level when an event or change in circumstances indicates a change in the expected usefulness of the content or that the fair value may be less than unamortized cost. If such changes are identified, the aggregated content assets will be stated at the lower of unamortized cost or fair value. No such changes were identified during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. In addition, unamortized costs for assets that have been, or are expected to be, abandoned are written off.
Property and equipment
Property and equipment are stated at historical cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the
non-cancelable
lease term or the estimated useful lives. Repairs and maintenance expenses are expensed as incurred.
Long-lived assets
The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of these assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount to the future undiscounted cash flows the assets are expected to generate. If long-lived assets are considered impaired, an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair value. No impairment charge related to long-lived assets was recognized for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021.
Goodwill and intangible assets
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquisitions over the amount assigned to tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired less liabilities assumed. At least annually, in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if indicators of impairment exist, management performs a review to determine if the carrying value of goodwill is impaired. The identification and measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of fair value at the Company’s reporting unit level, which is the same or one level below the operating segment level. The Company determined that it has one reporting unit.
The Company performs an initial assessment of qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events and circumstances leads to a determination that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of relevant events and circumstances, the Company determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value and there is no indication of impairment, no further testing is performed; however, if the Company concludes otherwise, an impairment test must be performed by estimating the fair value of the reporting unit and comparing it with its carrying value, including goodwill.
Intangible assets other than goodwill are carried at cost and amortized over their estimated useful lives. Amortization is recorded within General and administrative expenses on the consolidated statements of operations. The Company reviews identifiable finite-lived intangible assets to be held and used for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated undiscounted cash flows resulting from use of the asset and its ultimate disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value.
During the second quarter of 2022, the Company experienced a sustained decrease in its share price, and this triggering event was an indication that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the Company’s single reporting unit was below its carrying value. The Company performed an interim goodwill impairment test of its goodwill as of June 30, 2022 and recognized a goodwill impairment charge of
$2.8
 million, as the fair value of the reporting unit was less than the related carrying value. This charge is included in impairment of goodwill and intangible assets on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.
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The determination of the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit was based on a combination of the income and the market approach. The Company applied equal weighting to each of the approaches in determining the fair value of the reporting unit. Under the income approach, the Company utilized discounted cash flows of forecasted future cash flows based on future operational expectations and discounted these cash flows to reflect their relative risk. The cash flows used are consistent with those the Company uses in its internal planning, which reflect actual business trends experienced and the Company’s long-term business strategy. Under the market approach, the Company utilized the guideline public company method and guideline transaction method to develop valuation multiples and compare the Company to similar publicly traded companies. The significant assumptions under each of the approaches include, among others: revenue projections (which are dependent on future customer subscriptions and content licensing agreements), operating expenses, discount rate, control premium and a terminal growth rate. The cash flows used to determine the fair values are dependent on a number of significant management assumptions, such as the Company’s expectations of future performance and the expected future economic environment, which are partly based upon the Company’s historical experience. The Company also considered its market capitalization in assessing the reasonableness of the reporting unit fair value.
During the second quarter of 2022, the Company also determined there were impairment indicators with respect to certain of the Company’s definite-lived intangible assets. As a result, the Company performed an impairment test by comparing the carrying values of the intangible assets to their respective fair values, which were determined based on forecasted future cash flows. As a result of this impairment test, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $0.8 million, which is reflected as a component of impairment of goodwill and intangible assets on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Warrant liability
The Company classifies its Private Placement Warrants as liabilities as the terms of these warrants provide for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the warrant holder and because the holder of a warrant is not an input into the pricing of a
fixed-for-fixed
option on equity shares. Such provisions would preclude the warrant from being classified in equity and thus the warrant is classified as a liability. The Private Placement Warrants are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets and changes in the fair value of the Company’s Private Placement Warrants in each period are reported in “Change in fair value of warrant liability” on the consolidated statements of operations.
Business Combinations
The results of businesses acquired in a business combination are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of the acquisition. The Company uses the acquisition method of accounting and allocates the purchase price, including the fair value of any
non-cash
consideration, to the identifiable assets and liabilities of the relevant acquired business at their acquisition date fair values. Any excess consideration over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recognized as goodwill. While the Company uses its best estimates and assumptions to accurately value assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the acquisition date as well as contingent consideration, where applicable, its estimates are inherently uncertain and subject to refinement. As a result, during the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the acquisition date, the Company records adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the consolidated statements of operations.
Determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed requires the Company to perform valuations with significant judgment and estimates, including the selection of valuation methodologies, estimates of future revenue, costs and cash flows, discount rates and selection of comparable companies. The Company engages the assistance of valuation specialists in concluding on fair value measurements in connection with
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determining fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Transaction costs associated with business combinations are expensed as incurred, and are included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue recognition
Subscriptions—O&O Service
The Company generates revenue from monthly subscription fees from its O&O Service. CuriosityStream subscribers enter into
month-to-month
or annual subscriptions with the Company. The Company bills the monthly subscriber on each subscriber’s monthly anniversary date and recognizes the revenue ratably over each monthly membership period. The annual subscription fees are collected by the Company at the start of the annual subscription period and are recognized ratably over the subsequent twelve-month period. Revenues are presented net of the taxes that are collected from subscribers and remitted to governmental authorities.
The Company also offers gift certificates for use on a future date. The Company recognizes revenue from gift certificates when the services have been provided. The gift certificates do not expire.
Subscriptions—App Services
The Company also earns subscription revenues through its App Services. These subscriptions are similar to the O&O Service subscriptions but are generated based on agreements with certain streaming media players as well as with Smart TV brands and gaming consoles (see Note 1). Under these agreements, the streaming media player typically bills the subscriber directly and then remits the collected subscriptions to the Company, net of a distribution fee. The Company recognizes the gross subscription revenues when earned and simultaneously recognizes the corresponding distribution fees as an expense. The Company is the principal in these relationships as the Company retains control over service delivery to its subscribers.
License Fees—Affiliates
The Company generates license fee revenues from MVPDs such as Comcast and Cox as well as from vMVPDs such as Amazon and Sling TV (MVPDs and vMVPDs are also referred to as affiliates). Under the terms of the agreements with these affiliates, the Company receives license fees based upon contracted programming rates and subscriber levels reported by the affiliates. In exchange, the Company licenses its content to the affiliates for distribution to their subscribers. The Company earns revenue under these agreements either based on the total number of subscribers multiplied by rates specified in the agreements or based on fixed fee arrangements. These revenues are recognized over the term of each agreement when earned.
License Fees—Content Licensing
The
Company has distribution agreements which grant a licensee limited distribution rights to the Company’s programs for varying terms, generally in exchange for a fixed license fee. Revenue is recognized once the content is made available for the licensee to use.
The Company’s performance obligations include (1) access to its SVOD platform via the Company’s O&O Service and App Services, (2) access to the Company’s content assets, and (3) licenses of specific program titles. In contracts containing the right to access the Company SVOD platform, the performance obligation is satisfied as access to the SVOD platform is provided post any free trial period. In contracts which contain access to the Company’s content assets, the performance obligation is satisfied as access to the content is provided. For contracts with licenses of specific program titles, the performance obligation is satisfied as that content is made available for the customer to
use.
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Payment
terms for access to the Company’s SVOD services require payment in advance on or prior to the date access to the service is provided. Payments for contracts providing access to the Company’s content assets are paid either in advance, over the license term, or on a sales and usage basis. Payments for licenses of specific program titles are paid either upfront or over the license term on a fixed fee basis, or on a sales and usage basis. To date, there has been no financing component associated with the Company’s revenue arrangements and such arrangements do not contain rights of return provisions.
Cost of revenues
Cost of revenues primarily includes content asset amortization, streaming delivery costs, payment processing costs and distribution fees.
Advertising and marketing
Advertising and marketing expenses include digital, radio, brand awareness, and television types of costs. These costs are expensed as incurred. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
,
advertising and marketing expenses were $40.7 million and $52.2 million, respectively, and are reflected in advertising and marketing costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Stock-based compensation
The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. The fair value is recognized in earnings over the period during which an employee is required to provide
the
service. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Refer to Note 9 for further information.
Income taxes
The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes, in which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to the differences between the carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities as reported in the consolidated balance sheets and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be reversed. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized as a component of the income tax provision in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is established if it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
The Company’s tax positions are subject to income tax audits. The Company recognizes the tax benefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the position is sustainable upon examination by the taxing authority, based on the technical merits. The tax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is more likely than not (greater than 50% likely) to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its tax provision.
The Company calculates the current and deferred income tax provision based on estimates and assumptions that could differ from the actual results reflected in income tax returns filed in subsequent years. Adjustments based on filed income tax returns are recorded when identified. The amount of income tax paid is subject to examination by U.S. federal and state tax authorities. The estimate of the potential outcome of any uncertain tax issue is subject to management’s assessment of the relevant risks, facts, and circumstances existing at that time. To the extent the assessment of such tax position changes, the change in estimate is recorded in the period in which the determination is made.
F-15

Recently Issued and Adopted Financial Accounting Standards
As an Emerging Growth Company (“EGC”), the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”) allows the Company to delay adoption of new or revised accounting pronouncements applicable to public companies until such pronouncements are applicable to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period under the JOBS Act until such time as the Company is no longer considered to be an EGC.
Leases
In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)
2016-02,
Leases (Topic 842)
(“ASU
2016-02”
or “ASC 842”), which replaced Topic 840, Leases (“ASC 840”). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating leases under U.S. GAAP. ASU
2016-02
requires a lessee to recognize a lease liability and a
right-of-use
asset for each lease with a term longer than twelve months. The new guidance also requires additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures related to the nature, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The Company adopted the new standard effective January 1, 2022, using a modified retrospective approach and electing to use the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, which allows for the carry forward of historical lease classification for existing leases on the adoption date and does not exposedrequire the assessment of existing lease contracts to determine whether the contracts contain a lease or initial direct costs. Prior periods were not retrospectively adjusted.
The adoption of this standard resulted in the recognition of operating lease liabilities of $
5.3
 million, with corresponding
right-of-use
(ROU) assets in the amount of $
4.0
 million, net of existing deferred rent and lease incentives of $1.3 million. The Company did not have any finance lease liabilities as of the adoption date. There was no cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit as of
January 1, 2022, and the adoption of this new guidance did not have a material impact on the consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. Refer to Note 13 for further information regarding the impact of adoption of this standard on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Accounting Standards Effective in Future Periods
Financial Instruments—Credit Losses
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU
No. 2016-13,
“Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU
2016-13”).”
The amendments in this update introduce a new standard to replace the incurred loss impairment methodology under current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. Subsequent to the initial standards, the FASB has also issued several ASUs to clarify specific topics. ASU
2016-13
is effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2023. The Company does not expect the implementation of ASU 2016-13 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Note 3—Equity Investments and Business Combinations
Spiegel TV Geschichte und Wissen GmbH & Co. KG (the “Spiegel Venture”)
In July 2021, the Company acquired 32% ownership in the Spiegel Venture for $3.3 million. The Spiegel Venture, which prior to the Company’s equity purchase, was jointly owned and operated by Spiegel TV and Autentic, operates two documentary channels, together with various SVOD services, which provide factual content to pay television audiences in Germany. The Company has not received any dividends from the Spiegel Venture as of December 31,
2022.
The Company has a call option that permits it to require Spiegel TV and Autentic to sell its ownership interest in Spiegel Venture (“Call Option”). The Call Option, exercisable at a value based on a determinable
F-16

calculation in the Share Purchase Agreement (“SPA”), is initially exercisable only during the period that is the later of i) the 30-day period following the adoption of Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2024, and ii) the period between March 1, 2025 and March 30, 2025.
Together with the Call Option, each of Spiegel TV and Autentic has a put option that permits it to require the Company to purchase their interest (“Put Option”) at a value based on a determinable calculation outlined in the SPA. The Put Option is only exercisable upon the achievement of certain defined conditions, as outlined in the SPA, and is initially exercisable only during the period that is the later of i) the 60-day period following the adoption of Spiegel Venture’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year 2024, and ii) the period between April 1, 2025 and April 30, 2025.
In the event the Call Option or Put Option is not exercised, both options shall continue to be available to each respective party in the following year through perpetuity, with its exercise limited to the same date range as outlined above.
The Put Option is not currently considered to be probable of becoming exercisable based on the defined conditions in the SPA. Subsequent to December 31, 2022, the Company entered into an amendment to the SPA, as further described in Note 16.
Watch Nebula LLC (“Nebula”)
On August 23, 2021, the Company purchased a 12% ownership interest in Nebula for $6.0 million. Nebula is an SVOD technology platform built for and by a group of content creators. Should Nebula meet certain quarterly targets through the third quarter of 2023, the Company is obligated to purchase additional ownership interests, each for a payment of $0.8 million, which after each payment the Company will obtain an additional 1.625% of equity ownership interests. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company purchased additional equity interests totaling 3.25%, and during the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company purchased additional equity interests subsequent to the initial investment totaling 1.625%. These additional equity interest purchases have increased the Company’s total ownership interest in Nebula to 16.875% as of December 31, 2022. Prior to the Company’s investment, Nebula was a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Broadcast LLC (“Standard”). The Company obtained 25% of the representation on Nebula’s Board of Directors, providing the Company with significant risksinfluence, but not a controlling interest. The Company has not received dividends from Nebula as of December 31, 2022.
The Company’s carrying values for its equity method investments as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:
   
Spiegel
Venture
   
Nebula
   
Total
 
   
(in thousands)
 
Balance, December 31, 2021
(1)
  $ 3,089   $ 6,898   $9,987 
Investments in equity method investees   —      1,625    1,625 
Equity interests (loss) income   (190   (656   (846
                
Balance, December 31, 2022  $2,899   $7,867   $ 10,766 
                
(1) 
Nebula’s investment in equity method investees balance include
d
 an accrual of $0.8 million also reported in Accrued expenses and other liabilities as of December 31, 2021.
Acquisition of ODU
On May 11, 2021, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of ODU for the aggregate consideration of $4.5
million. ODU provides access to talks and lectures from professors at colleges
F-17

and universities in the United States. The Company paid $
4.0 million of cash consideration with the remaining $0.5 million to be held by the Company as a holdback for indemnification purposes. On May 11, 2022, the ODU holdback of $0.5 million was paid to the previous owners from escrow funds previously classified as restricted cash.
Acquisition of Learn25
On August 13, 2021, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of Learn25 for fixed cash consideration of $1.5 million in addition to an earnout of up to $0.6 million based on such accounts.

Fairthe achievement of certain revenue targets post-acquisition through fiscal year 2021. Learn25 provides access to hundreds of audio and video programs on history, science, psychology, health, religion, and other topics from various professors and subject-matter experts around the world. The Company paid $1.4 million of cash consideration with the remaining $0.2

million to be held by the Company as a holdback for indemnification purposes. On February 11, 2022, the Company paid an earnout of $0.5 million pursuant to the achievement of revenue targets in 2021. On March 4, 2022, the Learn25 holdback of $0.2 million was paid to the previous owners from escrow funds previously classified as restricted cash.
Note 4—Balance sheet components
Investments in debt securities
The Company’s investments in debt securities at fair value based on unadjusted quoted market prices (Level 1) and quoted prices for comparable assets (Level 2) are:
  
As of December 31, 2022
  
As of December 31, 2021
 
  
Cash and
Cash
Equivalents
  
Short-term
Investments
  
Investments
(non-current)
  
Total
  
Cash and
Cash
Equivalents
  
Short-term
Investments
  
Investments
(non-current)
  
Total
 
                         
  (in thousands)  (in thousands) 
Level 1 Securities                                
Money market funds $17,724  $—    $—    $17,724  $11,709  $—    $—    $11,709 
U.S. Government debt securities  —     —     —     —     —     13,582   —     13,582 
         
Total Level 1 Securities  17,724   —     —     17,724   11,709   13,582   —     25,291 
         
Level 2 Securities                                
Corporate debt securities  —     14,986   —     14,986   —     50,641   15,430   66,071 
Municipal debt securities  —     —     —     —     —     1,610   —     1,610 
         
Total Level 2 Securities  —     14,986   —     14,986   —     52,251   15,430   67,681 
         
Total $17,724  $14,986  $—    $32,710  $11,709  $65,833  $15,430  $92,972 
         
The following tables summarize the Company’s corporate, U.S. government, and municipal debt securities:
   
As of December 31, 2022
 
   
Amortized
Cost
   
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
   
Estimated
Fair Value
 
                 
   (in thousands) 
Debt Securities:                    
Corporate  $15,026   $—     $(40  $14,986 
Total  $15,026   $—     $(40  $14,986 
                     
F-18

   
As of December 31, 2021
 
   
Amortized
Cost
   
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
   
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
   
Estimated
Fair
Value
 
                 
   (in thousands) 
Debt Securities:                    
Corporate  $66,281   $—     $(210  $66,071 
U.S. Government   13,594    —      (12   13,582 
Municipalities   1,610    —      —      1,610 
                     
Total  $81,485   $—     $(222  $81,263 
                     
Realized
losses were less than $
0.1
 million re
port
ed in interest and other income in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
The fair value of the Company’s investments in corporate, U.S. government, and municipal debt securities as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, by contractual maturity is as follows:
   
As of December 31, 2022
   
As of December 31, 2021
 
   
Amortized
Cost
   
Estimated Fair
Value
   
Amortized Cost
   
Estimated
Fair Value
 
                 
   (in thousands)   (in thousands) 
Due in one year or less  $15,026   $14,986   $66,001   $65,833 
Due after one year through five years   —      —      15,484    15,430 
Due after five years   —      —      —      —   
                     
Total  $15,026   $14,986   $81,485   $81,263 
                     
Content assets
Content assets consisted of the following:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Licensed content, net          
Released, less amortization  $11,154   $11,406 
Prepaid and unreleased   4,014    9,119 
           
    15,168    20,525 
Produced content, net          
Released, less amortization   33,094    18,507 
In production   20,240    33,650 
           
    53,334    52,157 
           
Total  $68,502   $72,682 
           
As
of December 31, 2022, $5.1 million, $3.0 million, and liabilities, which qualify$1.3 million of the $11.2 million unamortized cost of the licensed content that has been released is expected to be amortized in each of the next three years. As of December 31, 2022, $9.3 million, $8.7 million, and $7.6 million of the $33.1 million unamortized cost of the produced content that has been released is expected to be amortized in each of the next three years.
F-19

In accordan
ce with its accounting policy for content assets, the Company amortized licensed content costs and produced content costs during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respe
cti
vely, as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurementsfollows:
   
For the year ended
December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Licensed content  $8,480   $8,961 
Produced content   30,811    18,920 
           
   $ 39,291   $ 27,881 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Property and Disclosures,” approximatesequipment
Property and equipment are summarized by major classifications as follows:
   
Estimated

useful life

(in years)
   
As of December 31,
 
  
2022
   
2021
 
            
       (in thousands) 
Furniture and fixtures   10 to 15   $108   $108 
Equipment   5    1,252    1,247 
Computer and software   3 to 5    857    729 
Website and application development   3    37    422 
Leasehold improvements   Lesser of lease term or lives    703    703 
Work-in-progress
   —      5    32 
                
Property and equipment, gross    2,962    3,241 
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization    1,868    1,899 
                
Property and equipment, net   $1,094   $1,342 
                
Depreciation expense related to the carrying amounts representedproperty and equipment above, including the amortization of leasehold improvements, was $0.4 million and $0.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Goodwill and intangible assets
Changes in goodwill for the year ended December 31, 2022, was as follows (in thousands):
Balance, December 31, 2021  $2,793 
Impairment of Goodwill (see Note 2)   2,793 
      
Balance, December 31, 2022  $—   
      
Intangible assets as of December 31, 2022 were comprised of the following:

   
Weighted
average
remaining
lives (in
years)
   
Gross
Carrying
Amount
12/31/2021
   
Accumulated
Amortization
  
Impairment
(see Note 2)
  
Net
Carrying
Amount
12/31/2022
 
                   
       (in thousands) 
                   
Customer relationships   1.3   $940   $(393 $(430 $117 
Trademark   3.9    570    (133  (320  117 
Covenant-not-to-compete
   1.4    130    (52  (61  17 
                        
        $1,640   $(578 $(811 $251 
                        
F-20

Warrant liability
As described in Note 7, the Private Placement Warrants are classified as a
non-current
liability and reported at fair value at each reporting period. The fair value of the Private Placement Warrants as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, was as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Level 3          
Private Placement Warrants  $257   $5,661 
           
Total Level 3  $257   $5,661 
           
Note 5—Revenue
The following table sets forth the Company’s revenues disaggregated by type for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, as well as the relative percentage of each revenue type to total revenue.
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
2022
  
2021
 
        
   (in thousands, except percentages) 
Subscriptions—O&O Service  $31,069    40 $20,906    29
Subscriptions—App Services   3,940    5  3,915    6
                    
Subscriptions—Total   35,009    45  24,821    35
License Fees—Affiliates   16,357    21  18,572    26
License Fees—Content Licensing
(1)
   24,691    31  24,758    35
                    
License Fees—Total   41,048    52  43,330    61
Other—Total
(1)
   1,986    3  3,110    4
                    
Total Revenues  $78,043       $71,261      
                    
(1)For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, total related party revenue was $1.9 million and $5.6 million, respectively. This consisted of $0.3 million and $3.0 million of revenue from content licensed by the Company to the Spiegel Venture during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which is included in License Fees—Content Licensing. Total related party revenue also consisted of $1.3 million for marketing services rendered to the Spiegel Venture during the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as $1.6 million and $1.3 million for marketing services rendered to Nebula during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which is included in Other Revenue.
Revenues expected to be recognized in the accompanyingfuture related to performance obligations that are unsatisfied as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:
   
For the year ending December 31,
     
   
2023
   
2024
   
2025
   
2026
   
Thereafter
   
Total
 
                         
   (in thousands) 
Remaining Performance Obligations  $9,705   $5,469   $3,779   $115   $197   $19,265 
These amounts include only fixed consideration or minimum guarantees and do not include amounts related to (i) contracts with an original expected term of one year or less or (ii) licenses of content that are solely based on sales or usage-based
royalties.
F-21

Contract liabilities (i.e., deferred revenue) consists of subscriber and affiliate license fees billed that have not been recognized, amounts contractually billed or collected for content licensing sales in advance of the related content being made available to the customer, and unredeemed gift certificates and other prepaid subscriptions that have not been redeemed. Total deferred revenues were $14.9 million and $23.2 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively with the
non-current
portions of $0.6 million and $0.7 million as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, included in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet,sheets. The decrease in deferred revenue is primarily due to their short-term nature.

Recently issued accounting standards

Management does not believerevenue recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022 related to content licensing amounts that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would havewere previously recorded in deferred revenue, partially offset by the growth in annual subscriptions, which require upfront annual payments.

Revenues of $22.3 million were recognized during the year ended December 31, 2022, related to the balance of deferred revenue as of December 31, 2021.
Note 6—Paycheck Protection Program Loan
On May 1, 2020, the Company applied for and received funding from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) in the amount of $1.2 million under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) (the “PPP Loan”). The PPP Loan was set to mature in May 2022 and bore interest at a material effectrate of 1.0% per annum. The PPP provides that the use of the PPP Loan amount shall be limited to certain qualifying expenses and may be partially or wholly forgiven in accordance with the requirements set forth in the CARES Act. The amount of loan proceeds eligible for forgiveness takes into account a number of factors, including the amount of loan proceeds used by the Company during the specified period after the loan origination for certain purposes including payroll costs, rent payments on certain leases, and certain qualified utility payments.
The Company elected to recognize earnings as funds are applied to covered expenses and classify the application of funds as a reduction of the related expense in the consolidated statement of operations. On April 16, 2022, the Company received the loan forgiveness letter from the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that the loan has been forgiven in full, including applicable interest. Following receipt of the loan forgiveness notification letter, funds of $1.2 million were released from escrow, and the Company reclassified this amount from restricted cash to cash and cash equivalents on the Company’s financial statements.

NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Pursuantconsolidated balance sheet.

Note 7—Stockholders’ equity
Common Stock
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company has authorized the issuance of 126,000,000 shares of capital stock, par value of $0.0001 per share, consisting of (a) 125,000,000 shares of common stock, and (b) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock.
Warrants

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had (A) 3,054,203 publicly traded warrants that were (i) sold as part of the units of Software Acquisition Group Inc. in its initial public offering on November 22, 2019 and (ii) issued to the InitialPIPE Investors in connection with the
Business Combination
that closed on October 14, 2020 (
collectively, 
the “Public Warrants”) and (B) 3,676,000 Private Placement Warrants outstanding.
Private Placement Warrants are liability- classified, and the Public Offering,Warrants are equity-classified. 
Each whole warrant entitles the Company sold 14,950,000 Units, which included the full exercise by the underwriter of its option to purchase an additional 1,950,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant will entitle theregistered holder to purchase one share of Class Athe Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share (see Note 7).


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,740,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $4,740,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. All

w
arrants expire on October 14, 2025.
The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering 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 Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

In June 2019, the Company issued an aggregate of 3,593,750 shares (the “Founder Shares”) to the Sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash. On November 19, 2019, the Company effected a stock dividend for 0.04 share for each Founder Share outstanding, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 3,737,500 Founder Shares. The 3,737,500 Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 487,500 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor will collectively own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Initial Public Offering and excluding the Private Placement Warrants and underlying securities). As a result of the underwriter’s election to fully exercise its over-allotment option, 487,500 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.

The initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or similar transaction that results in the Company’s stockholders havinghas the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.

Promissory Note — Related Party

On June 25, 2019, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2019 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The borrowings outstanding under the Note of $235,540 were repaid upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering on November 22, 2019.

Related Party Loans

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor, an affiliate of the Sponsor, or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of notes may be converted upon consummation of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants will be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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.


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

Administrative Support Agreement

The Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on November 19, 2019 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, the Company will pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. For the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, the Company incurred $15,000 in fees for these services, which is included in accrued expenses in the accompanying balance sheet.

NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS

Registration Rights

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on November 19, 2019, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion to our Class A common stock). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriter’s Agreement

The underwriter is entitled to a deferred fee of three and half percent (3.50%) of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $5,232,500. 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.

NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Preferred Stock— The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of $0.0001 par value preferred stock. At December 31, 2019, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2019, there were 905,560 shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding, excluding 14,044,440 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of Class B, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority ofredeem the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination, and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company). Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time.


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

At December 31, 2019, there were 3,737,500 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.

The Company may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete its Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of its Business Combination.

Warrants —The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Initial Public Offering. No Public Warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the common shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such common shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within 60 days from the consummation of a Business Combination, the 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 the Public Warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to an available exemption from registration under the Securities Act. If an exemption from registration is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Company may call the Public Warrants for redemption (excluding the Private Placement Warrants), in whole and not in part at a price of $0.01 per warrant:

upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each Public Warrant holder,
if, and only if, the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, if and only if the last sale

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price of the Company’s common stock matched or exceeded $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a
30-trading
day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sent the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that, the Private Placement Warrants will and the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by Software Acquisition Holdings, LLC (the Company’s former sponsor) or its permitted transferees: (i) they will not be redeemable by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. IfCompany; (ii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iii) they are subject to registration rights.
No warrants were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company received total proceeds of $54.9 million related to the exercise of 4.7 million Public Warrants.
The warrant liability related to the Private Placement Warrants is recorded at fair value as of each reporting date with the change in fair value reported within other income (expense) in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations as “Change in fair value of warrant liability” until the warrants are held by someoneexercised, expired or other thanfacts and circumstances lead the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees,warrant liability to be reclassified to stockholder’s equity (deficit). The fair value of the warrant liability for the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable bywas estimated using a Black-Scholes pricing model using Level 3 inputs. The significant assumptions used in preparing the CompanyBlack-Scholes option pricing model are as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
  
2021
 
        
Exercise Price  $11.50  $11.50 
Stock Price (CURI)  $1.14  $5.93 
Expected volatility   77.00  58.00
Expected warrant term (years)   2.8   3.8 
Risk-free interest rate   4.22  1.12
Dividend yield   0  0
Fair Value per Private Placement Warrant  $0.07  $1.54 
The change in fair value of
th
e private placement warrant liability for years ended December 31, 2022 and exercisable by such holders2021 resulted in a gain of $5.4 million and $15.2 million, respectively.
F-23

Note 8—Earnings (loss) per share
Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share calculations are calculated on the same basis asof the Public Warrants.

The exercise price andweighted average number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of 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 the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless. 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. The exercise price and number of common shares issuable upon 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. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of 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 warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.


SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock outstanding during the 20 trading dayrespective periods. Diluted earnings (loss) per share give effect to all dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period starting onusing the trading day priortreasury stock method for stock options and other potentially dilutive securities. In computing diluted earnings (loss) per share, the average fair value of the Company’s common stock for the period is used to determine the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share,number of shares assumed to be purchased from the exercise price of the options. Purchases of treasury stock reduce the outstanding shares commencing on the date that the stock is purchased. Common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation when a loss is incurred as their effect would be anti-dilutive.

   
For the year ended
December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands, except per
share amounts)
 
Numerator—Basic EPS:
    
Net loss  $(50,917  $(37,635
Denominator—Basic EPS:          
Weighted–average shares—Basic   52,787    51,482 
           
Net loss per share—Basic  $(0.96  $(0.73
           
Numerator—Diluted EPS:          
Net loss  $(50,917  $(37,635
Decrease in fair value of Private Placement Warrants   —      (15,182
           
Net loss—Diluted   $(50,917  $(52,817
           
Denominator—Diluted EPS:          
Weighted–average shares—Basic   52,787    51,482 
Incremental common shares from assumed exercise of Private Placement Warrants     —    307 
           
Weighted–average shares—Diluted   52,787    51,789 
           
Net loss per share—Diluted  $(0.96  $(1.02
           
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, the following share equivalents were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as the inclusion of such shares would be anti-dilutive. Common shares issuable for warrants, options, and restricted stock units represent the total amount of outstanding warrants, stock options, and restricted stock units as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Antidilutive shares excluded:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Options   4,632    4,748 
Restricted Stock Units   759    850 
Warrants   6,730    3,054 
           
    12,121    8,652 
           
Note 9—Stock-based compensation
The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. The fair value is recognized in earnings over the
F-24

period during which an employee is required to provide the service. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
CuriosityStream 2020 Omnibus Plan
In October 2020, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted the CuriosityStream 2020 Omnibus Plan (the “2020 Plan”). The 2020 Plan became effective upon consummation of the Business Combination and succeeds the Legacy CuriosityStream Stock Option Plan. Upon adoption of the 2020 Plan, a total of
7,725,000
shares were approved to be issued as stock options, share appreciation rights, restricted stock units and restricted stock.
The following table summarizes stock option and restricted stock unit (RSU) activity, prices, and values from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022:
      
Stock Options
   
Restricted Stock Units
 
   
Number of
Shares
Available

for

Issuance
Under the
Plan
  
Number of
Shares
  
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (in
Years)
   
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
(1)
   
Number
of Shares
  
Weighted-
Average
Grant
Date Fair
Value
 
Balance as of December 31, 2021   1,820,504   4,747,832  $7.61    8.2   $3,254    850,277  $11.41 
Granted   (1,369,401  820,741   3.18    —      —      548,660   3.15 
Options exercised and RSUs vested   79,776   —     —      —      —      (292,882  9.95 
Forfeited or expired   1,283,815   (936,480  6.11    —      —      (347,335  9.12 
                                 
Balance as of December 31, 2022   1,814,694   4,632,093  $7.13    6.8   $—      758,720  $7.14 
                                 
Exercisable as of December 31, 2021       2,348,875  $7.74    8.0   $2,010          
Exercisable as of December 31, 2022       3,003,687  $7.24    6.2   $—            
Unvested as of December 31, 2021       2,398,957  $7.49    8.4   $1,244          
Unvested as of December 31, 2022       1,628,406  $6.93    8.0   $—            
(1)
Intrinsic value is based on the difference between the exercise price of
in-the-money-stock
options and the fair value of the Company’s Common Stock as of the respective balance sheet date.
There were
no
options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2022. The intrinsic value of options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2021 was $1.4 million.
Stock options and RSU awards generally vest on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis over a period of four years from the grant date. When options are exercised, the Company’s policy is to issue previously unissued shares of Common Stock to satisfy share option exercises. Upon vesting and distribution of RSUs, the Company’s policy is to issue previously unissued shares of Common Stock to satisfy restricted stock units vested, net of shares withheld for taxes if elected by the RSU holder.
F-25
The fair value of stock option awards is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, which includes a number of assumptions including Company’s estimates of stock price volatility, employee stock option exercise behaviors, future dividend payments, and risk-free interest rates.
The expected term of options granted is the estimated period of time from the beginning of the vesting period to the date of expected exercise or other settlement, based on historical exercises and post-vesting terminations. The Company generally estimates expected term based on the midpoint between the vesting date and the end of the contractual term, also known as the simplified method, given the lack of historical exercise behavior.
The Company uses its own historical volatility as well as the historical volatility of similar public companies for estimating volatility. The risk-free interest rate is estimated using the rate of return on U.S. Treasury securities with maturities that approximate to the expected term of the option. The Company does not currently anticipate declaring any dividends.
Assumptions used to value the options granted and the resulting weighted-average grant date fair value and stock-based compensation expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
Dividend yield   0%    0% 
Expected volatility   60% - 70%    60% 
Expected term (years)   6.00 - 6.50    2.50 - 6.25 
Risk-free interest rate   1.40% - 2.95%    0.14% 
-
 1.11%
 
Weighted average grant date fair value  $1.91   $6.58 
   
(in thousands)
 
Stock-based compensation—Options  $3,829   $4,597 
Stock-based compensation—RSUs  $2,815   $2,367 
Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.
The following table summarizes the total remaining unrecognized compensation cost as of December 31, 2022, related to
non-vested
stock options and restricted stock units and the weighted average remaining years over which the cost will be adjusted (torecognized:
   
Total Unrecognized
Compensation Cost
   
Weighted Average
Remaining Years
 
         
   (in thousands)     
Stock options  $5,227    1.8 
Restricted Stock Units   9,166    2.4 
           
Total  $14,393      
           
Note 10—Segment and geographic information
The Company operates as one reporting segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) is its chief executive officer, who reviews financial information presented on an entity-wide basis for purposes of making operating decisions, assessing financial performance and allocating resources.
F-26

All long-lived tangible assets are located in the nearest cent) to be equal to 115%United States. Revenue by geographic location, based on the location of the highercustomers, with one foreign country
in each year
individually comprising greater than 10% of total revenue, is as follows:
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
2022
  
2021
 
        
   (in thousands, except percentages) 
United States  $48,270    62 $41,461    58
International:                   
United Kingdom   8,191    10  6,749    9
Germany   3,024    4  8,625    12
Other   18,558    24  14,426    21
                    
Total International  $29,773    38 $29,800    42
                    
   $78,043    100 $71,261    100
                    
Note 11—Related party transactions
Equity investments
As described in Note 5, the Company recognized $0.3 million and $4.3 million of revenue related to the Spiegel Venture during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Further, the Company recognized $1.6 million and $1.3 million of revenue related to advertising services rendered to Nebula during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
The Company also recognized $4.3 million and $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in revenue share to Nebula from subscription sales to certain bundled subscription packages. This revenue share is recorded in Cost of revenues on the consolidated statement of operations.
A summary of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180%impact of the higherarrangements with Spiegel Venture and Nebula on
the Company’s
 consolidated balance sheets and statement of operations is as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Balance Sheets
          
Accounts receivable  $3,358   $6,254 
Accounts payable   404    611 
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   (in thousands) 
Statement of Operations
 
     
Revenues  $1,901   $5,612 
Cost of revenues   4,289    1,202 
Operating lease
The Company sublets a portion of its office space to Hendricks Investment Holdings, LLC (“HIH”), which is considered a related party as it is managed by various members of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

NOTE 8. INCOME TAX

Company’s Board of Directors. The Company did not have any deferred tax assets or liabilities ataccounts for the arrangement as an operating lease. Refer to Note 13 for further information.

F-27

Production agreements
The Company has entered into various agreements with a production company for which the Company’s Chief Executive Officer has a less than 10% ownership interest. Under the terms of these agreements, the Company paid a total of $2.4 million and $3.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2019.

The income tax provision for2022 and 2021, respectively, upon the period from May 9, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 consists ofdifferent milestones stated in the following:

Federal   
Current $1,952 
Deferred   
     
State    
Current $ 
Deferred   
Change in valuation allowance   
Income tax provision $1,952 

agreements. As of December 31, 2019,2022, the Company no longer has any obligation under these agreements.

Note 12—Retirement Plan
The Company administers and participates in a 401(k) plan that covers employees 21 years of age or older with three months or greater of service. The plan permits elective deferrals by the employees from each participant’s compensation up to the maximum allowed by law. The Company matches employee deferrals at 100% on up to 3% of compensation and 50% of employee deferrals between 3 – 5% of compensation. Participants are immediately vested in their elective deferrals and the Company contributions. The Company made matching contributions of $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
Note 13—Leases
The Company adopted the new leases guidance contained in Topic 842 effective January 1, 2022 using the modified retrospective method. Therefore, the reported results for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the financial position as of December 31, 2022 reflect the application of this new guidance, while the reported results for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the financial position as of December 31, 2021 were not adjusted and continue to be reported under the prior lease accounting guidance in effect for the prior periods.
Company as a Lessee
The Company is party to a
non-cancellable
operating lease agreement for office space, which expires in 2033. The Company’s operating lease for this office space includes fixed rent payments and variable lease payments, which are primarily related to common area maintenance and utility charges. The Company elected not to separate lease and
non-lease
components, and as such, all amounts paid under the lease are classified as either fixed or variable lease payments. Fixed leases payments were included in the calculation of the ROU asset and leases liabilities, with variable lease payments being recognized as lease expense
as incurred
. The Company has determined that no renewal clauses are reasonably certain of being exercised and
therefore has
not included any renewal periods within the lease term for this lease.
The following table presents future minimum lease payments and related sublease rental income as reflected under ASC 840 as of December 31, 2021.

Year Ending December 31,
  
Rent
Expense
   
Sublease

rental income
   
Net
rent
 
       
(in thousands)
     
2022
  $530   $(53  $477 
2023
   543    (54   489 
2024
   557    (56   501 
2025
   571    (57   514 
2026
   585    (59   526 
Thereafter
   3,946    (395   3,551 
  
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
  $6,732   $(674  $6,058 
  
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
Post adoption of ASC 842
, the Company had operating lease ROU assets of $3.7 million, current lease liabilities of $0.3 million, and
non-current
lease liabilities of $4.6 million
 as of December 31, 2022.
In measuring
F-28

operating lease liabilities, the Company used a weighted average discount rate of 4.4% in existence as of the January 1, 2022 adoption date. The weighted average remaining lease term as of December 31, 2022 was 10.2 years.
Components of Lease Cost
The Company’s total operating lease cost for the year ended December 31, 2022 was comprised of the following:
   
For the year ended
December 31, 2022
 
   (in thousands) 
Operating lease cost  $484 
Short-term lease cost   42 
Variable lease cost   51 
      
Total lease cost  $577 
      
Maturity of Lease Liabilities
As of December 31, 2022, maturities of our operating lease liabilities, which do not include short-term leases and variable lease payments, are as follows (in thousands):
2023  $543 
2024   557 
2025   571 
2026   585 
2027   600 
Thereafter   3,346 
      
Total Lease Payments   6,202 
Less: imputed interest   (1,217
      
Present value of total lease liabilities  $4,985 
      
Company as Lessor
The Company sublets a portion of its office space to a related party and accounts for the arrangement as an operating lease. Related party sublease rental income is recognized on a straight-line basis and is included in Interest and other (expense) income in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2022, operating lease income from the Company’s sublet was immaterial. As of December 31, 2022, total remaining future minimum lease payments receivable on the Company’s operating lease was $0.6 million.
Note 14—Commitments and contingencies
Content commitments
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $11.5 million of content obligations comprised of $2.9 million included in current content liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and $8.6 million of obligations that are not reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as they did not have anyyet meet the asset recognition criteria for content assets (see Note 2). These obligations are expected to be paid during the year ending December 31, 2023.
F-29

As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $39.0 million of content obligations comprised of $9.7 million included in current content liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, and $29.3 million of obligations that are not reflected in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as they did not yet meet the asset recognition criteria for content assets.
Content obligations include amounts related to licensed, commissioned and internally produced streaming content. An obligation for the production of content includes
non-cancelable
commitments under creative talent and employment agreements. An obligation for the licensed and commissioned content is incurred at the time the Company enters into an agreement to obtain future titles. Once a title becomes available, a content liability is generally recorded. Certain agreements include the obligation to license rights for unknown future titles, the ultimate quantity and/or fees for which are not yet determinable as of the reporting date.
Advertising commitments
The Company has certain commitments with regards to future advertising and marketing expenses as stated in the various licensee agreements. Certain of the agreements do not specify the amount of advertising and marketing commitment; however, the total commitments for agreements which do specify the amount are
$
1.1 million as of December 31, 2022, of which $0.6 milli
o
n and $0.5 million are expected to be paid during the years ending December 31, 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Note 15—Income taxes

The components of the provision for income taxes are as follows:
   
For the year ended
December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   
(in thousands)
 
Provision for income taxes:
    
Current:          
Federal  $—     $—   
State and
L
ocal
   (25)   11 
Foreign   396    345 
           
Total current provision  $371   $356 
           
Deferred:          
Federal  $(3)  $3 
State and local   (1)   1 
Foreign   —      —   
           
Total deferred provision  $(4)  $4 
           
Total tax provision  $367   $360 
           
F-30

The following table reconciles the Company’s effective income tax rate to the U.S. federal statutory income tax rat
e
.
   
For the year ended December 31,
 
   
2022
  
2021
 
        
                
   
(in thousands, except percentages)
 
U.S. federal statutory income tax provision (benefit)  $(10,615   21.0 $(7,851   21.0
Permanent items   (360   0.7  (3,360)   9.0
State and local income taxes, net of federal tax benefit   (1,938   3.8  (2,727   7.3
Change in valuation allowance   12,409    (24.5)%   13,824    (37.0)%
Return to provision adjustments   475    (0.9)%   129    (0.3)% 
Foreign withholding taxes   396    (0.8)%   345    (0.9)% 
                    
Total tax provision  $367    (0.7)%  $360    (0.9)% 
                    
The Company has recorded a $
0.4 million
 tax provision
primarily related to foreign withholding income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021. For the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, the Company’s provision for income taxes differs from the federal statutory rate primarily due to the Company being in a full valuation allowance position and not recognizing a benefit for either federal or state income tax purposes. 
Deferred income taxes reflect the net operating loss carryovers (“NOLs”) available to offset future taxable income.

In assessingtax effect of temporary differences between the realizationamounts recorded for financial reporting purposes and the bases recognized for tax purposes.

The major components of the deferred tax assets management considersand liabilities are as follows (in thousands):
   
December 31,
 
   
2022
   
2021
 
         
   
(in thousands)
 
Deferred tax assets:
    
Net operating loss carryforwards  $49,050   $37,428 
Accrued expenses and reserves   526    798 
Intangibles and content assets   2,837    2,334 
Deferred rent       314 
Lease liability   1,232    —   
Stock based compensation   3,046    2,627 
Other   275    179 
           
Total deferred tax asset   56,966    43,680 
           
Valuation allowance   (56,051   (43,642
           
Deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance  $915   $38 
           
Deferred tax liabilities:          
Unrealized gain       (43
ROU asset   (915   —   
           
Deferred tax liabilities, net  $(0  $(5)
           
As of December 31, 2022, and 2021, the Company maintained a valuation allowance on substantially all of its deferred tax assets. The deferred tax assets predominantly relate to operating losses, intangibles and content assets, and stock-based compensation. As a result of Legacy CuriosityStream’s conversion from an LLC to a C corporation in 2018, Legacy CuriosityStream recognized a partial
step-up
in the tax basis of intangibles and content assets that will be recovered as those assets are sold or the basis is amortized. On the date of the
F-31

conversion, Legacy CuriosityStream recorded an estimated net deferred tax asset relating to this partial
step-up
in tax basis. The valuation allowance was determined in accordance with applicable accounting guidance, which requires an assessment of both positive and negative evidence when determining whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will notare recoverable. Such assessment is required on a
jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction
basis. The Company’s history of cumulative losses, along with expected future U.S. losses, required that a full valuation allowance be realized.recorded against all net deferred tax assets. The ultimate realization ofCompany intends to maintain a full valuation allowance on net deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduleduntil sufficient positive evidence exists to support a reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable incomethe valuation allowance.
As of December 31, 2022, and tax planning strategies2021, the Company had federal net operating loss carryforwards of
approximately $196.9
m
illion
and $149.1 million, respectively, which do not expire. As of December 31, 202
2
, and 202
1
, the Company had gross state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $135.0 million and $110.9 million, respectively, which begin to expire in making this assessment.

A reconciliation202

3
. All of the federal incomeand state net operating losses may be subject to change of ownership limitations provided by the Code and similar state provisions. An annual loss limitation may result in the expiration or reduced utilization of the net operating losses.
No liability related to uncertain tax rate topositions has been recorded in the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2019 is as follows:

Statutory federal income tax rate21.0%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit0.0%
Income tax provision21.0%

consolidated financial statements. The Company files incomerecognizes the tax returns inbenefit of an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the U.S. federal jurisdiction in various state and local jurisdictions andposition is subject tosustainable upon examination by the various taxing authorities.authority, based on the technical merits. The Company’stax benefit recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit which is more likely than not (greater than 50% likely) to be realized upon settlement with the taxing authority. The Company recognizes interest accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in its tax provision.

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was signed into law in the United States. Among other provisions, the IRA includes a 15.0% corporate minimum tax rate of the adjusted financial statement income of certain large corporations and a 1.0% excise tax on corporate stock repurchases made after December 31, 2022 by U.S. publicly traded corporations and certain U.S. subsidiaries of non-U.S. publicly traded corporations, as well as significant enhancements of U.S. tax incentives relating to climate and energy investments. Although the Company does not expect the IRA to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements, the full effect of the IRA is uncertain.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) was signed into law in response to the
COVID-19
pandemic. The CARES Act provides numerous tax provisions and stimulus measures, including temporary changes regarding the prior and future utilization of net operating losses, temporary changes to the prior and future limitations on interest deductions, and technical corrections from prior tax legislation for tax depreciation of certain qualified improvement property. The Company has evaluated the provisions of the CARES Act relating to income taxes which will not result in material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
The Company has not been audited by the Internal Revenue Service or any state income or franchise tax agency, but tax returns since inception remain open andto examination subject to examination.a three or four year statute of limitations, depending on the state.

Note 16—Subsequent
Eve
nts
In March 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the Spiegel Venture SPA whereby the terms to the Call Option and Put Option were amended to allow for its initial exercise only starting in 2026, with all other pertinent terms remaining consistent to the original
SPA.
F-32


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

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (1) recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As of December 31, 2022 (the “Evaluation Date”), our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act).

Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2022.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financing reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect our transactions or dispositions of our assets.

Provide reasonable assurance that our transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of our financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and our directors.

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.

Due to its inherent limitations, a system of internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Further, because of changes in conditions, effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting may vary over time.

Our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria set forth in “Internal Control—Integrated Framework” (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2022.

Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm

This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to an exemption established by the JOBS Act for “emerging growth companies.”

 

54


F-15

Changes in Internal Control

SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company follows the guidanceThere have been no changes in ASC 820 for itsour internal control over financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting, period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have receivedas identified in connection with the saleevaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and Rule 15d-15(d) of the assetsExchange Act, which occurred during the last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or paid in connectionare reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.

None.

55


Part III

We intend to file our definitive proxy statement for our 2023 Annual Meeting (“2023 Proxy Statement”) with the transferSEC, pursuant to Regulation 14A, on or around April 28, 2023 (and, in any event, not later than 120 days after the close of our last fiscal year). Accordingly, certain information required by Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been omitted pursuant to General Instruction G(3) of Form 10-K. Only those sections of the liabilities2023 Proxy Statement that specifically address the items set forth herein are incorporated by reference.

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this item will be included in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair valueour 2023 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this item will be included in our 2023 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of its assetsCertain Beneficial Owners and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources)Management and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assetsRelated Stockholder Matters

The information required by this item will be included in our 2023 Proxy Statement and liabilities). is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transaction, and Director Independence

The information required by this item will be included in our 2023 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required by this item will be included in our 2023 Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by reference.

56


Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

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:documents are filed as part of this report:

 

 Level 1:1.Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets

Consolidated Financial Statements. Reference is made to the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements beginning on Page F-1 hereof.

2.

Financial Statement Schedules.

No financial statement schedules are required to be filed as part of this Annual Report.

3.

Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed, furnished 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 informationincorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on an ongoing basis.Form 10-K.

      Incorporated By Reference  Filed/Furnished
Herewith

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  Form  File No.  Exhibit  Filing Date
    2.1  Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 10, 2020, by and among the Company, CS Merger Sub Inc., CuriosityStream Operating Inc. and Hendricks Factual Media LLC  8-K  001-39139  2.1  August 11,
2020
  
    3.1  Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation  8-K  001-39139  3.1  October 14,
2020
  
    3.2  Amended and Restated Bylaws  8-K  001-39139  3.2  October 14,
2020
  
    4.1  Specimen Common Stock Certificate  S-1/A  001-39139  4.2  November 8,
2019
  
    4.2  Specimen Warrant Certificate.  S-1/A  001-39139  4.3  November 8,
2019
  
    4.3  Warrant Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC and the Company  8-K  001-39139  4.1  November 25,
2019
  
    4.4  Amendment No. 1 to Warrant Agreement, dated March 30, 2021, by and between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC and the Company  10-K  001-39139  4.4  March 31,
2021
  
    4.5  Description of the Company’s Securities  10-K  001-39139  4.5  March 31,
2021
  

57


      Incorporated By Reference  Filed/Furnished
Herewith

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  Form  File No.  Exhibit  Filing Date
  10.1  Letter Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and among the Company, the Company’s officers and directors, and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC  8-K  001-39139  10.1  November 25,
2019
  
  10.2  Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and among the Company and the security holders party thereto  8-K  001-39139  10.3  November 25,
2019
  
  10.3  Securities Subscription Agreement, dated June 25, 2019, by and between the Company and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC  S-1/A  333-234327  10.5  November 8,
2019
  
  10.4  Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated November 19, 2019, by and between the Company and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC  8-K  001-39139  10.5  November 25,
2019
  
  10.5  Form of Subscription Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.1  August 11,
2020
  
  10.6*  Employment Agreement, dated August 7, 2020, by and between CuriosityStream Operating Inc. and Clint Stinchcomb  8-K  001-39139  10.10  October 14,
2020
  
  10.7  Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 20, 2018, by and between CuriosityStream Operating Inc. and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company Inc.  8-K  001-39139  10.11  October 14,
2020
  
  10.8  Investor Rights Agreement, dated October 14, 2020, by and among the Company, CuriosityStream Operating Inc., Hendricks Factual Media LLC, Software Acquisition Holdings LLC and the officers and directors of CuriosityStream Operating Inc. party thereto  8-K  001-39139  10.12  October 14,
2020
  

58


      Incorporated By Reference  Filed/Furnished
Herewith

Exhibit No.

  

Description

  Form  File No.  Exhibit  Filing Date
  10.9  Warrant Forfeiture Letter, dated October 14, 2020, by and between the Company and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC  8-K  001-39139  10.13  October 14,
2020
  
  10.10*  CuriosityStream Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan  8-K  001-39139  10.14  October 14,
2020
  
  10.11*  Form of Rollover Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.15  October 14,
2020
  
  10.12*  Form of Indemnification Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.16  October 14,
2020
  
  10.13  Restricted Stock Agreement, dated October 14, 2020, by and between the Company and Software Acquisition Holdings LLC  8-K  001-39139  10.17  October 14,
2020
  
  10.14*  Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.1  March 19,
2021
  
  10.15*  Form of Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.2  March 19,
2021
  
  10.16*  Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement  8-K  001-39139  10.3  March 19,
2021
  
  10.17*  CuriosityStream Inc. Severance Pay Plan for Executive Officers, dated October 6, 2021  8-K  001-39139  10.1  October 8,
2021
  
  10.18*  Offer Letter between CuriosityStream Inc. and Peter Westley, dated May 21, 2022  8-K  001-39139  10.1  May 24, 2022  
  10.19*  CuriosityStream Inc. Severance Pay Plan and Summary Plan Description, dated November 8, 2022  8-K  001-39139  10.1  November 9,
2022
  
  10.20*  Services Agreement between Curiosity Inc. and Devin Emery, effective November 16, 2022  8-K  001-39139  10.1  November 16,
2022
  
  14.1  Code of Ethics and Business Conduct  8-K  001-39139  14.1  October 14,
2020
  
  21.1  Subsidiaries of the Company  8-K  001-39139  21.1  October 14,
2020
  
  23.1  Consent of Ernst & Young LLP          X
  24.1  Powers of Attorney  10-K  001-39139  24.1  March 31,
2021
  

59


    
  Level 2:Incorporated By ReferenceObservable 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.Filed/Furnished
Herewith

Exhibit No.

Description

FormFile
No.
ExhibitFiling
Date
  31.1  Certification of the Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002X
  31.2Level 3:Unobservable inputs based on our assessmentCertification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the assumptions that market participants would useSarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002X
  32.1**Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002X
101.INS***Inline XBRL Instance Document.**X
101.SCHInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.**X
101.CALInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.**X
101.DEFInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.**X
101.LABInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.**X
101.PREInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.**X
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in pricing the asset or liability.Exhibit 101).**X

 

*

This document is a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

**

This document is being furnished with this Form 10-K. This certification is deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act.

***

The instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2019, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Description Level  December 31,
2019
 
Assets:      
Marketable securities held in Trust Account  1  $149,719,910 

NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS None.

 

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.60


F-16

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrantregistrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

March 20, 2020SOFTWARE ACQUISITION GROUP INC.
 
 By: /s/Jonathan S. Huberman

CURIOSITYSTREAM INC.

Name: Jonathan S. Huberman

Dated: March 31, 2023

Title:

By:

/s/ Clint Stinchcomb

Name:

Clint Stinchcomb

Title:

President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

Dated: March 31, 2023

By:

/s/ Peter Westley

Name:

Peter Westley

Title:

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Chairman of the Board of Directors
(Principal Executive Officer and

Principal Financial and AccontingAccounting Officer)

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

 

Name

Date: March 31, 2023

 Position Date
 

/s/ Clint Stinchcomb

 
/s/Jonathan S. Huberman 

Name:

Clint Stinchcomb

Title:

President and Chief Executive Officer, Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

Date: March 31, 2023

/s/ Peter Westley

Name:

Peter Westley

Title:

Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors

March 20, 2020
Jonathan S. HubermanTreasurer

(Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/Mike NikzadVice President of Acquisitions and DirectorMarch 20, 2020
Mike Nikzad
/s/Andrew K. NikouDirectorMarch 20, 2020
Andrew K. Nikou
/s/C. Matthew OltonDirectorMarch 20, 2020
C. Matthew Olton

/s/Stephanie DavisDate: March 31, 2023

 Director March 20, 2020
Stephanie Davis 

*

 
 

Name:

 

John Hendricks

/s/Steven Guggenheimer Director March 20, 2020
Steven Guggenheimer

Title:

 

Chairman of the Board, Director

Date: March 31, 2023

 
  

*

/s/Dr. Peter H. Diamandis Director March 20, 2020
Dr. Peter H. Diamandis

Name:

 

Elizabeth Hendricks

 

Title:

Director

Date: March 31, 2023

*

Name:

Patrick Keeley

Title:

Director

Date: March 31, 2023

*

Name:

Matthew Blank

Title:

Director

Date: March 31, 2023

*

Name:

Jonathan Huberman

Title:

Director

 

61

50


Date: March 31, 2023

*

Name:

Mike Nikzad

Title:

Director

Date: March 31, 2023

*

Name:

Andrew Hendricks

Title:

Director

*By:/s/ Clint Stinchcomb

Name:

Clint Stinchcomb

As Attorney-in-Fact

62