UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form FORM 10-K

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

For the fiscal year ended Fiscal Year Ended December 31 2019, 2023

OR

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

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 001-38990

Commission file number: 001-38990

Advantage Solutions Inc.

CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

83-4629508

Delaware

83-4629508

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 601

Naples, FL

34108
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

15310 Barranca Parkway, Suite 100

(212) 429-2211
Irvine, CA92618

(Address of principal executive offices)

(949) 797-2900

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

Title of Each Class:each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of Each Exchangeeach exchange on Which Registered:which registered

Units, each consisting of one share of  

Class A Common Stock and one-fourth  of one redeemable warrantcommon stock, $0.0001 par value per share

ADV

CPAAUThe NASDAQ Stock

Nasdaq Global Select Market LLC

Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001  per share, included as part of the UnitsCPAAThe NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

Warrants included as part of the Units, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50

ADVWW

CPAAWThe NASDAQ Stock

Nasdaq Global Select Market LLC

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


Indicate by check mark if the registrantRegistrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YesYESNo

Indicate by check mark if the registrantRegistrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. YesYESNo

Indicate by check mark whether the registrantRegistrant: (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 registrantRegistrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YesNoNO

Indicate by check mark whether the registrantRegistrant 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 registrantRegistrant was required to submit such files). YesNoNO

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

Large accelerated filer

Accelerated filer

Non-accelerated filer

Smaller reporting company

Emerging growth company

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

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

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

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

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

As of June 30, 2019,2023, 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 (“NASDAQ”) on July 18, 2019 and the registrant’s shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 (the “Class A Common Stock”) and warrants began trading on the NASDAQ on September 9, 2019. The aggregate market value of the 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 common stock on December 20, 2019, asof $2.34 reported on the NASDAQ,Nasdaq Global Select Market, was $468,000,000.approximately $204 million.

As of March 30, 2020, 45,000,000February 29, 2024, there were 320,426,923 shares of Class A Common Stock (which includes shares of Class A Common Stock that are underlying the Company’s Units),registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value $0.0001, and 11,250,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 (the “Class B Common Stock”), wereper share, issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

Form 10-K

ForPortions of the Year Endedregistrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement for the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 20192023, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report to the extent stated.


Advantage Solutions Inc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

iii

Page

PART I

1

Item 1.

Business1

Item 1A.1. Business

Risk Factors18

2

Item 1A. Risk Factors

7

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

44

27

Item 2.1C. Cybersecurity

Properties44

27

Item 3.2. Properties

Legal Proceedings44

28

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

28

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

44

29

PART II

45

PART II

Item 5.

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

45

29

Item 6. [Reserved]

Selected Financial Data46

31

Item 7.

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

46

31

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

50

51

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

50

53

Item 9.

Changes in and Disagreements withWith Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.Disclosure

51

105

Item 9A.

Controls and Procedures.Procedures

51

105

Item 9B.

Other Information

51

106

PART III

52

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

106

PART III

Item 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

52

106

Item 11.

Executive Compensation

60

106

Item 12.

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

61

106

Item 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

63

106

Item 14.

14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.Services

65

106

PART IV

66

PART IV

Item 15.

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

66

107

Item 16.

Form 10-K Summary

66

110

Signatures

i


Part I

CERTAIN TERMSForward-Looking Statements

Unless otherwise stated in thisThis Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”(“Annual Report”), references to: and other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about us, our future performance, our business, our beliefs and our management’s assumptions. In addition, we, or others on our behalf, may make forward-looking statements in press releases, written statements or our communications and discussions with investors and analysts in the normal course of business through meetings, webcasts, phone calls and conference calls. Such words as “expect,” “anticipate,” “outlook,” “could,” “target,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” “should,” “may,” “assume” and “continue” as well as variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and they involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. We describe our respective risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could affect the outcome or results of operations in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors. We have based our forward-looking statements on our management’s beliefs and assumptions based on information available to our management at the time the statements are made. We caution you that actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted by our forward-looking statements. Except as required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this report, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

Item 1. Business

“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp.;

Our Company

“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 our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market);

We are a leading business solutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. We have a strong platform of competitively advantaged sales and marketing services built over multiple decades – essential, business critical services like headquarter sales, retail merchandising, in-store sampling, digital commerce and shopper marketing. For brands and retailers of all sizes, we help get the right products on the shelf (whether physical or digital) and into the hands of consumers (however they shop). We use a scaled platform to innovate as a trusted partner with our clients, solving problems to increase their efficiency and effectiveness across a broad range of channels.

“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including, without limitation, our initial stockholders and members of our management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team have purchased 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;

At the most fundamental level:

“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;
We sit at the nexus of consumer goods companies and retailers and serve as a trusted partner to both.
We help our clients sell more while spending less. We make them more effective and more efficient.
We win by providing best-in-class service every day and innovating on a nimble operating platform.
We drive productivity to provide fuel for reinvestment and growth.
Simply put, we are built to do it better, cheaper and faster.

We offer headquarter sales representation services to consumer goods manufacturers, for whom we prepare and present to retailers a business case to increase distribution of manufacturers’ products and optimize how they are displayed, priced and promoted. We also make in-store merchandising visits for both manufacturer and retailer clients to ensure the products we represent are adequately stocked and properly displayed.

“sponsor” are to Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of Centerview Capital;

Within our marketing services, our largest service offering is retail experiential, also known as in-store sampling or demonstrations, through which we create and manage highly customized large-scale sampling programs (both in-store and on-line) for leading retailers. We also have a collection of specialized agency businesses, where we provide private label services to retailers and develop granular marketing programs for brands and retailers through our shopper, consumer and digital marketing agencies.

“founder shares” are to shares of our Class B Common Stock, 11,250,000 of which are currently outstanding and have been issued to our initial stockholders prior to our initial public offering and the shares of our Class A Common Stock issued upon the conversion thereof;

“Centerview Capital” are to Centerview Capital Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and its affiliates;

“Centerview Capital Consumer” are collectively to (i) the consumer private equity investment business sponsored by Centerview Capital, and (ii) the various entities and funds that are engaged in such business;

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

“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; and

“initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering.

“specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers, which may include affiliates of Centerview Capital, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination.

Our expertise and scale have compounded over decades, built on differentiated business systems, talent, relationships, and technology. We listen, learn and invest in capabilities that allow us to meet the evolving needs of brands and retailers – solving existing problems better and new problems quickly, to navigate change in an increasingly omni-channel world. This, in turn, helps us compound our relationships with clients. These relationships are enhanced by a suite of technology offerings which leverage data and analytics solutions to support our associates in creating, executing and measuring insight-based plans to grow our clients’ businesses.

ii2


Our Solutions

Our services are provided across two segments — sales and marketing.

Sales Segment

Through our sales segment, we provide our clients with a full suite of outsourced solutions to enhance sales in the traditional retail, foodservice and e-commerce channels. Within our sales segment, we typically generate revenues on a commission, fee-for-service or cost-plus basis. Our primary sales services include:

Brand-Centric Services

Our service offerings have been predominately centered around providing solutions to branded consumer goods manufacturers (i.e., non-private label manufacturers). These brand-centric services include:

Headquarter Relationship Management

We act as a representative of our consumer goods manufacturer clients and facilitate relationships with retailers across a range of matters, including business development and sales planning efforts. We prepare customized, data-driven business plans on behalf of our manufacturer clients and present a business case to increase distribution of their products, and optimize the shelf placement, pricing and promotion of their products, to our extensive network of industry contacts spanning retailer buying organizations and senior executive ranks. Our services are enhanced by our in-depth understanding of both the manufacturers’ and retailers’ strategic priorities, which is supported by our close physical proximity to our clients’ offices, as well as our proactive approach in identifying business-building opportunities. Our scale allows us to offer these services on a local, regional or national level, as well as for a client’s designated product, brand or entire portfolio.

Analytics, Insights and Intelligence

To support our sales efforts, we field a team of analytics professionals who provide category and space management services. These professionals analyze consumer purchase and retailer data to identify opportunities to increase the sales of our clients’ products and categories. We use analytical tools, which aggregate data to guide sales strategies to expand product distribution and optimize other factors such as assortment, planograms, pricing and trade promotions. We also use post-promotion analytical tools to evaluate promotion effectiveness and work with clients and retailers to make the adjustments necessary to meet sales and profit objectives at the product and category level. Our teams of category managers are available in every market, including some who sit onsite with retailers and assist in developing analysis to support recommendations. We also conduct advanced analytical services for clients such as retailer point-of-sale and shopper card analytics and primary market and shopper research.

Brand-Centric Merchandising

We deploy teams in retail locations to support manufacturers’ in-store sales strategies. Our associates conduct both cyclical and ad hoc store visits to manage product availability and positioning, implement promotions, install point-of-purchase displays and perform other value-added merchandising services. Tablet technology and software are used extensively in the workflow. For example, routing software helps guide our associates from location to location in the most efficient and effective way based on factors such as store volume, sales velocity, store location and in-store conditions. In store, our associates use our merchandising application and scanners to efficiently and effectively execute a range of activities such as distribution tasks, validating promotional compliance or answering survey questions.

We leverage software for daily point-of-sale store data, supply chain data and advanced algorithms to target and correct potential store-level merchandising issues in real time, such as stock keeping units that are void, out of stock or past expiration. We use this information to improve the routing of our retail teams to stores where issues exist, or may soon exist, as well as prioritize our associates’ work to address the highest-value opportunities while conducting a store visit.

We offer our clients a full spectrum of flexible service models for our retail services coverage. In our dedicated coverage model, our associates perform services exclusively for a particular client and have intimate knowledge of its categories and products. Our syndicated coverage model utilizes shared teams in particular channels to perform services for multiple clients while in a store. Finally, we offer hybrid coverage models whereby clients can choose to have dedicated teams covering designated channels or retailers and syndicated coverage for other channels. Our retail services teams focus either on manufacturers or particular retail channels, such as grocery, drug, mass, convenience, club and natural/specialty, which allows them to develop expertise in either manufacturer products or a particular class of trade.

3


Retailer-Centric Services

We leverage our strategic position with retailers to develop solutions that address their needs. Our retailer-centric services include:

Retailer-Centric Merchandising

We serve select retailers as their exclusive provider, and other retailers as an authorized provider, of in-store merchandising or reset services. For some of our retailer clients, we perform other in-store services, such as compliance audits, data collection and in-store product assembly, and certain advisory services, such as analytics and planogram services intended to increase sales and optimize inventory and space management, so that the retailer’s personnel can focus on interacting with and servicing its shoppers.

In-Store Media

We manage a wide variety of media, merchandising and display platforms for retailers, including multi-manufacturer circular programs.

In addition to our brand-centric and retailer-centric sales services, we have a portfolio of other broadly applicable offerings that are designed to grow sales and reduce costs for clients. These services include:

Marketing Segment

We believe that our marketing segment is differentiated from our competition by our people, retail connectivity, entrepreneurial marketing mindset and scale. We launched our marketing business in 2000 in response to our observation of the challenges that our clients were experiencing by working with traditional marketing agencies that were not effectively connecting brand marketing strategies, sales planning efforts and retailer strategies to offer cohesive brand marketing. Our position as an intermediary in the market gives us deep insight and understanding into manufacturers’ needs from a sales perspective, their marketing and promotion strategies, as well as retailer strategies. We believe this position enables us to create more effective, shopper- focused marketing promotions by connecting client sales and marketing strategies with those of retailers.

We believe that our marketing business is differentiated from traditional marketing agencies in that it is built upon our insights and understanding of manufacturer and retailer strategies, leverages our ability to design and execute coordinated, large-scale marketing platforms in retail and combines capabilities from across the various disciplines in our portfolio to influence consumers at critical points along the purchase journey through execution platforms that reach audiences in-store and out of store to deliver superior client results.

Since founding our marketing business, we have grown to become a national agency collective and are the agency of record for many of the most recognized brands across the retail, packaged goods, technology, apparel, automotive, travel, entertainment, education and healthcare industries. We were ranked by Ad Age as the largest U.S. promotions agency and the largest U.S. experiential and event marketing agency from 2014 to 2023 based on prior year revenues.

Within our marketing segment, we typically generate revenues on a fee-for-service, cost-plus or commission basis.

Brand-Centric Services

Shopper and Consumer Marketing

For manufacturer clients, we analyze shopper behavior and apply our deep retailer knowledge and expertise to offer planning, execution and measurement of insight-based, retailer-specific promotions that target a retailer’s specific shopper base to drive product sales. We combine an understanding of how a brand’s consumers behave as shoppers in different channels, formats and retailers (mined from data resources) with an understanding of retailer objectives, strategies and preferred programming tactics (informed by our connectivity and resources in the field) to develop programs that successfully promote the sales of clients’ products at retail. Manufacturers also hire us for national consumer promotions, which are designed to stimulate demand for, and awareness of, their products more broadly.

Brand Experiential

We design and execute brand experiences in retail and non-retail settings in order to help brands engage, educate, acquire and retain consumers and impact purchase behavior.

4


Our brand experiential solutions include large-scale festivals and mobile tours, as well as assisted sales programs whereby our associates act as extensions of client sales teams, educating consumers as well as store employees.

Retailer-Centric Services

Retail Experiential

We design and execute one-to-one engagement strategies in order to drive product trial and sales and help retailers differentiate their in-store experience and generate more loyalty from shoppers. This includes in-store sampling and demo programs with fully-scaled operations including staffing, training, field management, assembly, fulfillment, technology and reporting. We deploy teams at certain retailers that develop event concepts in conjunction with marketing, merchandising and store operations and then secure supplier support and funding for the programs. Our other retail experiential solutions include premium advisors who provide assistance in complex categories (such as beauty and adult beverages), virtual advisors who provide assistance via text messaging or web and curated sampling boxes for online grocery pick-up and delivery orders. Retail experiential constitutes the largest service in the marketing segment, representing more than half of our retailer-centric and marketing revenues.

Private Label

We help maximize the market potential of private label portfolios by providing comprehensive private label strategy, development and management services to retailers and private label manufacturers. By leveraging our analytical capabilities and expertise, we develop strategies and provide insights that help retailers establish and grow productive and profitable private label programs across new and existing product categories. This process often begins with a thorough analysis of the marketplace to develop a private label portfolio strategy that aligns with a client’s priorities. We help identify the most compelling product categories to target and specific products to develop. We also provide packaging and design services to bring our clients’ brands to life through strong brand identities. Our retailer clients are supported by analytical teams and associates who execute strategies through assortment planning, product sourcing and marketing and ongoing program management.

In addition to our brand-centric and retailer-centric marketing services, we have a portfolio of other broadly applicable offerings that are designed to engage consumers and enhance marketing efforts for clients. These services include:

Digital Marketing

Using advanced analytics, our digital marketing teams provide a wide range of services to clients, including: interactive design and development across mobile, tablet and desktop platforms; application development; content management solutions; paid media, including search engine marketing, and programmatic and direct media; and social media development and management.

Digital Media and Advertising

We offer targeted media and advertising solutions powered by our proprietary data that deliver to curated, custom audiences from first and third-party data sources. Our cross-screen advertising capabilities enable advertisers to target and engage with custom audience segments across devices via rich media, display, email and value exchange ads.

Organizational Changes

During the fourth quarter of 2023, certain organizational changes were announced that will impact our future internal reporting. As a result of these changes, we expect to have three reportable segments. We expect that any operational changes impacting our reportable segments will be effective in the first quarter of 2024.

Government Regulation

In connection with the services we provide, we must comply with various laws and regulations from federal, state, local and foreign regulatory agencies. We believe that we are in material compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to our business. These regulatory requirements include, without limitation:

federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations involving minimum wage, health care, overtime, sick leave, lunch and rest breaks and other similar wage, benefits and hour requirements and other similar laws;

5


Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and regulations of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the equivalent state agencies and other similar laws;

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Report,

food safety matters (e.g., federal, state and local certification and training and inspection and enforcement of standards for our associates, facilities, equipment and the products we promote), alcohol beverage marketing regulations, food and permitting matters (e.g., licensing under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and regulations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture), custom and import matters with respect to products imported to and exported across international borders;
the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the UK Bribery Act and other similar anti-bribery and antikickback laws and regulations that generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business; and
federal, state and foreign anticorruption, data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation and other laws and regulations, including without limitation, statements underGDPR and the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27ACCPA.

Human Capital Management

Our people represent one of the Securities Actmost important assets to our business. As of 1933,December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 70,000 associates. Approximately 20,000 are full-time and approximately 50,000 are part-time. Approximately 59,000 of our associates are in the United States. As of December 31, 2023, none of our associates in the United States were represented by a trade union or were the subject of a collective bargaining agreement.

We are committed to creating a performance culture with a high degree of associate engagement. Our talent and leadership development programs are intended to foster our associates’ ambitions, help develop their careers and support their changing needs and the needs of the business. We believe that our associates’ contributions and active engagement with their fellow associates are important to our operational performance. Furthermore, as amended, (the “Securities Act”)our company, industry and clients evolve, we are focused at all levels on improving turnover, retention, development, and the overall associate experience.

We experience meaningful turnover among our entry-level associates each year, and the turnover is most significant among those who work part-time. We experience less turnover among our mid-level and senior-level associates. Given the nature of these needs, our recruiting and retention practices are important to meeting the needs and expectations of our clients and customers. As such, we set clear objectives with our associates, analyze performance and reward and recognize associates who outperform. At the same time, we remain committed to providing opportunities for our associates to grow and develop their careers with us and encourage internal promotions to leadership roles within our business units for high-performing or motivated associates. No matter their career goals, we are committed to developing, rewarding and retaining high-quality associates as we transform our business in response to the ever-changing needs of our clients and industry.

We strive to cultivate respect, trust and transparency, and we embrace a diversity of thought and of people. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone is respected, valued, feels a sense of belonging and has an equitable opportunity to succeed. We believe diversity, equity and inclusion are important components of our commitment to put people first and our long-term success as an enterprise. We believe that a diverse workforce that is reflective of our diverse customer base will position us to better understand customers’ wants and needs, which we believe drives our ability to deliver superior customer value and successfully innovate. Diverse perspectives amongst our team allows them to evaluate issues through different experiences and perspectives and help guide us in a thoughtful way. Our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts include enterprise-wide training, a DE&I board, and eight distinct employee resource groups, and we encourage a culture of inclusivity.

Intellectual Property

We own or have the rights to use certain trade names and trademarks that are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other foreign trademark registration offices or exist under common law in the United States and other jurisdictions. Trade names that are important in identifying and distinguishing our business include, but are not limited to, Advantage Solutions, Advantage Sales, Daymon, SAS and, Club Demonstration Services. Our rights to some of these trade names and trademarks may be limited to select markets. We also own domain names, including advantagesolutions.net.

We rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, and proprietary systems and information, to maintain and develop our technology-enabled services. We try to protect trade secrets and know-how by taking reasonable steps to keep them confidential, including entering into nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements with our employees, contractors and associates that contain

6


confidentiality obligations and entering into invention assignment commitments that obligate employees, contractors and associates to assign to us any inventions developed in the course of their work for us.

Available Information

We maintain a link to investor relations information on our website, www.advantagesolutions.net, where we make available, free of charge, SEC filings, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 21E13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. All SEC filings are also available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements can be identified byour website and the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,”information contained on 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, butconnected to our website are not limitedincorporated by reference herein, and our web address is included as an inactive textual reference only.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Investing in our securities involves risks. Before you make a decision regarding our securities, in addition to the risks and uncertainties discussed above under “Forward-Looking Statements,” you should carefully consider the specific risks set forth herein. If any of these risks actually occur, it may materially harm our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. As a result, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Additionally, the risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may become material and adversely affect our business. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements relatingand notes to the financial statements included herein.

Summary of Principal Risks Associated with Our Business

Set forth below is a summary of some of the principal risks we face:

market-driven wage changes or changes to labor laws or wage or job classification regulations, including minimum wage;
our ability to consummate any acquisitionhire, timely train, and retain talented individuals for our workforce, and to maintain our corporate culture as we grow;
the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other business combinationfuture pandemics 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 duethe measures taken to various factors,mitigate its spread including but not limited to:

our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;

our ability to complete our initial business combination;

our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses;

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

our officers 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;

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

our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;

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 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;

the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or

our financial performance.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are basedits adverse effects on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) 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 are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should 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, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These risks 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 depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actualbusiness, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity,liquidity;

developments with respect to retailers that are out of our control;
our ability to continue to generate significant operating cash flow;
consolidation within the industry of our clients creating pressure on the nature and developmentspricing of our services;
consumer goods manufacturers and retailers reviewing and changing their sales, retail, marketing, and technology programs and relationships;
our ability to successfully develop and maintain relevant omni-channel services for our clients in an evolving industry and to otherwise adapt to significant technological change;
client procurement strategies putting additional operational and financial pressure on our services;
our ability to avoid or manage business conflicts among competing brands;
limitations, restrictions, and business decisions involving our joint ventures and minority investments;
our ability to identify attractive acquisition targets, acquire them at attractive prices, and successfully integrate the acquired businesses;
difficulties in integrating acquired businesses;
complications with the design or implementation of our new enterprise resource planning system;
changes in applicable laws or regulations;
the possibility that we may be adversely affected by other political, economic, business, and/or competitive factors;

7


potential and actual harms to our business arising from the matter related to the 2018 acquisition of Take 5 Media Group (the “Take 5 Matter”);
failure to meet environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) expectations or standards could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, or stock price;
our ability to respond to changes in digital practices and policies;
exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and risks related to our international operations;
our substantial indebtedness and our ability to refinance at favorable rates;
our ability to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting in the industryfuture; and
the ability to maintain applicable listing standards.

Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry

Market-driven wage increases and changes to wage or job classification regulations, including minimum wages could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Market competition has caused and may continue to cause us to increase the salaries or wages paid to our associates or the benefits packages that they receive. If we experience further market-driven increases in salaries, wage rates or benefits packages or if we fail to increase our offered salaries, wages or benefits packages competitively, the quality of our workforce could decline, causing our standards of client service to suffer. Low unemployment rates or lower levels of labor force participation rates may increase the likelihood or impact of such market pressures. Any of these changes affecting wages or benefits for our associates could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes in labor laws related to employee hours, wages, job classification and benefits, including health care benefits, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. As of December 31, 2023, we employed approximately 70,000 associates, many of whom are paid above, but near, applicable minimum wages, and their wages may be affected by changes in minimum wage laws.

Additionally, many of our salaried associates are paid at rates that could be impacted by changes to minimum pay levels for exempt roles. Certain state or municipal jurisdictions in which we operate have recently increased their minimum wage by a significant amount, and other jurisdictions are considering or plan to implement similar actions, which may differ materiallyincrease our labor costs. Any increases at the federal, state or municipal level to the minimum pay rate required to remain exempt from those madeovertime pay may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

An inability to hire, timely train and retain talented individuals for our workforce could slow our growth and adversely impact our ability to operate our business.

Our ability to meet our workforce needs, while controlling associate-related costs, including salaries, wages and benefits, is subject to numerous external factors, including the availability of talented persons in the workforce in the local markets in which we operate, prevailing unemployment rates and competitive wage rates in such markets. We may find that there is an insufficient number of qualified individuals to fill our associate positions with the qualifications we seek. Competition in these communities for qualified staff could require us to pay higher wages and provide greater benefits, especially if there is significant improvement in regional or suggested bynational economic conditions. We must also train and, in some circumstances, certify these associates under our policies and practices and any applicable legal requirements. If we are unable to hire, timely train or retain talented individuals we may face higher turnover and increased labor costs, which could compromise the forward-looking statements contained in this Report. In addition, even ifquality of our service, and could adversely affect our business.

Future pandemics may have an adverse effect on our business, results orof operations, financial condition and liquidity.

The COVID-19 pandemic, including the measures taken to mitigate its spread, had, and may continue to have, adverse effects on our business and operations. A resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, or a future pandemic or health epidemic, could adversely impact our business and results of operations in a number of ways . For example, the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, including restrictions on large gatherings, closures of face-to-face events and indoor dining facilities, “shelter in place” health orders and travel restrictions, had far-reaching direct and indirect impacts on many aspects of our operations, including temporary termination of certain in-store demonstration services and other services, as well as on consumer behavior and purchasing patterns. In particular, our marketing segment experienced a significant decline in revenues, primarily due to the temporary suspension or reduction of certain in-store demonstration services and decreased demand in our digital marketing

8


services, both of which we believe were caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the various governmental and private responses to the pandemic. In our sales segment, we experienced significant shifts in consumer spending preferences and habits.

We cannot predict the full extent to which a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, or any future pandemic or health epidemic, may have similar or other adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity, and the degree to which it may impact other risk factors described in this Annual Report.

Our business and results of operations are affected by developments with and policies of retailers that are out of our control.

A limited number of national retailers account for a large percentage of sales for our consumer goods manufacturer clients. We expect that a significant portion of these clients’ sales will continue to be made through a relatively small number of retailers and that this percentage may increase if the growth of mass retailers and the trend of retailer consolidation continues. As a result, changes in the industrystrategies of large retailers, including a reduction in the number of brands that these retailers carry or an increase in shelf space that they dedicate to private label products, could materially reduce the value of our services to these clients or these clients’ use of our services and, in turn, our revenues and profitability. Many retailers have critically analyzed the number and variety of brands they sell, and have reduced or discontinued the sale of certain of our clients’ product lines at their stores, and more retailers may continue to do so. If this continues to occur and these clients are unable to improve distribution for their products at other retailers, our business or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Additionally, many retailers, including several of the largest retailers in North America, which own and operate a significant number of the locations at which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Report, those resultsprovide our services, have implemented or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

iii

PART I

Item 1.Business

Our Company

We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on May 2, 2019 and formed 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 refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination.

While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry or sector, we are focussed on the consumer sector and consumer-related businesses, which complements our management team’s expertise and which will benefit from our operational value add. We believe that the experience and capabilities of our management team will make us an attractive partner to potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination, and bring value to the business post-business combination. Not only does our management team bring a combination of operating, investing, financial and transaction experience, but also has worked closely togetherimplement in the past at multiple consumer companies, creating value for shareholders.

Our management team is led by James M. Kilts, our Executive Chairman, and David J. West, our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kilts’ and Mr. West’s careers have centered on identifying and implementing value creation initiatives throughout the consumer industry. They have collectively created approximately $50 billion in shareholder value throughout their combined 75+ year careers in the consumer industry by relying on what we believefuture, policies that designate certain service providers to be tried-and-true management strategies: cost management and productivity enhancement and reinvesting the savings behind product innovation, marketing and brand building.

Our management team, including James M. Kilts, David J. West and Brian K. Ratzan, has prior experience in raising a blank check company substantially similar to our own company and executing a successful business combination that delivered meaningful stock price appreciation since inception. Conyers Park Acquisition Corp.,exclusive provider or Conyers Park I, completed its initial public offering in July 2016, generating aggregate proceeds of $402.5 million, which it used to complete a business combination with Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. in July 2017 and to form The Simply Good Foods Company, or Simply Good Foods. Simply Good Foods is a developer, marketer and seller of branded nutritional snacking products including nutrition bars, ready-to-drink shakes, snacks and confectionery products marketed under the Atkins® and SimplyProtein® brand names. Since the business combination, Simply Good Foods has executed on its strategic plan and grown the business organically through product innovation, improved packaging and new marketing campaigns. Reported net sales have increased compared to prior year periods 9% and 21% in fiscal year 2018 and 2019, respectively. Simply Good Foods’ common stock is listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol “SMPL”.. Mr. Kilts and Mr. West currently serve as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively, and Mr. Ratzan currently serves as a Director of Simply Good Foods.

Mr. Kilts is a renowned leader in the consumer industry, with over 40 years of experience leading a range of companies and iconic brands. Mr. Kilts served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Gillette Company, or Gillette, from 2001 until it merged with The Procter & Gamble Company in 2005; at that time he became Vice Chairman of the Board of The Procter & Gamble Company. Before Mr. Kilts joined Gillette, the company’s sales had been flat for 4 years, and it had missed earnings estimates for 14 consecutive quarters. Mr. Kilts took steps to rebuild the management team, cut costs and reinvest the savings in innovation and marketing. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kilts oversaw the creation of approximately $30 billion in equity value for Gillette’s public shareholders, with Gillette’s share price appreciating 110% while the S&P 500 declined 3% over the same time period. Under Mr. Kilts’ leadership, Gillette rejoined the top ranks of consumer products companies as sales increased an average of 9% each year. The Harvard Business Review cited Mr. Kilts’ leadership as the driving force behind Gillette’s turnaround. Prior to Gillette, Mr. Kilts served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Nabisco Company, or Nabisco, from 1998 until its acquisition by The Philip Morris Companies in 2000. Before joining Nabisco, Mr. Kilts was an Executive Vice President of The Philip Morris Companies from 1994 to 1997 and headed the Worldwide Food group. In that role, Mr. Kilts was responsible for integrating Kraft and General Foods and for shaping the group’s domestic and international strategy. Mr. Kilts had previously served as President of Kraft USA and Oscar Mayer. More recently, Mr. Kilts served as Chairman of the Board of Nielsen Holdings PLC from 2011 to 2014, during which time Mr. Kilts worked closely with management to defend key existing customers and win new business. During their investment period, the investor group’s equity value creation was nearly $7 billion.


Mr. West is an established leader in the consumer industry, with over 30 years of experience leading a range of companies and well-known brands. Mr. West served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Big Heart Pet Brands (formerly Del Monte Foods) from 2011 to 2015. Mr. West worked closely with Mr. Kilts during this time period, as Mr. Kilts was Chairman of the Board of Big Heart Pet Brands. Mr. West repositioned the business to focus on growth and innovation, enhance distribution, and develop a marketing culture to focus on brands and products. The J. M. Smucker Company purchased Big Heart Pet Brands in March 2015. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Big Heart Pet Brands, Mr. West oversaw the creation of approximately $2 billion of equity value for investors. Prior to joining Big Heart Pet Brands, Mr. West served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of The Hershey Company, or Hershey, from 2007 to 2011. Under Mr. West’s leadership, Hershey experienced net sales and profit growth and strong shareholder returns, and was recognized as one of the World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies by Forbes Magazine in 2011. The success created by Mr. West’s leadership at Hershey led to more than $5 billion of equity value creationtheir preferred providers for shareholders during his tenure. Hershey’s share price appreciated 68% during this time period, while the S&P 500 was flat. Prior to joining Hershey in 2001, Mr. West spent 14 years with Nabisco, where he worked closely with Mr. Kilts during Mr. Kilts’ tenure as Chief Executive Officer.

Our sponsor is an affiliate of Centerview Capital. Founded in 2006, Centerview Capital sponsors multiple investment funds, including consumer (also known as Centerview Capital Consumer) and technology funds. Our management team, including James M. Kilts, David J. West and Brian K. Ratzan, are all partners at Centerview Capital Consumer. Mr. Ratzan, our Chief Financial Officer, brings over 20 years of private equity investing experience. The deep operating experience of Mr. Kilts and Mr. West complements Mr. Ratzan’s financial and transactional expertise to create a team capable of identifying attractive investments and executing deals in the consumer sector. Our management team has made investments across the consumer industry spectrum, including the food and beverage, household/personal care and consumerspecified services, sectors with a proven track record of identifying high-quality assets, businesses and management teams. Centerview Capital is associated with Centerview Partners. Certain partners of Centerview Partners are partners (either directly or indirectly) in the ultimate general partner and the manager of Centerview Capital Consumer’s investment funds, and serve on Centerview Capital Consumer’s investment committee. Centerview Partners is a leading independent investment banking and advisory firm which provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings, valuation and capital structure to companies, institutions and governments. Since the founding of Centerview Partners in 2006, the firm has advised on nearly $3 trillion of transactions. Centerview Partners’ clients include over 20% of the 50 largest companies in the world by market capitalization, including many of the world’s most influential consumer companies,services that we provide to such retailers or our clients.

Some of these designations apply across all of such retailers’ stores, while other designations are limited to specific regions. If we are unable to respond effectively to the expectations and demands of such retailers or if retailers do not designate us as their exclusive provider or one of their preferred providers for any reason, they could reduce or restrict the services that we are permitted to perform for our clients at their facilities or require our clients to purchase services from other designated services providers, which include our competitors, either of which could adversely affect our business or results of operations.

Consolidation in the industries we believe further broadenserve could put pressure on the pricing of our reach and networkservices, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of deal contacts.operations.

We believe that companies operatingConsolidation in the consumer sector have characteristics which make them attractive investments. Many companiesgoods and retail industries we serve could reduce aggregate demand for our services in the consumer industry generate high marginsfuture and strong free cash flow, maintain operational stability throughout economic cycles, and serve as good platforms for future acquisitions. Furthermore, thesecould adversely affect our business or our results of operations. When companies can create significant valueconsolidate, the services they previously purchased separately are often purchased by introducing new products and/or servicesthe combined entity, leading to the marketplace, growing distribution,termination of relationships with certain service providers or demands for reduced fees and building brandscommissions. The combined company may also choose to insource certain functions that resonate in households worldwide. Our management team has executed on these growth strategies throughout their careers.

Recently, many large consumer companies have announced plans to divest non-core brands, which is expected to resultwere historically outsourced, resulting in the saletermination of assets. All membersexisting relationships with third-party service providers. While we attempt to mitigate the revenue impact of our management team have had extensive experience undertaking carve-out mergers and acquisitions, overseeing business integrations and synergy realizations. We believe that our management team of consumer industry veterans is uniquely capable of identifying attractive businesses, executing both whole company and carve-out acquisitions, and adding value post deal completion.

Our management team’s proprietary deal sourcing network, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers, in additionany consolidation by maintaining existing or winning new service arrangements with the combined companies, there can be no assurance as to the extensive global industry and geographical reach of Centerview Capital Consumer and Centerview Partners, will enable usdegree to pursue a broad range of opportunities across the entire consumer sector. Our management believes that its ability to identify and implement operational value creation initiatives will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy. Additionally, our network and current affiliations will allow us to lean heavily on an existing infrastructure of resources that will assist in due diligence and ultimately structuring an acquisition.

With respect to the foregoing examples, past performance by our management team or Centerview Capital Consumer, including with respect to Conyers Park I, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) thatwhich we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s or Centerview Capital Consumer’s performancedo so as indicative of our future performance. In addition, for a list of our executive officers and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such officers and the company, as well as the priority and preference that such entity has with respect to performance of obligations and presentation of business opportunities to us.


Business Strategy

Our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify, acquire and build a companyconsolidation continues in the consumer sector that complements the experience of our management teamindustries we serve, and can benefit from its operational expertise. After our initial business combination, we envision our strategy may include additional mergers and acquisitions with a focus on generating attractive risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. We will leverage our management team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the consumer sector could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses to improve their overall value.

We have utilized and plan to continue to utilize the network and industry experience of Mr. Kilts, Mr. West, Mr. Ratzan, our sponsor and their affiliates and our association with Centerview Partners in seeking an initial business combination and employing our acquisition strategy. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source of acquisition opportunities. This network has been developed through our management team’s:

extensive experience in both investing in and operating across the consumer sector;

experience in sourcing, structuring, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses;

relationships with sellers, financing providers and target management teams; and

experience in executing transactions in the consumer sector under varying economic and financial market conditions.

We expect these networks will continue to provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will continue to be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Upon completion of our initial public offering, members of our management team communicated with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and began the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.

Acquisition Criteria

Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies that we believe:

have market and/or cost leadership positions in their respective consumer niches and would benefit from our extensive networks and insights within the consumer sector;

provide enduring products or services, with the potential for revenue, market share and/or distribution improvements;

are fundamentally sound companies that are not operating at their full potential but offer compelling value;

offer the opportunity for our management team to partner with established management teams or business owners to achieve long-term strategic and operational excellence;

exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics, desirable returns on capital, and a need for capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy, that we believe have been misevaluated by the marketplace based on our analysis and due diligence review; and

will offer an attractive risk-adjusted return for our shareholders.

These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.

Our Acquisition Process

In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience.


We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Members of our management team and our independent directors directly or indirectly own founder 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, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

We currently do not have any specific transaction under consideration with a target business with which to consummate our initial business combination. All of the members of our management team are employed by Centerview Capital Consumer. Centerview Capital Consumer is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a 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 do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. In addition, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition (as defined below) opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. 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.

In addition to the above, all of our executive officers have fiduciary or contractual duties to Simply Good Foods, Centerview Capital Consumer and/or to certain companies in which Centerview Capital Consumer has invested. As a result, our officers may have a duty to offer acquisition opportunities to certain parties before we can pursue such opportunities. Our executive officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities. However, we do not expect either potential conflicts of interest or the time taken by our management team’s other duties to present a significant constraint in our ability to identify, diligence and execute potential business combinations. Moreover, our executive officers have time and attention requirements for private investment funds of which affiliates of Centerview Capital Consumer are the investment managers.

Our directors and officers, Centerview Capital or its affiliates may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates and the director and officer teams. However, we do not expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Significant Activities Since Inception

On July 22, 2019, we consummated our initial public offering of 45,000,000 units (“Units”), including Units issued pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Units to cover overallotments. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share, and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant, to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $450,000,000 (before underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses). Simultaneously with the consummation of our initial public offering and the sale of the Units, we consummated the private placement of 7,333,333 warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, issued to our sponsor, generating total proceeds of $11,000,000.


Approximately $450 million of the net proceeds from the initial public offering (including the over-allotment) and certain of the proceeds of the private placements with our sponsor were deposited in a trust account established for the benefit of our public stockholders.

Our Units began trading on July 18, 2019 on the NASDAQ under the symbol “CPAAU”. Commencing on September 9, 2019, the securities comprising the Units began separate trading. The Units, common stock, and warrants are trading on the NASDAQ under the symbols “CPAAU,” “CPAA” and “CPAAW,” respectively.

Initial Business Combination

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.

We may, at our option, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Centerview Capital and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Centerview Capital, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance.” The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B Common Stock, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. They may waive such specified future issuance due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the initial business combination; (ii) during negotiations with Class A stockholders on structuring an initial business combination; (iii) during negotiations with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B Common Stock; or (iv) as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B Common Stock at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B Common Stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock.

We anticipate structuring our initial business combination 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. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. However, 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 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 business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. 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 valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses 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.


Our Management Team

Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary 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 around the world. 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 will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our 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 certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.

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

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 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.


Financial Position

With funds available for a business combination in the amount of $437,066,525, after payment of $15.75 million of deferred underwriting commissions before fees 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 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 for an indefinite period of time. 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, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. 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 business combination or used for redemptions of purchases 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 currently do not have any specific transaction under consideration with a target business with which to consummate our initial business combination. All of the members of our management team are employed by Centerview Capital Consumer. Centerview Capital Consumer is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for a business combination.

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 (which may include a specified future issuance), and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the 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, including pursuant to any specified future issuance, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.


Sources of Target Businesses

We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the prospectus relating to our initial public offering and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. 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 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 they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or 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). We have agreed to pay an affiliate of 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 acquisition candidate.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition 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 a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a 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. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

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

Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets 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 or value of comparable businesses. If our board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. 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 are not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.

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

To the extent we effect our 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.


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

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 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 focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our 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 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. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our 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 a 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 those 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 Commission. 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 TransactionWhether 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.

The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place

the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;

the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote;

the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;

other time and budget constraints of the company; and

additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders.

Permitted Purchases of our Securities

In the event we seek stockholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. 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 in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. 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. We have adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information and to clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as such purchases will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.


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. 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.

The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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 business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our common stock 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 the 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.

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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 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 underwriters. The redemption rights includes 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 business combination.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A Common Stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed 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. 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 a business combination transaction 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 business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Commission unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.


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

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 Commission 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 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 may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the Commission’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 Commission.

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 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 have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering 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 16,875,001, or 37.5%, of the 45,000,000 public shares outstanding to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These 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 in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the Commission’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 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 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 business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A Common Stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

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

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our 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 10% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” 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 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 10% 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 10% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our business combination, particularly in connection with a 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 business combination.

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

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

There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $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.

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


Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our 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 business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until July 22, 2021.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that if we do not complete our initial business combination by July 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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay our franchise and income 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 business combination by July 22, 2021.

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 July 22, 2021. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination by July 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 that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by July 22, 2021, or which adversely affects the rights of holders of our Class A Common Stock, 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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay our franchise and income taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the Commission’s “penny stock” rules).


We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $951 thousand of proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2019), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. 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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses. The amount of interest available to us from the trust account may be less than $1,000,000 as a result of the current interest rate environment.

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

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 vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to 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, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers 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 will 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $951 thousand of proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2019) with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our business combination by July 22, 2021 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that 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.

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 business combination by July 22, 2021, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, 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 business combination by July 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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay our franchise and income 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 July 22, 2021 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 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 underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.


If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 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 all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and 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 in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination by July 22, 2021 or if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the 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 described above.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our business combination, we have encountered, and may continue to encounter, intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. 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 acquisition 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 two officers. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

Our Units, Class A Common Stock and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and we have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the Commission. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports 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 GAAP. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition 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 GAAP. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.


We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the 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 non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

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

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.0 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior 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.

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

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

Item 1A.Risk Factors

You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Report, including the financial statements. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materiallyadversely affected.

Consumer goods manufacturers and adversely affected. retailers may periodically review and change their sales, retail, marketing and technology programs and relationships to our detriment.

The risk factors described below are not necessarily exhaustiveconsumer goods manufacturers and you are encouragedretailers to perform your own investigationwhom we provide our business solutions operate in highly competitive and rapidly changing environments. From time to time these parties may put their sales, retail, marketing and technology programs and relationships up for competitive review. We have occasionally lost accounts with respect to ussignificant clients as a result of these reviews in the past, and our business.

clients are typically able to reduce or cancel current or future spending on our services on short notice for any reason. We are a recently formed company with no operating historybelieve that key competitive considerations for retaining existing and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluatewinning new accounts include our ability to achievedevelop solutions that meet the needs of these manufacturers and retailers in this environment, the quality and effectiveness of our business objective.

We are a recently formed company with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluateservices and our ability to achieveoperate efficiently. To the extent that we are not able to develop these solutions, maintain the quality and effectiveness of our services or operate efficiently, we may not be able to retain key clients, and our business, objectivefinancial condition or results of completingoperations may be adversely affected.

Our largest clients generate a significant portion of our initial business combination withrevenues.

Our five largest clients generated approximately 18.8% of our revenues, none of which individually generated more than 5%, in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. These clients are generally able to reduce or cancel spending on our services on short notice

9


for any reason. A significant reduction in spending on our services by our largest clients, or the loss of one or more target businesses. Weof our largest clients, if not replaced by new clients or an increase in business from existing clients, would adversely affect our business and results of operations. In addition, when large retailers suspend or reduce in-store demonstration services, such as in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our business and results of operations can be adversely affected.

The retail industry is evolving, and if we do not successfully develop and maintain relevant omni-channel services for our clients, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Historically, substantially all of our sales segment revenues were generated by sales and services that ultimately occurred in traditional retail stores. The retail industry is evolving, as demonstrated by the number of retailers that offer both traditional retail stores and e-commerce platforms or exclusively e-commerce platforms. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic placed pressure on the traditional retail store model, including store closures, changes in consumer spending, health and safety risks and compliance requirements. Consumers are increasingly using electronic devices to comparison shop, determine product availability and complete purchases online, a trend that has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and which may continue thereafter. If consumers continue to purchase more products online and e-commerce continues to displace brick-and-mortar retail sales, there may be unable to completea decrease in the demand for certain of our business combination. Ifservices. Omni-channel retailing is rapidly evolving and we fail to complete our business combination,believe we will never generate any operating revenues.need to keep pace with the changing consumer expectations and new developments by our competitors.


Past performance by Centerview Capital or its affiliates, including Centerview Capital Consumer,While we continue to seek to develop effective omni-channel solutions for our management teamclients that support both their e-commerce and Conyers Park I, is not indicative of future performance of an investmenttraditional retail needs, there can be no assurances that these efforts will result in us.

Information regarding performance by, or businessesrevenue gains sufficient to offset potential decreases associated with our management team, Centerview Capitala decline in traditional retail sales or its affiliates, including Centerview Capital Consumer and Conyers Park I, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of our management team, Centerview Capital or its affiliates, including Centerview Capital Consumer and Conyers Park I, is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identifymaintain our position as a suitable candidateleader in our industry. If we are unable to provide, improve or develop innovative digital services and solutions in a timely manner or at all, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted.

We may be unable to adapt to significant technological change, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We operate businesses that require sophisticated data collection, processing and software for analysis and insights. Some of the technologies supporting the industries we serve are changing rapidly. We will be required to continue to adapt to changing technologies, either by developing and marketing new services or by enhancing our initial business combination;existing services, to meet client demand.

Moreover, the introduction of new services embodying new technologies, including automation of certain of our in-store services, and the emergence of new industry standards could render existing services obsolete. Our continued success will depend on our ability to adapt to changing technologies, manage and process increasing amounts of data and information and improve the performance, features and reliability of our existing services in response to changing client and industry demands. We may experience difficulties that could delay or (2)prevent the successful design, development, testing, introduction or marketing of our services. New services or enhancements to existing services may not adequately meet the requirements of current and prospective clients or achieve market acceptance.

Our ability to maintain our competitive position depends on our ability to attract and retain talented executives.

We believe that our continued success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts, abilities and relationships of our senior executives and the strength of our middle management team. Although we have entered into employment agreements with certain of our senior executives, each of them may terminate their employment with us at any time. The replacement of any of our senior executives likely would involve significant time and costs and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives and could therefore have an adverse impact on our business. In addition, we do not carry any “key person” insurance policies that could offset potential loss of service under applicable circumstances. Furthermore, if we are unable to attract and retain a talented team of middle management executives, it may be difficult to maintain the expertise and industry relationships that our clients value, and they may terminate or reduce their relationship with us.

Client procurement and fee reduction strategies could put additional operational and financial pressure on our services or negatively impact our relationships, business, financial condition or results of operations.

Many of our clients seek opportunities to reduce their costs through procurement strategies that reduce fees paid to third-party service providers. As a result, certain of our clients have sought, and may continue to seek, more aggressive terms from us, including with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team, Centerview Capital or its affiliates, including Centerview Capital Consumerpricing and Conyers Park I, as being indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in Centerview Capital or its affiliates, including Centerview Capital Consumerpayment terms. Such activities put operational and Conyers Park I.

Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to votefinancial pressure on our proposed business, combination, which meanscould limit the amounts we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.

We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable lawearn or the NASDAQ rules or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law or the NASDAQ rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed 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 asdelay the timing of our cash receipts. Such activities may also cause disputes with our clients or negatively impact our relationships or financial results. Our clients have experienced, and may continue to experience, increases in their expenses associated with materials and logistics, which may cause them to reduce expenses elsewhere. While we attempt to mitigate negative

10


implications to client relationships and the transaction and whetherrevenue impact of any pricing pressure by aligning our revenues opportunity with satisfactory client outcomes, there can be no assurance as to the termsdegree to which we will be able to do so successfully. Additionally, price concessions can lead to margin compression, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results 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 business combination we complete.operations.

If we seek stockholder approvalfail to offer high-quality customer service, our business and reputation may suffer.

High-quality education, training and customer service are important for successful marketing and sales and for the renewal of existing customers and for the pursuit of new customers. Providing this education, training and service requires that our initial business combination, after approval ofpersonnel who manage our board, our initial stockholdersonline training resource or provide customer service have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, after approval of our board, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 16,875,001, or 37.5%, of the 45,000,000 public shares outstanding to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) 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, after approval of our board,specific inbound experience domain knowledge and expertise, making it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.

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 business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you were not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the 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 a business combinationhire qualified personnel and to scale up our support operations. If we do not help our customers use multiple applications and provide effective ongoing service, our ability to sell additional functionality and services to, or to retain, existing customers may suffer and our reputation with a target.existing or potential customers may be harmed.

We may seekbe adversely affected if clients reduce their outsourcing of sales and marketing functions.

Our business and growth strategies depend in large part on companies continuing to enter intoelect to outsource sales and marketing functions. Our clients and potential clients will outsource if they perceive that outsourcing may provide quality services at a lower overall cost and permit them to focus on their core business combination transaction agreement with a prospective targetactivities and have done so in the past. We cannot be certain that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worththe industry trend to outsource will continue or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be ablereversed or that clients that have historically outsourced functions will not decide to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the Commission’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 upon consummation of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware ofperform these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rightsfunctions themselves. Unfavorable developments with respect to a large numberoutsourcing could adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

Divestitures or other dispositions could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We continually assess the strategic fit of our sharesexisting businesses and may divest, spin-off, split-off or otherwise dispose of businesses that are deemed not allow us to completefit with our strategic plan or are not achieving the desired return on investment. For example, in January 2024, we completed the disposition of a collection of our foodservice businesses, most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

Atnotably Waypoint, within the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights,sales segment. Such transactions pose risks and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shareschallenges that will be submitted for redemption. Ifcould negatively impact our business combination agreement requires usand financial statements. For example, when we decide to use a portionsell or otherwise dispose of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a 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 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 a 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 business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by July 22, 2021. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business,assets, we may be unable to completedo so on satisfactory terms within our initialanticipated timeframe or at all, and even after reaching a definitive agreement to sell or dispose a business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closerthe sale is typically subject to satisfaction of pre-closing conditions which may not become satisfied. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $43.5 million related to the timeframe described above.Company's indefinite-lived sales trade name, in connection with the Company’s deconsolidation of its European joint venture and planned disposition of its foodservice businesses. In addition, we maydivestitures or other dispositions could decrease our Adjusted EBITDA or have limited time to conduct due diligenceother adverse financial, tax and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.


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 purposeaccounting impacts and distract management, and disputes can arise with buyers. The resolution of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less thanany such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination by July 22, 2021. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination by such date. If we have not completed our initial business combination by such date, 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 up to $1,000,000 of our working capital requirements as well as to pay our franchise and income 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 $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.

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 thatdisputes could adversely affect the economiesfor our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Divestitures or other dispositions could have significant accounting and tax implications that could negatively impact our business, financial markets worldwide, and the businesscondition or results of any potential target business with whichoperations.

If we consummateapprove plans to divest or dispose a business combination could be materiallyunit, accounting rules require us to reclassify assets associated with such business unit, including the value of contracts, client relationships, goodwill, and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unableother intangible assets, as assets held for sale. Assets held for sale are recorded at the lower of their carrying value or fair value, less estimated costs 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, vendorssell, 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-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be adversely affected in a material way.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed 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 business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares 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. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our sharesany required impairment charge 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 favorrecorded upon reclassification of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination, orassets to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target thatheld for sale. Allocating goodwill to assets held for sale requires us to havemake certain assumptions about a minimum net worthbusiness unit, including the financial performance of such business unit against our company as a whole. There are inherent uncertainties related to these estimates and assumptions. If actual results differ from our estimates or a certain amount of cash at the closing ofassumptions, including our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.


In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A Common Stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to 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 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 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, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the 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.

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 forcedestimated costs to sell, your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public stockholders are entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered 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 July 22, 2021, (b) which adversely affects the rights of holders of our Class A Common Stock, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by July 22, 2021, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by July 22, 2021 for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond July 22, 2021 before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

NASDAQ 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 securities are currently listed on NASDAQ. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, 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 a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 round-lot 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 share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have 300 round-lot holders. We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If NASDAQ 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;


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 limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

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

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

You will not be 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, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the Commission 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 that we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

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 10% of our Class A Common Stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 10% 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 10% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, 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 business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 10% 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 $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We have encountered and expect to encounter intense 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, domestic and international, 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 greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources are relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire 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 is 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 a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until July 22, 2021, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until July 22, 2021, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account are sufficient to allow us to operate until July 22, 2021; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our franchise and income 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.

Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $951,060 (as of December 31, 2019) will be available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither 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. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.


Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, wecharges 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. Although 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 post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholdersfuture. If future charges are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

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

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 business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to 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 the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.


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

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account 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 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. 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.

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, which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under 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 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 is to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. Tosignificant, 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 trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (a) 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 July 22, 2021, or (b) which adversely affects the rights of holders of our Class A Common Stock; or (iii) absent a business combination, 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 a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account 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, investments and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.

Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We will assess each divestiture or other disposition from a tax perspective and such assessment will rely on certain facts, assumptions, representations and undertakings regarding the past and future conduct of our businesses and other matters. If any of these facts, assumptions, representations or undertakings are incorrect or not satisfied, we could be subject to significant tax liabilities that minimize the benefits of such divestiture or other disposition.

Our corporate culture has contributed to our success and, if we are unable to maintain it as we evolve, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

We believe our corporate culture has been a significant factor in our success. However, as our company evolves, including through acquisitions, divestitures and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as working remotely and reductions in workforce, it may be difficult to maintain our culture, which could reduce our ability to innovate and operate effectively. The failure to maintain

11


the key aspects of our culture as our organization evolves could result in decreased employee satisfaction, increased difficulty in attracting top talent, increased turnover and compromised the quality of our client service, all of which are important to our success and to the effective execution of our business strategy. If we are unable to maintain our corporate culture as we evolve and execute our growth strategies, our business, operating results and financial condition could be harmed.

Acquiring new clients and retaining existing clients depends on our ability to avoid or manage business conflicts among competing brands.

Our ability to acquire new clients and to retain existing clients, whether by expansion of our own operations or through an acquired business may in some cases be limited by the other parties’ perceptions of, or policies concerning, perceived competitive conflicts arising from our other relationships. Some of our contracts expressly restrict our ability to represent competitors of the counterparty. These perceived competitive conflicts may also become more challenging to avoid or manage as a result of continued consolidation in the consumer goods and retail industries and our own acquisitions. If we are unable to avoid or manage business conflicts among competing manufacturers and retailers, we may be unable to acquire new clients or be forced to terminate existing client relationships, and in either case, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Limitations, restrictions and business decisions involving our joint ventures and minority investments may adversely affect our growth and results of operations.

We have made substantial investments in joint ventures and minority investments and may use these and other similar methods to expand our service offerings and geographical coverage in the future. These arrangements typically involve other business services companies as partners that may be competitors of ours in certain markets. Joint venture agreements may place limitations or restrictions on our services. For example, as part of our joint venture with, and investments in Smollan, we are restricted under certain circumstances from making direct acquisitions and otherwise expanding many of our service offerings into markets outside of North America. The limitations and restrictions tied to our joint venture and minority investments limit our potential business opportunities and reduce the economic opportunity for certain prospective international investments and operations.

Additionally, we may rely upon our equity partners or local management for operational and compliance matters associated with our joint ventures or minority investments. Moreover, our other equity partners and minority investments may have business interests, strategies or goals that are inconsistent with ours. Business decisions, including actions or omissions, of a joint venture or other equity partner or management for a business unit may adversely affect the value of our investment, result in litigation or regulatory action against us or adversely affect our growth and results of operations.

Our international operations and investments expose us to risks that could impede growth in the future, and our attempts to grow our business internationally may not be successful.

We continue to explore opportunities in major international markets. International operations expose us to various additional risks that could adversely affect our business, including:

costs of customizing services for clients outside of the United States;
the burdens of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws;
potential difficulty in enforcing contracts;
being subject to U.S. laws and regulations governing international operations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and sanctions regimes;
being subject to foreign anti-bribery laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate, such as the UK Bribery Act;
reduced protection for intellectual property rights;
increased financial accounting and reporting complexity;
additional legal compliance requirements, including custom and import requirements with respect to products imported to and exported across international borders;
exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;
exposure to local economic conditions;
limitations on the repatriation of funds or profits from foreign operations;
exposure to local political conditions, including adverse tax policies, civil unrest and war; and

12


the risks of a natural disaster, public health crisis (including the occurrence of a contagious disease or illness, such as the coronavirus), an outbreak of war, the escalation of hostilities and acts of terrorism in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Additionally, in many countries outside of the United States, there has not been a historical practice of using third parties to provide sales and marketing services. Accordingly, while it is part of our strategy to expand certain services into international markets, it may be difficult for us to grow our international business units on a timely basis, or at all.

If we are unable to identify attractive acquisition targets, acquire them at attractive prices or successfully integrate the acquired businesses, we may be unsuccessful in growing our business.

A significant portion of our growth has been as a result of our acquisition of complementary businesses that grow our service offerings, expand our geographic reach and strengthen valuable relationships with clients. However, there can be no assurance that we will find attractive acquisition targets, that we will acquire them at attractive prices, that we will succeed at effectively managing the integration of acquired businesses into our existing operations or that such acquired businesses or technologies will be well received by our clients, potential clients or our investors. We could also encounter higher-than-expected earn-out payments, unforeseen transaction- and integration-related costs or delays or other circumstances such as disputes with or the loss of key or other personnel from acquired businesses, challenges or delays in integrating systems or technology of acquired businesses, a deterioration in our associate and client relationships, harm to our reputation with clients, interruptions in our business activities or unforeseen or higher-than-expected inherited liabilities. Many of these potential circumstances are outside of our control and any of them could result in increased costs, decreased revenue, decreased synergies or the diversion of management time and attention.

In order for us to continue to grow our business through acquisitions we will need to identify appropriate acquisition opportunities and acquire them at attractive prices. We may choose to pay cash, incur debt or issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed obligations and could also include covenants or other restrictions that would impede our ability to manage our operations. The sale of equity to finance any such acquisition could result in dilution to our stockholders.

We may encounter significant difficulties integrating acquired businesses.

The integration of any businesses is a complex, costly and time-consuming process. As a result, we have devoted, and will continue to devote, significant management attention and resources to integrating acquired businesses. The failure to meet the challenges involved in integrating businesses and to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition could cause an interruption of, or a loss of momentum in, the activities of our combined business and could adversely affect our results of operations. The difficulties of combining acquired businesses with our own include, among others:

the diversion of management attention to integration matters;
difficulties in integrating functional roles, processes and systems, including accounting systems;
challenges in conforming standards, controls, procedures and accounting and other policies, business cultures and compensation structures between the two companies;
difficulties in assimilating, attracting and retaining key personnel;
challenges in keeping existing clients and obtaining new clients;
difficulties in achieving anticipated cost savings, synergies, business opportunities and growth prospects from an acquisition;
difficulties in managing the expanded operations of a significantly larger and more complex business;
contingent liabilities, including contingent tax liabilities or litigation, that may be larger than expected; and
potential unknown liabilities, adverse consequences or unforeseen increased expenses associated with an acquisition, including possible adverse tax consequences to the combined business pursuant to changes in applicable tax laws or regulations.

Many of these factors are outside of our control, and any one of them could result in increased costs, decreased expected revenues and diversion of management time and energy, all of which could adversely impact our business and results of operations.

13


If we are not able to successfully integrate an acquisition, if we incur significantly greater costs to achieve the expected synergies than we anticipate or if activities related to the expected synergies have unintended consequences, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

Complications with the design or implementation of our new enterprise resource planning system could adversely impact our business and operations.

We rely extensively on information systems and technology to manage our business and summarize operating results. We are in the process of a multi-year implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system. which is expected to replace our existing operating and financial systems. The ERP system implementation process has required, and will continue to require, the investment of significant personnel and financial resources. We may not be able to successfully implement the ERP system without experiencing delays, increased costs and other difficulties. If we are unable to successfully design and implement the new ERP system as planned, our financial positions, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted. Additionally, if we do not effectively implement the ERP system as planned or the ERP system does not operate as intended, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected or our ability to assess those controls adequately could be further delayed.

We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs.

Currently, none of our associates in the United States are represented by a union. However, our associates have the right under the National Labor Relations Act to choose union representation. If all or a significant number of our associates become unionized and the terms of any collective bargaining agreement were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could increase our costs and adversely impact our profitability. Moreover, if a significant number of our associates participate in labor unions, it could put us at increased risk of labor strikes and disruption of our operations or adversely affect our growth and results of operations. In addition,December 2019, a union which commonly represents employees in the supermarket industry filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to represent approximately 120 of our associates who work in and around Boston. An election was held, and based on certified results of the election we prevailed in this election. Notwithstanding this successful election, we could face future union organization efforts or elections, which could lead to additional costs, distract management or otherwise harm our business.

If goodwill or other intangible assets in connection with our acquisitions become impaired, we could take significant non-cash charges against earnings.

We have made acquisitions to complement and expand the services we offer and intend to continue to do so when attractive acquisition opportunities exist in the market. As a result of prior acquisitions, including the acquisition of our business in 2014 by our current majority stockholder, Karman Topco L.P. (“Topco”), we have goodwill and intangible assets recorded on our balance sheet of $0.9 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, as of December 31, 2023, as further described in Note 3, Goodwill and Intangible Assets to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Under accounting guidelines, we must assess, at least annually, whether the value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets has been impaired. For example, during the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $43.5 million related to our indefinite-lived sales trade name, in connection with our deconsolidation of the European joint venture and planned disposition of the foodservice businesses. Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2022, and in connection with our annual impairment assessment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, we recognized non-cash goodwill and non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $1,367.5 million and $205.0 million, respectively, in our reporting units and indefinite-lived trade names. While there was no single determinative event or factor, the consideration of the weight of evidence of several factors included: (a) sustained decline in our share price; (b) challenges in the labor market and continued inflationary pressures; and (c) an increase to the discount rate as a result of the recent increases in the interest rates which adversely affected the results of the quantitative impairment tests.

We can make no assurances that we will not record any additional impairment charges in the future. Any future reduction or impairment of the value of goodwill or other intangible assets will similarly result in charges against earnings, which could adversely affect our reported financial results in future periods.

Failures in, data breaches of, or incidents involving, our technology infrastructure could damage our business, reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.

Our business is highly dependent on our ability to manage operations and process a large number of transactions on a daily basis. We rely heavily on our operating, payroll, financial, accounting and other data processing systems which require substantial support and maintenance, and may be subject to disabilities, errors, or other harms. If our data and network infrastructure were to fail,

14


or if we were to suffer a data security breach, or an interruption or degradation of services in our data center, third-party cloud, and other infrastructure environments, we could lose important data, which could harm our business and reputation, and cause us to incur significant liabilities. Our facilities, as well as the facilities of third-parties that provide or maintain, or have access to our data or network infrastructure, are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, cyber security attacks, terrorist attacks, power losses, telecommunications failures and similar events. In the event that our or any third-party provider’s systems or service abilities are hindered by any of the events discussed above, our ability to operate may be impaired. Our information technology systems, and the information technology systems of our current or future third-party vendors, collaborators, consultants and service providers, could be penetrated by internal or external parties intent on extracting information, corrupting information, stealing intellectual property or trade secrets, or disrupting business processes. A third party’s decision to close facilities or terminate services without adequate notice, or other unanticipated problems, could adversely impact our operations. Any of the aforementioned risks may be augmented if our or any third-party provider’s business continuity and disaster recovery plans prove to be inadequate in preventing the loss of data, service interruptions, disruptions to our operations or damages to important systems or facilities. Our data center, third-party cloud, and managed service provider infrastructure also could be subject to break-ins, cyber-attacks (including through the use of malware, software bugs, computer viruses, ransomware, social engineering, and denial of service), sabotage, intentional acts of vandalism and other misconduct, from a spectrum of actors ranging in sophistication from threats common to most industries to more advanced and persistent, highly organized adversaries. Any security breach or incident, including personal data breaches, that we experience could result in unauthorized access to, or misuse, modification, destruction or unauthorized acquisition of, our internal sensitive corporate data, such as personal data, financial data, trade secrets, intellectual property, or other competitively sensitive or confidential data. Such unauthorized access, misuse, acquisition, or modification of sensitive data may result in data loss, corruption or alteration, interruptions in our operations or damage to our computer hardware or systems or those of our employees or customers. Our systems have been the target of cyber-attacks. Although we have taken and continue to take steps to enhance our cybersecurity posture, we cannot assure that future cyber incidents will not occur or that our systems will not be targeted or breached in the future. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in a disruption of the Company’s operations, the theft, unauthorized use or publication of the Company’s intellectual property, other proprietary information or the personal information of customers, employees, licensees or suppliers, a reduction of the revenues the Company is able to generate from its operations, damage to the Company’s brand and reputation, a loss of confidence in the security of the Company’s business and products, and significant legal and financial exposure. If any such incident results in litigation, we may be required to make significant expenditures in the course of such litigation and may be required to pay significant amounts in damages. We may not carry sufficient business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur as a result of any events that cause interruptions in our service. There can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information. Significant unavailability of our services due to attacks could cause us to incur significant liability, could cause users to cease using our services and materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

We use complex software in our technology infrastructure, which we seek to continually update and improve. Replacing such systems is often time-consuming and expensive and can also be intrusive to daily business operations. Further, we may not always be successful in executing these upgrades and improvements, which may result in a failure of our systems. We may experience periodic system interruptions from time to time. Any slowdown or failure of our underlying technology infrastructure could harm our business and reputation, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations. Our disaster recovery plan or those of our third-party providers may be inadequate, and our business interruption insurance may not be sufficient to compensate us for the losses that could occur.

Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

A variety of federal, state and foreign laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of personal information. The information, security and privacy requirements imposed by such governmental laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection are increasingly demanding, quickly evolving and may be subject to differing interpretations. These requirements may not be harmonized, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices may not have complied or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements and obligations. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with applicablesuch laws orand regulations could result in fines, investigations, enforcement actions, penalties, sanctions, claims for damages by affected individuals, and damage to our reputation, among other negative consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on its financial performance.

We are subject to the California Consumer Protection Act of 2018, which became effective in 2020, as well as its amendment, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA,” and together, the “CCPA”), which went into effect on January 1, 2023. The CCPA regulates the collection, use and processing of personal information relating to California residents, and which grants certain

15


privacy rights to California residents, including rights to request access to and to request deletion of personal information relating to such individuals under certain circumstances. Compliance with the new obligations imposed by the CCPA depends in part on how its requirements are interpreted and applied by the California attorney general, courts, and the new California Privacy Protection Agency. Alleged violations of the CCPA may result in substantial civil penalties or statutory damages when applied at scale, up to $2,500 per violation or $7,500 per intentional violation of any CCPA requirement, which may be applied on a per-person or per-record basis. The CCPA also establishes a private right of action if certain personal information of individuals is subject to an unauthorized access and exfiltration, theft, or disclosure as a result of a business’s violation of the duty to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices, which authorizes statutory damages $100 to $750 per person per incident even if there is no actual harm or damage to plaintiffs. This private right of action may increase the likelihood of, and risks associated with, data breach litigation. Further, the CPRA includes additional and strengthened privacy rights for California residents, new requirements regarding sensitive data and data sharing for digital advertising, and tripled damages for violations involving children’s data.

The selling and sharing of personal information by businesses for digital advertising and marketing purposes remains a priority of regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission and California Attorney General. In August 2022, the California Attorney General announced its first enforcement action under the CCPA against a retailer that to pay penalties and comply with injunctive terms, including overhauling its online disclosures and opt-out rights and providing regular reports to the California Attorney General regarding its data sharing practices. On January 27, 2023, the California Attorney General announced another CCPA enforcement sweep targeted at businesses with mobile apps, including popular apps in the retail, travel, and foodservice industries.

Four other states –Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah – passed their own comprehensive privacy laws that went into effect throughout 2023. Seven states (Texas, Tennessee, Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Indiana, Delaware) passed their own comprehensive privacy laws in 2023 which will go into effect throughout 2024-2026. Like the CCPA, these laws regulate the collection, use and processing of personal information relating to residents of the respective states, and grants certain privacy rights to those residents. Other states are expected to consider and potentially pass similar privacy laws in 2024 and future years.

We are also subject to international privacy laws and regulations, many of which, such as the General Data Privacy Regulation (“GDPR”) and national laws implementing or supplementing the GDPR, such as the United Kingdom Data Protection Law 2018 (which retains key features of GDPR post-Brexit), are significantly more stringent than those currently enforced in the United States. The GDPR requires companies to meet requirements regarding the handling of personal data of individuals located in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). The GDPR imposes mandatory data breach notification requirements subject to a 72-hour notification deadline. The GDPR also includes significant penalties for noncompliance, which may result in monetary penalties of up to the higher of €20.0 million or 4% of a group’s worldwide turnover for the preceding financial year for the most serious violations. The GDPR and other similar regulations require companies to give specific types of notice and informed consent is required for the placement of a cookie or similar technologies on a user’s device for online tracking for behavioral advertising and other purposes and for direct electronic marketing, and the GDPR also imposes additional conditions in order to satisfy such consent, such as a prohibition on pre-checked tick boxes and bundled consents. Enforcement of the GDPR and related regulations varies by each EU Member State and is ongoing. Further laws and regulations on these topics are forthcoming, including the Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications (“ePrivacy Regulation”), Digital Services Act (“DSA”), and Digital Markets Act (“DMA”). The GDPR may increase our responsibility and liability in relation to personal data that we process where that processing is subject to the GDPR. In addition, we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the GDPR, including GDPR requirements as implemented by individual countries. Compliance with the GDPR will be a rigorous and time-intensive process that may increase our cost of doing business or require us to change our business practices.

In addition, under GDPR, transfers of personal data are prohibited to countries outside of the EEA that have not been determined by the European Commission to provide adequate protections for personal data, including the United States. There are mechanisms to permit the transfer of personal data from the EEA to the United States, but there is also uncertainty as to the future of such mechanisms, which have been under consistent scrutiny and challenge. In July 2020, a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, a means that previously permitted transfers of personal data from the EEA to companies in the United States that certified adherence to the Privacy Shield Framework. In July 2023, the European Union and the United States agreed to replace the Privacy Shield Framework by implementing the E.U.-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission to permit transfers from the EU to third countries currently remain as a basis on which to transfer personal data from the EEA to other countries. However, the standard contractual clauses are also subject to legal challenge, and in November 2020, the European Commission published a draft of updated standard contractual clauses. In January 2022, for example, Austria’s data protection authority determined that the use of Google Analytics violated the GDPR and the Court of Justice of the European Union’s “Schrems II” decision on international data transfers. We presently rely on standard contractual clauses to transfer personal data from EEA member countries, and we may be impacted by changes in law as a result of future review or invalidation of, or changes to, this mechanism by European courts or regulators. While we will continue to undertake efforts to conform to current regulatory obligations and evolving best practices, we may be unsuccessful in conforming to permitted means of transferring personal data from the European Economic Area. We may also experience hesitancy,

16


reluctance, or refusal by European or multi-national customers to continue to use some of our services due to the potential risk exposure of personal data transfers and the current data protection obligations imposed on them by certain data protection authorities. Such customers may also view any alternative approaches to the transfer of any personal data as being too costly, too burdensome, or otherwise objectionable, and therefore may decide not to do business with us if the transfer of personal data is a necessary requirement.

Data protection requirements in China continued to change in 2023 and are expected change further in 2024. In 2023 new cross-border data transfer requirements came into force in China, and draft requirements for audit requirements for transborder data flows have been released, were not final at the end of 2023.

Although we take reasonable efforts to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and have invested and continue to invest human and technology resources into data privacy compliance efforts, there can be no assurance that we will not be subject to regulatory action, including fines, in the event of an incident or other claim. Data protection laws and requirements may also be enacted, interpreted or applied in a manner that creates inconsistent or contradictory requirements on companies that operate across jurisdictions. We or our third-party service providers could be adversely affected if legislation or regulations are expanded to require changes in our or our third-party service providers’ business practices or if governing jurisdictions interpret or implement their legislation or regulations in ways that negatively affect our or our third-party service providers’ business, results of operations or financial condition. For example, we may find it necessary to establish alternative systems to maintain personal data in the EEA, which may involve substantial expense and may cause us to divert resources from other aspects of our business, all of which may adversely affect our results from operations. Further, any inability to adequately address privacy concerns in connection with our solutions, or comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations and policies, could result in additional cost and liability to us, and adversely affect our ability to offer our solutions. GDPR, CCPA and other similar laws and regulations, as well as any associated inquiries or investigations or any other government actions, may be costly to comply with, result in negative publicity, increase our operating costs, require significant management time and attention and subject us to remedies that may harm our business, including fines or demands or orders that we modify or cease existing business practices. Our systems may not be able to satisfy these changing requirements and manufacturer, retailer and associate expectations, or may require significant additional investments or time in order to do so.

We expect that new industry standards, laws and regulations will continue to be proposed regarding privacy, data protection and information security in many jurisdictions, including the European e-Privacy Regulation, which is currently in draft form, as well as at the U.S. federal and state levels. In addition, new data processes and datasets associated with emerging technologies are coming under increased regulatory scrutiny, such as biometrics and automated decision-making. We cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. Complying with these evolving obligations is challenging, time consuming and expensive, and federal regulators, state attorneys general and plaintiff’s attorneys have been, and will likely continue to be, active in this space. Expanding definitions and interpretations of what constitutes “personal data” (or the equivalent) within the United States, the EEA and elsewhere may increase our compliance costs and legal liability. For example, various state privacy proposals have included a private right of action for basic privacy violations which, if passed, would dramatically increase both the legal costs of defending frivolous lawsuits and the penalties and costs associated with alleged violations.

Civil litigation, including class actions, remains another source of potential liability under privacy laws. For example, cases filed under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act have resulted in large settlement amounts and damages awards against other companies due to the presence of statutory damages under that law. As another example, website owners and operators saw a wave of putative class actions filed against them in 2022 under the California Invasion of Privacy Act and similar federal and state surveillance and wiretapping laws, with claims centering on websites’ deployment of session monitoring, keylogging, chatbots, and other tracking and monitoring technologies. The inconsistency among court rulings regarding these legal claims renders the likelihood and dollar amount of potential liability and/or settlement value difficult to accurately quantify.

A data breach or any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any federal, state or foreign privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or other principles or orders to which we may be subject or other legal obligations relating to privacy or consumer protection could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in fines, enforcement actions, sanctions, claims (including claims for damages by affected individuals), investigations, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, or other penalties or liabilities or require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain data sets, among other negative consequences, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Moreover, the proliferation of supply chain-based cyber-attacks and vendor security incidents increases these potential risks and costs even in cases where the attack did not target us, occur on our systems, or result from any action or inaction by us. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, we may also have obligations to notify users, law enforcement, regulators, business partners or payment companies about the incident and provide some form of remedy, such as refunds or identity theft monitoring services, for the individuals affected by the incident.

17


The Take 5 Matter may lead to additional harms, risks and uncertainties for us, including litigation and governmental investigations, a reduction in revenue, a potential deterioration in our relationships or reputation and a loss in investor confidence.

As further described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we acquired the business of Take 5 Media Group in April 2018, and a result of an investigation into that business, we terminated all operations of the Take 5, including the use of its associated trade names and the offering of its services to its clients and offered refunds to clients of collected revenues attributable to the period after our acquisition. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Take 5 Matter” and “Legal Proceedings.”

As a result of these matters, we may be subject to a number of additional harms, risks and uncertainties, including substantial costs for legal fees in connection with or related to the potential lawsuits by clients or other interested parties who claim to have been harmed by the misconduct at Take 5, other costs and fees related to the Take 5 Matter (in excess of the amounts already being offered as refunds), potential governmental investigations arising from the Take 5 Matter. In addition, if we do not prevail in any such litigation related to these matters, we could be subject to costs related to such litigation, including equitable relief, civil monetary damages, treble damages, or repayment, which may not be covered by insurance or may materially increase our insurance costs. We have incurred and will continue to incur additional costs regardless of the outcome of any such litigation or governmental investigation. In addition, there can be no assurance to what degree, if any, we will be able to recover any such costs or damages from the former owners of Take 5 or whether such former owners of Take 5 engaged in further unknown improper activities that may subject us to further costs or damages, including potential reputational harm. Likewise, such events have caused and may cause further diversion of our management’s time and attention. Any adverse outcome related to these matters cannot be predicted at this time, and may materially harm our business, reputation, financial condition and/or results of operations, or the trading price of our securities.

Our business is seasonal in nature and quarterly operating results can fluctuate.

Our services are seasonal in nature, with the fourth fiscal quarter typically generating a higher proportion of our revenues than other fiscal quarters. Adverse events, such as deteriorating economic conditions, higher unemployment, higher gas prices, public transportation disruptions, public health crises (including the COVID-19 pandemic) or unanticipated adverse weather, could result in lower-than-planned sales during key revenue-producing seasons. For example, frequent or unusually heavy snowfall, ice storms, rainstorms, windstorms or other extreme weather conditions over a prolonged period could make it difficult for consumers to travel to retail stores or foodservice locations. Such events could lead to lower revenues, negatively impacting our financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is competitive, and increased competition could adversely affect our business 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 againstThe sales, marketing and merchandising services industry is competitive. We face competition from a corporation to the extent of distributions received by themfew other large, national or super-regional agencies as well as many niche and regional agencies. Remaining competitive 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 July 22, 2021 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 July 22, 2021 in the event we do not complete our business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.


Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCLthis industry 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 assessclosely monitor and respond to trends in 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 July 22, 2021 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, 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.

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 one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. 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.

Holders of Class A Common Stock will not be entitled to vote on any election of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.

Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.


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 and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.

We have not registered the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering 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 twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission 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 commercially reasonable 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.industry sectors. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which representanticipate and respond successfully to such trends in 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 Commission issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering 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 above, if our Class A Common Stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and 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 shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A Common Stock included in the Units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A Common Stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

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 pricetimely manner. Moreover, some of our Class A Common Stock.

Pursuant to an 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 and the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the founder shares and the private placement warrants held by them and holders of warrants thatcompetitors 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 not limited to a particular industry, sector or 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’ operations.

Although we expect to focus our search for a target business in the consumer sector, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we are not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet entered into a definitive agreement with any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our 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 revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikelysell services competitive to have a remedy for such reduction in value.


Past performanceours at lower prices by Centerview Capital Consumer, including our management team,accepting lower margins and profitability or may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, Centerview Capital Consumer and its affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by Centerview Capital Consumer, including our management team, 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 onsell services competitive to ours at lower prices due to proprietary ownership of data or technical superiority, which could negatively impact the historical record of Centerview Capital Consumer’s or our management team’s 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.

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

We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure yourates that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition 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 herein 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 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.can charge. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We may seek acquisition opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues 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 an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our 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 that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm 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 tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

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 500,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are currently 425,166,667 and 38,750,000 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, which amount is not currently determinable. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B Common Stock are convertible into 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 (including pursuant to a specified future issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A Common Stock to redeem the warrants or 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 provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. 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 acquisitions 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 $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our ability tocompete 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 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 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 engage 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 Commission, 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 acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition 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 acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition 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.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our 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 business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the 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 business combination. 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 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 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, pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors.

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’ 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 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 will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a 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 several 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. In particular, certain of our officers and directors are employed by Centerview Capital Consumer, which is an investment manager to various private investment funds, which make investments in securities or other interests of or relating to companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Certain of our officers serve as directors of Simply Good Foods. Our independent directors 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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see Item 10 “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” and Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”

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 will continue to engage 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 that are engaged in a similar business.

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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”

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 a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so, or we may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of Centerview Capital and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Centerview Capital. 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.

In particular, Centerview Capital Consumer is focused on investments in the consumer sector. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.


We may engage in a 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. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.”. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we are not 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 a business combination as set forth in Item 1 “Business - Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.

We may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of Centerview Capital and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Centerview Capital. This may result in conflicts of interest as well as dilutive issuances of our securities.

We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with Centerview Capital and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Centerview Capital. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

In addition, any specified future issuance in connection with an Affiliated Joint Acquisition would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B Common Stock, which, unless waived, would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio of our Class B Common Stock such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock currently outstanding plus all shares issued in the specified future issuances. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B Common Stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A Common Stock.

Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our 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.

In May 2019, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,500,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share. In June 2019, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Ms. Rosenfeld and Messrs. Klein, Blaylock and Schena, our independent directors. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,333,333 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of $11,000,000, or $1.50 per whole warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.


We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a 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 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 the 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 products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.

Of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $437,066,525 is available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to approximately $15.75 million, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).


We may effectuate our 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 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 Commission 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 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 developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our 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. 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 a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. By definition, very little public information 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 a 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 a 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 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 business combination transaction. 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 a 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 in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the Commission’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 business combination even if 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 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 business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A Common Stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

The exercise price for the public warrants is higher than in many similar blank check company offerings in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.

The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than is typical in many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the Units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.

In order to effectuate our initial business combination, we may 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 but that our stockholders may not support.

In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and changed industry focus. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or change our industry focus 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 completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.

Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions sometimes requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-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) 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 NASDAQ rules. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own up to 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-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a 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 that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by July 22, 2021, or which adversely affects the rights of holders of our Class A Common Stock, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A Common Stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.


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.

Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet entered into a definitive agreement with any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, 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 or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed 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. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 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 working capital requirements (up to $1,000,000 in the aggregate) as well as franchise and income 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 business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and our results of operations. If certain competitors were to combine into integrated sales, marketing and merchandising services companies, additional sales, marketing and merchandising service companies were to enter the continued developmentmarket or growthexisting participants in this industry were to become more competitive, including through technological innovation such as social media and crowdsourcing, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business is subject to risks associated with climate change.

The effects of climate change, and a resulting shift to a lower carbon economy, could present several climate-related risks for our business. Physical risks from climate change could result in both chronic and acute perils including, but not limited to, extreme weather, changes in precipitation and temperature, and rising sea levels, all of which may result in a decrease in demand for our services from or our ability to provide services to our clients, many of whom are in the retail industry, located in the areas affected by these conditions. Should the impact of climate change be severe or occur for lengthy periods of time, climate change could further adversely impact business continuity for ourselves and our clients, which, in turn, could similarly adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Failure to meet environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) expectations or standards could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, or stock price.

18


In recent years, there has been an increased focus from stakeholders, regulators and the public in general on ESG matters, including greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks, renewable energy, water stewardship, waste management, diversity, equality and inclusion, responsible sourcing and supply chain, human rights, and social responsibility, including changes in laws and regulations related to compliance and disclosure obligations related thereto. We actively seek to address this focus and comply with the evolving laws and regulations related thereto. However, compliance with such laws and regulations may result in increased operating costs for us. In addition, if we are unable to comply with laws and regulations or implement effective ESG strategies, our reputation among our clients and investors may be damaged and we may incur fines and/or penalties. Moreover, there can be no assurance that any of our ESG strategies will result in improved results.

Damage to our reputation could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our reputation and the quality of our brand are critical to our business and success in existing markets and will be critical to our success as we enter new markets. We believe that we have built our reputation on the high quality of our sales and marketing services, our commitment to our clients and our performance-based culture, and we must protect and grow the value of our brand in order for us to continue to be successful. Any incident that erodes client loyalty to our brand could significantly reduce its value and damage our business. Also, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms and similar devices, including blogs, social media websites, and other forms of internet-based communications that provide individuals with access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the targetcontent posted. Information concerning us may be posted on such platforms at any time. Information posted may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our performance, prospects or business. None of our officers, directorsThe harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or stockholders is requiredcorrection.

We rely on third parties to provide any financing to uscertain data and services in connection with the provision of our services.

We rely on third parties to provide certain data and services for use in connection with the provision of our services. For example, we contract with third parties to obtain the raw data on retail product sales and inventories. These suppliers of data may impose restrictions on our use of such data, fail to adhere to our quality control standards, increase the price they charge us for this data or after our initial business combination.refuse altogether to license the data to us. If we are unable to completeuse such third-party data and services or if we are unable to contract with third parties, when necessary, our initial business, combination,financial condition or our public stockholdersresults of operations could be adversely affected. In the event that such data and services are unavailable for our use or the cost of acquiring such data and services increases, our business could be adversely affected.

We may only receive approximately $10.00 per sharebe unable to timely and effectively respond to changes in digital practices and policies, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes to practices and policies of operating systems, websites and other digital platforms, including, without limitation, Apple’s or Android’s transparency policies, may reduce the quantity and quality of the data and metrics that can be collected or used by us and our clients or reduce the value of our digital services. These limitations may adversely affect both our and our clients’ ability to effectively target and measure the performance of our digital services. In addition, our clients and third-party vendors routinely evaluate their digital practices and policies, and if in the future they determine to modify such practices and policies for any reasons, including, without limitation, privacy, targeting, age or content concerns, this could decrease the desire for our digital services as compared to other alternatives. If we are unable to timely or effectively respond to changes in digital practices and policies, or if our clients do not believe that our digital services will generate a competitive return on investment relative to alternatives, then our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which, in turn, could harm the value of our brands and adversely affect our business.

Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to further build brand recognition using our trade names, service marks, trademarks, proprietary products and other intellectual property, including our name and logos. We rely on U.S. and foreign trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as license agreements, nondisclosure agreements and confidentiality and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. Nevertheless, these laws and procedures may not be adequate to prevent unauthorized parties from attempting to copy or otherwise obtain our processes and technology or deter our competitors from developing similar business solutions and concepts, and adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets and other intellectual property.

The success of our business depends on our continued ability to use our existing trademarks and service marks to increase brand awareness and further develop our brand in both domestic and international markets. We have registered and applied to register our trade names, service marks and trademarks in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. However, the steps we have taken to protect

19


our intellectual property in the United States and in foreign countries may not be adequate, and third parties may misappropriate, dilute, infringe upon or otherwise harm the value of our intellectual property. If any of our registered or unregistered trademarks, trade names or service marks is challenged, infringed, circumvented or declared generic or determined to be infringing on other marks, it could have an adverse effect on our sales or market position. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain jurisdictions. This could make it difficult to stop the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions.

We rely upon trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary know‑how to develop and maintain our competitive position. While it is our policy to enter into agreements imposing nondisclosure and confidentiality obligations upon our employees and third parties to protect our intellectual property, these obligations may be breached, may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know‑how, or adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized access, use or disclosure of our trade secrets and know‑how. Furthermore, despite the existence of such nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, or other contractual restrictions, we may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our confidential proprietary information or trade secrets by consultants, vendors and employees. In addition, others could obtain knowledge of our trade secrets through independent development or other legal means.

Any claims or litigation initiated by us to protect our proprietary technology could be time consuming, costly and divert the attention of our technical and management resources. If we choose to go to court to stop a third party from infringing our intellectual property, that third party may ask the court to rule that our intellectual property rights are invalid and/or should not be enforced against that third party. Even if the action that we take to protect our intellectual property rights is successful, any infringement may still have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual property rights that are costly to defend, result in the diversion of management’s time and efforts, require the payment of damages, limit our ability to use particular technologies in the future or prevent us from marketing our existing or future products and services.

Third parties may assert that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property, including with respect to our digital solutions and other technologies that are important to our business, and may sue us for intellectual property infringement. We may not be aware of whether our products or services do or will infringe existing or future intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there can be no assurance that one or more of our competitors who have developed competing technologies or our other competitors will not be granted intellectual property rights for their technology and allege that we have infringed on such rights.

Any claims that our business infringes the intellectual property rights of others, regardless of the merit or resolution of such claims, could incur substantial costs, and the time and attention of our management and other personnel may be diverted in pursuing these proceedings. An adverse determination in any intellectual property claim could require us to pay damages, be subject to an injunction, and/or stop using our technologies, trademarks, copyrighted works and other material found to be in violation of another party’s rights, and could prevent us from licensing our technologies to others unless we enter into royalty or licensing arrangements with the prevailing party or are able to redesign our products and services to avoid infringement. With respect to any third-party intellectual property that we use or wish to use in our business (whether or not asserted against us in litigation), we may not be able to enter into licensing or other arrangements with the owner of such intellectual property at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms. Any of the foregoing could harm our commercial success.

We are dependent on proprietary technology licensed from others. If we lose our licenses, we may not be able to continue developing our products.

We have obtained licenses that give us rights to third party intellectual property that is necessary or useful to our business. These license agreements may impose various royalty and other obligations on us. One or more of our licensors may allege that we have breached our license agreement with them, and could seek to terminate our license, which could adversely affect our competitive business position and harm our business prospects. In addition, any claims brought against us by our licensors could be costly, time-consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations.

Consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, including some of our clients, are subject to extensive governmental regulation and we and they may be subject to enforcement in the event of noncompliance with applicable requirements.

Consumer goods manufacturers and retailers are subject to a broad range of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations governing, among other things, the research, development, manufacture, distribution, marketing and post-market reporting of consumer products. These include laws administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal, state, local

20


and international regulatory authorities. For example, certain of our clients market and sell products containing cannabidiol (“CBD”). CBD products are subject to a number of federal, state, local and international laws and regulations restricting their use in certain categories of products and in certain jurisdictions. In particular, the FDA has publicly stated it is prohibited to sell into interstate commerce food, beverages or dietary supplements that contain CBD. These laws are broad in scope and subject to evolving interpretations, which could require us to incur costs associated with new or modified compliance requirements or require us or our clients to alter or limit our activities, including marketing and promotion, of such products, or to remove them from the market altogether.

If a regulatory authority determines that we or our current or future clients have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may be materially impacted, and we or our clients could be subject to enforcement actions or loss of business. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations or applications of the laws, nor can we determine what effect additional laws, regulations or administrative policies and procedures, if and when enacted, promulgated and implemented, could have on our business.

We may be subject to claims for products for which we are the vendor of record or may otherwise be in the chain of title.

For certain of our clients’ products, we become the vendor of record or otherwise may be in the chain of title. For these products, we could be subject to potential claims for misbranded, adulterated, contaminated, damaged or spoiled products, or could be subject to liability in connection with claims related to infringement of intellectual property, product liability, product recalls or other liabilities arising in connection with the sale or marketing of these products. As a result, we could be subject to claims or lawsuits (including potential class action lawsuits), and we could incur liabilities that are not insured or exceed our insurance coverage or for which the manufacturer of the product does not indemnify us. Even if product claims against us are not successful or fully pursued, these claims could be costly and time consuming and may require our management to spend time defending the claims rather than operating our business.

A product that has been actually or allegedly misbranded, adulterated or damaged or is actually or allegedly defective could result in product withdrawals or recalls, destruction of product inventory, negative publicity and substantial costs of compliance or remediation. Any of these events, including a significant product liability judgment against us, could result in monetary damages and/or a loss of demand for our products, both of which could have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

We generate revenues and incur expenses throughout the world that are subject to exchange rate fluctuations, and our results of operations may suffer due to currency translations.

Our U.S. operations earn revenues and incur expenses primarily in U.S. dollars, while our international operations earn revenues and incur expenses in the local currency, including Canadian dollars, Mexican pesos or euros. Because of currency exchange rate fluctuations, including possible devaluations, we are subject to currency translation exposure on the liquidationresults of our trust account,operations, in addition to economic exposure. These risks could adversely impact our business or results of operations.

Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate and realization of our deferred tax assets may result in volatility of our operating results.

We are subject to taxes by the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax authorities, and our warrantstax liabilities will expire worthless.

be affected by the allocation of expenses to differing jurisdictions. We record tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which may include reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions, and valuation allowances related to certain net deferred tax assets. At any one time, many tax years may be subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may affect the ultimate settlement of these matters. We expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated. Our initial stockholders may exertfuture effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentiallynumber of factors, including:

changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowance;
tax effects of equity-based compensation;
changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof; or
future earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.

21


In addition, our effective tax rate in a manner that you dogiven financial statement period may be materially impacted by a variety of factors including but not support.

Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20%limited to changes in the mix and level of earnings, varying tax rates in the different jurisdictions in which we operate, fluctuations in the valuation allowance, deductibility of certain items or changes to existing accounting rules or regulations. Further, tax legislation may be enacted in the future which could negatively impact our current or future tax structure and effective tax rates. We may be subject to audits of our issuedincome, sales and outstandingother transaction taxes by U.S. federal, state, local and foreign taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

We are controlled by Topco, the Advantage Sponsors, and the CP Sponsor, whose economic and other interests in our business may be different from yours.

Our authorized capital stock consists of 3,290,000,000 shares of common stock and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Accordingly, they mayAs of February 29, 2024, the equity holders of Topco that participated in the PIPE Investment (as defined below) (collectively, the “Advantage Sponsors”, Topco and Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC, an affiliate of Centerview Capital Management, LLC and Conyers Park’s sponsor (the “CP Sponsor”) collectively own 232,361,313 shares, or 72.5% (including 58.3% held by Topco), of our outstanding common stock. Subject to applicable law, the Advantage Sponsors, through their direct ownership of our common stock and their ownership of equity interests of Topco, and the CP Sponsor are able to exert a substantialsignificant influence onin the election of our directors and control actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support,to be taken by our stockholders, including amendments to our third amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of majormergers, sales of substantially all of our assets, and other significant 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. FactorsIt is possible that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A Common Stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.

We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of Topco, the registered holders. Accordingly, weAdvantage Sponsors and the CP Sponsor may amendin some circumstances conflict with our interests and the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% 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 50% 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of sharesinterests of our Class A Common Stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.other stockholders, including you.


We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making such 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 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 exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force a 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.

In addition, we may redeem your warrants after they become exercisable for $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A Common Stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A Common Stock. Please see Exhibit 4.2 of this Report. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A Common Stock had your warrants remained outstanding.

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 business combination.

We issued warrants to purchase 11,250,000 shares of 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 issued in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,333,333 shares of Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share. Prior to our initial public offering, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 11,500,000 founder shares in a private placement (250,000 founder shares have been forfeited following the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option). 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 $1.50 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. Our public warrants are also redeemable by us for Class A Common Stock as described in Exhibit 4.2 of this Report.”

To the extent we issue shares of Class A Common Stock to effectuate a 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 acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A Common Stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

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.


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

Each unit contains one-fourth of one warrant. Because, pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose Units include one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the Units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-fourth of the number of shares compared to Units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our Units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of NASDAQ and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

A market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price 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.

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 a 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, 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 statements may also be required to be prepared in accordance with GAAP in connection with our current report on Form 8-K announcing the closing our initial business combination within four business days following such closing. 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 growtha controlled company within the meaning of the Securities Act,Nasdaq Stock Market LLC listing requirements and if we take advantage of certainas a result, may rely on exemptions from disclosurecertain corporate governance requirements. To the extent we rely on such exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such corporate governance requirements.

Because of the voting power over our company held by Topco, the Advantage Sponsors, and the CP Sponsor and the voting arrangement between such parties, we are considered a controlled company for the purposes of the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) listing requirements. As such, we are exempt from the corporate governance requirements availablethat our board of directors, compensation committee, and nominating and corporate governance committee meet the standard of independence established by those corporate governance requirements. The independence standards are intended to emerging growthensure that directors who meet the independence standards are free of any conflicting interest that could influence their actions as directors.

We do not currently utilize the exemptions afforded to a controlled company, though we are entitled to do so. To the extent we utilize these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq.

The anti-takeover provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could prevent or delay a change in control of us, even if such change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could discourage, delay, or prevent a merger, acquisition, or other change in control of us, even if such change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders. These include:

authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our board of directors to increase the number of outstanding shares and thwart a takeover attempt;
provision for a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board of directors are elected at one time;
not permitting the use of cumulative voting for the election of directors;
permitting the removal of directors only for cause;
limiting the ability of stockholders to call special meetings;
requiring all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
requiring approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the shares entitled to vote at an election of directors to adopt, amend, or repeal the proposed bylaws or repeal the provisions of the third amended and restated certificate of incorporation regarding the election and removal of directors; and

22


establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.

In addition, although we have opted out of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, subject to certain exceptions. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset, or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder.

Subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock.

Under certain circumstances, this couldprovision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested stockholder” to effect various business combinations with us for a three-year period. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our securities less attractive to investorsboard of directors 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. As a result, ouraccomplish transactions which stockholders may not have access to certain information they mayotherwise deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A Common Stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.


Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such 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 comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.

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 acquisition.

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

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

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

Moreover, our securities.

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 transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate 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 our company or our company’s directors, officers or other employees.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent in writingTopco and its affiliates do not constitute “interested stockholders” for purposes of this provision, and thus any business combination transaction between us and Topco and its affiliates would not be subject to the selectionprotections otherwise provided by this provision. Topco and its affiliates are not prohibited from selling a controlling interest in us to a third party and may do so without your approval and without providing for a purchase of an alternative forum,your shares of common stock, subject to the lock-up restrictions applicable to Topco. Accordingly, your shares of common stock may be worth less than they would be if Topco and its affiliates did not maintain voting control over us.

The provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws requiring exclusive venue in the Court of Chancery ofin the State of Delaware shall,or the federal district courts of the United States of America for certain types of lawsuits may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum forthat (i) any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, of our company, (2)(ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our companydirectors, officers, or other employees to our companyus or our stockholders, or(iii) any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director or officer of our companyus arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCLDelaware General Corporation Law or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4)(iv) any action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, aswill have to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (a) as to whichbe brought only in the Court of Chancery 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 jurisdictionState of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (c) arising under the federal securities laws, including the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery andDelaware (or the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall concurrentlyor other state courts of the State of Delaware if the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware does not have jurisdiction). Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also require that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the soleexclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”); however, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provision, and exclusive forums. Notwithstandinginvestors cannot waive compliance with federal securities laws and the foregoing,rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of applicable law in the types of lawsuits to which they apply, the provisions may have the effect of this paragraph willdiscouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. These provisions do not apply to any suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction.

Because we have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your Class A common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our Class A common stock. The declaration, amount and payment of America shallany future dividends on our Class A common stock will be at the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any sharesdiscretion of our capital stock shall be deemed to have noticeboard of directors and to have consented to the forum provisions inwill depend upon our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.


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 our company or its directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, and result in a diversionother factors that our board of directors deems relevant. The payment of cash dividends is also restricted under the terms of the timeagreements governing our debt and resourcesour ability to pay dividend may also be restricted by the terms of any future credit agreement or any securities we or our subsidiaries may issue.

An active, liquid trading market for our Class A common stock may not be available.

We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our company will lead to availability of a trading market on Nasdaq or otherwise in the future or how active and liquid that market may be for our Class A common stock. If an active and liquid trading market is not available, you may have difficulty selling any of our management and boardClass A common stock. Among other things, in the absence of directors.

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

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

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, such as 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;

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

liquid public trading market:


23

deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

government appropriations of assets.

We

you may not be able to adequately address these additional risks.liquidate your investment in shares of Class A common stock;
you may not be able to resell your shares of Class A common stock at or above the price attributed to them when we became a publicly traded company;
the market price of shares of Class A common stock may experience significant price volatility; and
there may be less efficiency in carrying out your purchase and sale orders.

The trading price of our Class A common stock may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.

The market prices for our Class A common stock are likely to be volatile and may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot control, including:

quarterly variations in our operating results compared to market expectations;
changes in preferences of our clients;
announcements of new products or services or significant price reductions;
the size of our public float;
fluctuations in stock market prices and volumes;
defaults on our indebtedness;
changes in senior management or key personnel;
the granting, vesting, or exercise of employee stock options, restricted stock, or other equity rights;
the payment of any dividends thereon in shares of our common stock;
changes in financial estimates or recommendations by securities analysts;
negative earnings or other announcements by us;
downgrades in our credit ratings;
material litigation or governmental investigations;
issuances of capital stock;
global economic, legal, and regulatory factors unrelated to our performance, including the COVID-19 pandemic; or
the realization of any risks described in this Annual Report under “Risk Factors.”

In addition, in the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation against companies following periods of market volatility. If we were unableinvolved in securities litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.

We cannot provide any guaranty that we will continue to do so,repurchase our operations might suffer,common stock pursuant to our stock repurchase program.

In November 2021, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program, under which we may repurchase up to $100 million of our outstanding Class A common stock (the “2021 Share Repurchase Program”). As of December 31, 2023, the remaining amount available for repurchase pursuant to the 2021 Share Repurchase Program is $81.1 million. However, we are not obligated to make any further purchases under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program and we may suspend or permanently discontinue this program at any time or significantly reduce the amount of repurchases under the program. Any announcement of a suspension, discontinuance or reduction of this program may negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence.

The valuation of our private placement warrants could increase the volatility in our net (loss) income in our consolidated statements of (loss) earnings.

We determine the fair value of the liability classified private placement warrants by approximating the value with the price of the public warrants at the respective period end. The change in fair value of warrant liability represents the mark-to-market fair value adjustments to the outstanding private placement warrants issued in connection with the initial public offering of Conyers Park.

24


Significant changes in the price of the public warrants and the number of private placement warrants outstanding may adversely impactaffect the volatility in our resultsnet (loss) income in our Consolidated Statements of operationsOperations and financial condition.Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Risks Related to Indebtedness

We may face risksneed to continue to generate significant operating cash flow in order to fund our internal investments and acquisitions and to service our debt.

Our business currently generates operating cash flow, which we use to fund our internal investments and acquisitions to grow our business and to service our substantial indebtedness. If, because of loss of revenue, pressure on pricing from customers, increases in our costs (including increases in costs related to consumer sector companies.servicing our indebtedness or labor costs), general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory conditions or other factors, many of which are outside of our control our business generates less operating cash flow, we may not have sufficient funds to grow our business or to service our indebtedness.

Business combinations with companies in the consumer sector entail special considerations and risks. If we are successfulunable to generate sufficient cash flow or are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants in completing a business combination withthe agreements governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such a target business,indebtedness. In the event of such default, the lenders under our credit facilities could elect to terminate their commitments thereunder, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to obtain waivers from the required lenders under our credit agreements to avoid being in default. If we or any of our subsidiaries breach the covenants under our credit agreements and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under our credit agreements, the lenders could exercise their rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health, restrict our activities, and affect our ability to meet our obligations.

We have a significant amount of indebtedness. As of December 31, 2023, we had total indebtedness of $1.9 billion, excluding debt issuance costs, with an additional $44.1 million of letters of credit outstanding under our revolving credit facility. The agreements governing our indebtedness contain customary covenants that restrict us from taking certain actions, such as incurring additional debt, permitting liens on pledged assets, making investments, paying dividends or making distributions to equity holders, prepaying junior debt, engaging in mergers or restructurings, and selling assets, among other things, which may restrict our ability to successfully execute on our business plan. For a more detailed description of the covenants and material terms of our material indebtedness, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this Annual Report.

Despite current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still be able to incur additional indebtedness, which could increase the risks associated with our indebtedness.

We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future because the terms of our indebtedness do not fully prohibit us or our subsidiaries from doing so. Subject to covenant compliance and certain conditions, as of December 31, 2023, the agreements governing our indebtedness would have permitted us to borrow up to an additional $455.9 million under our revolving credit facility. In addition, we and our subsidiaries have, and will have, the ability to incur additional indebtedness as incremental facilities under our credit agreement and we or our subsidiaries may issue additional notes in the future. If additional debt is added to our current debt levels and our subsidiaries’ current debt levels, the related risks that we and they now face could increase.

Failure to maintain our credit ratings could adversely affect our liquidity, capital position, ability to hedge certain financial risks, borrowing costs, and access to capital markets.

Our credit risk is evaluated by the major independent rating agencies, and such agencies have in the past downgraded, and could in the future downgrade, our ratings. Our credit rating may impact the interest rates on any future indebtedness as well as the applicability of certain covenants in the agreements governing our indebtedness. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our current credit ratings, and any additional, actual or anticipated changes or downgrades in our credit ratings, including any announcement that our ratings are under further review for a downgrade, may have a negative impact on our liquidity, capital position, ability to hedge certain financial risks, and access to capital markets.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

25


Borrowings under our credit facilities are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. On a pro forma basis, assuming no other prepayments of the credit facility and that our revolving credit facility is fully drawn (and to the extent that SOFR, is in excess of the 0.00% and 0.75% floors applicable to our revolving credit facility and our term loan credit facility, respectively), each one-eighth percentage point change in interest rates would result in an approximately $0.9 million change in annual interest expense on the indebtedness under our credit facilities. In the future, we may enter into interest rate swaps that involve the exchange of floating- for fixed-rate interest payments in order to reduce interest rate volatility or risk. However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to any of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully or effectively mitigate our interest rate risk.

General Risk Factors

Our business and financial results may be affected by various litigation and regulatory proceedings.

We are subject to litigation and possibly adversely affected by,regulatory proceedings in the following risks:

An inability to compete effectively in a highly competitive environment with many incumbents having substantially greater resources;

An inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth;

An inability to build strong brand identity and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty;

Limitations on a target business’ ability to protect its intellectual property rights, including its trade secrets, that could cause a loss in revenue and any competitive advantage;

The high cost or unavailability of materials, equipment, supplies and personnel that could adversely affect our ability to execute our operations on a timely basis;

An inability to attract and retain customers;

An inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend;

Seasonality and weather conditions that may cause our operating results to vary from quarter to quarter;

An inability by us to successfully anticipate changing consumer preferences and buying trends and manage our product line and inventory commensurate with customer demand;

Potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute;

Dependence of our operations upon third-party suppliers whose failure to perform adequately could disrupt our business;

Our operating results may be adversely affected by changes in the cost or availability of raw materials and energy;

We may be subject to production-related risks which could jeopardize our ability to realize anticipated sales and profits;

Changes in the retail industry and markets for consumer products affecting our customers or retailing practices could negatively impact customer relationships and our results of operations; and

Our business could involve the potential for product recalls, product liability and other claims against us, which could affect our earnings and financial condition.

Anynormal course of business and could become subject to additional claims in the future. These proceedings have included, and in the future may include, matters involving personnel and employment issues, workers’ compensation, personal and property injury, disputes relating to acquisitions (including contingent consideration), governmental investigations and other proceedings. Some historical and current legal proceedings and future legal proceedings may purport to be brought as class actions or representative basis on behalf of similarly situated parties including with respect to employment-related matters. We cannot be certain of the foregoingultimate outcomes of any such claims, and resolution of these types of matters against us may result in significant fines, judgments or settlements, which, if uninsured, or if the fines, judgments and settlements exceed insured levels, could adversely affect our business or financial results. See “Legal Proceedings.”

We are subject to many federal, state, local and international laws with which compliance is both costly and complex.

Our business is subject to various, and sometimes complex, laws and regulations, including those that have been or may be implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to conduct our operations in compliance with these laws and regulations, we must obtain and maintain numerous permits, approvals and certificates from various federal, state, local and international governmental authorities. We may incur substantial costs in order to maintain compliance with these existing laws and regulations. In addition, our costs of compliance may increase if existing laws and regulations are revised or reinterpreted or if new laws and regulations become applicable to our operations. These costs could have an adverse impact on our business or results of operations. Moreover, our failure to comply with these laws and regulations, as interpreted and enforced, could lead to fines, penalties or management distraction or otherwise harm our business.

Our insurance may not provide adequate levels of coverage against claims.

We believe that we maintain insurance customary for businesses of our size and type. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Further, insurance may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms, if at all, and, if available, coverage may not be adequate. If we are unable to obtain insurance at an acceptable cost or on acceptable terms, we could be exposed to significant losses.

We have incurred and will continue to incur increased costs as a public company.

As a public company, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. We also have incurred and will incur costs associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules implemented by the SEC. The expenses incurred by public companies for reporting and corporate governance purposes generally have been increasing. Laws and regulations could also make it more difficult or costly for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we may be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. These laws and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, on our board committees, or as our executive officers. Furthermore, if we are unable to satisfy our obligations as a public company, we could be subject to delisting of our Class A common stock, fines, sanctions, and other regulatory action and potentially civil litigation.

If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they publish negative evaluations of our common stock, the price of our Class A common stock could decline.

26


The trading market for our Class A common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. If few analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price of our stock could be negatively affected. Even with analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our Class A common stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover our common stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our Class A common stock, which in turn could cause our Class A common stock price to decline.

Substantial future sales of our Class A common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional shares. Certain shares of our common stock are freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, except for any shares of our common stock that may be held or acquired by our directors, executive officers, and other affiliates, as that term is defined in the Securities Act, which are to be restricted securities under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may not be sold in the public market unless the sale is registered under the Securities Act or an exemption from registration is available. Topco, the Advantage Sponsors, the CP Sponsor and members of our management have rights, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering Topco’s shares of our common stock or to include shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. In each of November 2020 and March 2021, we filed a registration statement on Form S-1 under which certain of our stockholders may sell, from time to time, 50,000,000 shares and 255,465,000 shares of our Class A common stock, respectively, that, if sold, will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act. In the event a large number of shares of Class A common stock are sold in the public market, such sales could reduce the market price of our Class A common stock.

We may also issue shares of our common stock or securities convertible into our common stock from time to time in connection with financings, acquisitions, investments, or otherwise. Any such issuance could result in ownership dilution to you as a stockholder and cause the trading price of our common stock to decline.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None

Item 1C. Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We have developed and implemented a cybersecurity risk management program intended to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our critical systems and information. Our cybersecurity risk management program includes a cybersecurity incident response plan.

We design and assess our program based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework the (“NIST CSF”). This does not imply that we meet any particular technical standards, specifications, or requirements, only that we use the NIST CSF as a guide to help us identify, assess, and manage cybersecurity risks relevant to our business.

Our cybersecurity risk management program is integrated into our overall enterprise risk management program, and shares common methodologies, reporting channels and governance processes that apply across the enterprise risk management program to other legal, compliance, strategic, operational, and financial risk areas.

Our cybersecurity risk management program includes:

risk assessments designed to help identify material cybersecurity risks to our critical systems, information, products, services, and our broader enterprise IT environment;
a security team principally responsible for managing (1) our cybersecurity risk assessment processes, (2) our security controls, and (3) our response to cybersecurity incidents;
the use of external service providers, where appropriate, to assess, test or otherwise assist with aspects of our security controls;
cybersecurity awareness training of our employees, incident response personnel, and senior management; and
a cybersecurity incident response plan that includes procedures for responding to cybersecurity incidents.

27


We have not identified risks from known cybersecurity threats, including as a result of any prior cybersecurity incidents, that have materially affected us, including our operations, followingbusiness strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. We face risks from cybersecurity threats that, if realized, are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our operations, business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition. See “Risk Factors – Failures in, data breaches of, or incidents involving, our technology infrastructure could damage our business, reputation and brand and substantially harm our business and results of operations.”

Cybersecurity Governance

Our Board considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk management oversight function and has delegated risk management to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. In 2024, the Audit Committee’s charter was updated to expressly state that this oversight function includes cybersecurity risk.

The Audit Committee oversees management’s implementation of our cybersecurity risk management program. The Audit Committee receives periodic reports from management on our cybersecurity risks. In addition, management updates the Audit Committee, as necessary, regarding any material cybersecurity incidents, as well as any incidents with lesser impact potential.

The Committee reports to the full Board regarding its activities, including those related to risk management and cybersecurity. All board members are permitted to attend the meetings of the Audit Committee and certain board members who do not serve on the Audit Committee have attended cybersecurity risks presentations. In addition, cybersecurity risk briefing materials are made available to all board members. At any time, Board members may raise concerns regarding our cybersecurity posture and recommend future changes to, among other things, personnel, practices, controls or procedures.

Our management team, including our Chief Digital Officer (“CDO”) and Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. The Company’s cybersecurity program is primarily managed by a business combination. However,dedicated cybersecurity function reporting to our CISO who reports to our CDO. Our CISO has over 20 years of executive experience in IT security, and previously served as the CISO of Blue Shield of California and Kellogg Company. Our CDO has over 30 years of executive experience in IT operations and was previously the Global Chief Information Officer of Walgreens-Boots Alliance, Inc., The Kraft Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group.

Our management team supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from internal security personnel; threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants engaged by us; and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in identifying prospective target businessesthe IT environment.

Item 2. Properties

Our corporate headquarters are located in Irvine, California, where we rent approximately 22,000 square feet pursuant to a lease agreement that is scheduled to expire in May 2026. We anticipate that we will complete the relocation of our corporate headquarters to Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis-metropolitan area in 2024.

As of December 31, 2023, we operated more than 70 offices, including in the United States and internationally.

We lease all of our properties, except for a property in Connecticut that we own. Leases on these offices expire at various dates from 2024 to 2034, excluding any options for renewal. We typically seek office space in proximity to retailers’ headquarters or buying offices, to aid our associates in acting as sales representatives for our manufacturer clients.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various legal matters that arise in the ordinary course of our business. Some of these legal matters purport or may be determined to be class and/or representative actions or seek substantial damages or penalties. Some of these legal matters relate to disputes regarding acquisitions. In connection with certain of the below matters and other legal matters, we have accrued amounts that we believe are appropriate. There can be no assurance, however, that the above matters and other legal matters will not be limitedresult in us having to make payments in excess of such accruals or that the above matters or other legal matters will not materially or adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

28


Commercial Matters

We have been involved in various litigation matters and arbitrations with respect to commercial matters arising with clients, vendors and third-party sellers of businesses. We have retained outside counsel to represent us in these matters and we are vigorously defending our interests.

Employment-Related Matters

We have also been involved in various litigation, including purported class or representative actions with respect to matters arising under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act, California Labor Code and Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). Many involve allegations for allegedly failing to pay wages and/or overtime, failing to provide meal and rest breaks and failing to pay reporting time pay, waiting time penalties and other penalties.

Proceedings Relating to Take 5

The following proceedings relate to the consumer sector. Accordingly,Take 5 Matter, which is discussed in greater detail in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Take 5 Matter��� and “Risk Factors — Risks Related to the Company’s Business and Industry” in this Annual Report. In connection with the Take 5 Matter, we voluntarily disclosed to the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation certain misconduct occurring at Take 5. We intend to cooperate in this and any other governmental investigation that may arise in connection with the Take 5 Matter. At this time, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of any investigation related to the Take 5 Matter and are unable to estimate the potential impact such an investigation may have on us. In August 2019, as a result of the Take 5 Matter, we provided a written indemnification claim notice to the sellers of Take 5, or the Take 5 Sellers, seeking monetary damages (including interest, fees and costs) based on allegations of breach of the asset purchase agreement (the “Take 5 APA”), as well as fraud. We and the Take 5 Sellers engaged in arbitration proceedings. In October 2022, the arbitrator made a final award in our favor. We are actively pursuing the collection of this award in state court in Florida. We are currently unable to estimate if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us andor when we will be subjectable to other risks attendantcollect any amounts associated with this arbitration. The Take 5 Matter may result in additional litigation against us, including lawsuits from clients, or governmental investigations, which may expose us to potential liability in excess of the amounts being offered by us as refunds to Take 5 clients. We are currently unable to determine the amount of any potential liability, costs or expenses (above the amounts already being offered as refunds) that may result from any lawsuits or investigations associated with the specific industry in whichTake 5 Matter or determine whether any such issues will have any future material adverse effect on our financial position, liquidity or results of operations. Although we operatehave insurance covering certain liabilities, we cannot assure that the insurance will be sufficient to cover any potential liability or target business which we acquire, noneexpenses associated with the Take 5 Matter.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Part II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of which can be presently ascertained.Equity Securities.


Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments

Market Information

None.

Item 2.Properties

We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. Our executive office is located at 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 601, Naples, FL 34108. Our executive officesClass A common stock and Warrants are provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor. Commencing on the date our securities were firstcurrently listed on the NASDAQ, we agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.

Item 3.Legal Proceedings

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

Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.


PART II

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

(a) Market Information

Our Units, Class A Common Stock and warrants are each traded on the NASDAQ under the symbols “CPAAU,“ADV” and “ADVWW,“CPAA” and “CPAAW”, respectively. Our Units commenced public trading on July 18, 2019, and our Class A Common Stock and warrants commenced public trading on September 9, 2019.

(b) Holders

OnAs of December 31, 2019,2023, there was one holder of record of our Units, one holderwere 30 holders of record of our Class A Common Stock. four holders of our Class B Common Stockcommon stock and two2 holders of record of our warrants.Warrants.

Dividend Policy

(c) Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A common stock to datedate. We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and do not intenddebt repayment and have no current plans to pay cash dividends priorfor the foreseeable future. Any decision to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cashdeclare and pay dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be withinmade at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our boardresults of directors at such time.operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declarepay dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants of any existing and future outstanding

29


indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of the Class A common stock in the foreseeable future.

Stock Price Performance

img182782360_0.jpg 

The graph above compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our Class A common stock with the cumulative total return on the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Stock Index and the S&P Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 in our Class A common stock at the market close on July 18, 2019, which was our initial trading day. Data for the S&P 500 Stock Index and S&P Consumer Staples Select Sector Index assume reinvestment of dividends. Total return equals stock price appreciation plus reinvestment of dividends. Note that past stock price performance is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

Purchases of equity securities by the issuer and affiliated purchasers

On November 9, 2021, we announced that our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program (the “2021 Share Repurchase Program”) pursuant to which we may agreerepurchase up to in connection therewith.$100 million of our Class A common stock.

The 2021 Share Repurchase Program does not have an expiration date, but provides for suspension or discontinuation at any time. The 2021 Share Repurchase Program permits the repurchase of our Class A common stock on the open market and by other means from time to time. The timing and amount of any share repurchase is subject to prevailing market conditions, relevant securities laws and other considerations, and we are under no obligation to repurchase any specific number of shares.

(d) Securities Authorized

30


During the year ended December 31, 2023, we executed open market purchases of $6.4 million of our Class A common stock under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program. As of December 31, 2023, there remained $81.1 million of share repurchase availability under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program as of December 31, 2023. The following tables sets forth repurchases of our Class A common stock during the year ended December 31, 2023:

Period

 

Total number of shares purchased

 

 

Average price paid per share

 

 

Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced program

 

 

Approximate dollar value of shares that may yet to be purchased under the program
(in thousands)

 

November 21, 2023 to November 30, 2023(1)

 

 

378,382

 

 

$

2.71

 

 

 

1,988,396

 

 

$

86,407

 

December 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023(1)

 

 

1,611,679

 

 

$

3.32

 

 

 

3,600,075

 

 

$

81,051

 

Total

 

 

1,990,061

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)
Open market and privately negotiated purchases

In December 2023, the Company entered into a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act authorizing the repurchase of shares of our Class A common stock. From January 2, 2024 to February 29, 2024, we purchased 3.0 million shares of our Class A common stock. No stock repurchases were made pursuant to this plan for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.the year ended December 31, 2023.

None.

(e)Performance Graph

Not applicable.

(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; UseEquity Securities

None.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Proceeds from Registered OfferingsFinancial Condition and Results of Operations.

Unregistered Sales

On May 2, 2019, the sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.002 per share, on behalf of the Company in exchange for a capital contribution and in consideration of 11,500,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Such securities were issued in connection with the Company’s organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. On September 3, 2019, the remainder of the underwriters’ over-allotment option expired and the sponsor forfeited 250,000 Founder Shares. As of December 31, 2019, there were 11,250,000 shares of Class B Common Stock outstanding.

On July 22, 2019, the sponsor purchased 7,333,333 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($11,000,000 in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering. This issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.

No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such unregistered sales.

45

Use of Proceeds

In connection with the initial public offering we incurred offering costs of approximately $25.36 million (including underwriting commissions of approximately $9.0 million and deferred underwriting commissions of approximately $15.75 million). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally preparation fees related to the initial public offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial business combination, if consummated) and the initial public offering expenses, $450 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the private placement warrants (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the initial public offering) was placed in the trust account. The net proceeds of the initial public offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants are held in the trust account and invested as described elsewhere in this Report.

There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the initial public offering and private placement as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the initial public offering and subsequent filings with the Commission.

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

None.

Item 6.Selected Financial Data

Not applicable.

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

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and therelated notes thereto contained elsewhereincluded in Item 8 “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Report. Certain information contained in the discussionAnnual Report on Form 10-K. This section of this Form 10-K generally discusses 2023 and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks2022 items and uncertainties.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statementsyear-to-year comparisons between 2023 and 2022. Discussions of historical fact2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2022 and 2021 are not included in this Report, including, without limitation, statements underForm 10-K, and can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regardingin Part II, Item 7 of our Form 10-K for the Company’s financial position,fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 1, 2023.

Executive Overview

We are a leading business strategysolutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers. We have a strong platform of competitively advantaged sales and marketing services built over multiple decades – essential, business critical services like headquarter sales, retail merchandising, in-store sampling, digital commerce and shopper marketing. For brands and retailers of all sizes, we help get the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Report, 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 basedright products on the beliefsshelf (whether physical or digital) and into the hands of management,consumers (however they shop). We use a scaled platform to innovate as wella trusted partner with our clients, solving problems to increase their efficiency and effectiveness across a broad range of channels.

For 2023 and 2022, we had two reportable segments: sales and marketing.

Through our sales segment, which generated approximately 57.9% of our total revenues in the year ended December 31, 2023, we offer headquarter sales representation services to consumer goods manufacturers, for whom we prepare and present to retailers a business case to increase distribution of manufacturers’ products and optimize how they are displayed, priced and promoted. We also make in-store merchandising visits for both manufacturer and retailer clients to ensure the products we represent are adequately stocked and properly displayed.

Through our marketing segment, which generated approximately 42.1% of our total revenues in the year ended December 31, 2023, we help brands and retailers reach consumers through two main categories within the marketing segment. The first and largest category is our retail experiential business, also known as assumptions made by,in-store sampling or demonstrations, where we manage highly customized large-scale sampling programs (both in-store and information currently availableonline) for leading retailers. The second category is our collection of specialized

31


agency services, in which we provide private label services to retailers and develop granular marketing programs for brands and retailers through our shopper, consumer and digital marketing agencies.

During the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements asfourth quarter of 2023, certain organizational changes were announced that will impact our future internal reporting. As a result of certain factors detailed inthese changes, we expect to have three reportable segments. We expect that any operational changes impacting our filings with the Commission.

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation on May 2, 2019 and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants that occurred simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering, 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 in our initial public offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B Common Stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock 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, 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.

As indicatedreportable segments will be effective in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2019, we had $951,060 in cash and cash equivalents. first quarter of 2024.

Items Affecting Comparability of Financial Results

2024 Divestiture of Foodservice Businesses

We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit ofhave included businesses classified as held for sale within continuing operations as their dispositions do not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete our initial business combination will be successful.

Results of Operations

For the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) to December 31, 2019, we had a net income of approximately $2.5 million. Our entire activity from May 2, 2019 through December 31, 2019, consisted of formation and preparation for our initial public offering and since our initial public offering, the search for a target business with which to consummate an initial business combination, and as such, we had no operations and no significant operating expenses. Subsequent to the closing of our initial public offering on July 22, 2019, our normal operating costs included costs associated with our search for the business combination, costs associated with our governance and public reporting, state franchise taxes and charges of $10,000 per month from our sponsor for administrative services. Our interest income earned on cash equivalents and marketable securities held in the trust account were approximately $3.6 million.financial results.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Until the consummation of our initial public offering, our only sources of liquidity were an initial purchase of founder shares for $25,000 by the sponsor and loans to us of up to $300,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. This promissory note was non-interest bearing and was paid in full on July 22, 2019 in connection with closing of our initial public offering.


On July 22, 2019, we consummated our initial public offering in which we sold 45,000,000 Units, including 5,000,000 overallotment Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $450 million before underwriting discounts and expenses. The sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,333,333 warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with our initial public offering. In connection with our initial public offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $25.36 million (including an underwriting discount of $9 million and a Deferred Discount of $15.75 million). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of formation and preparation fees related to our initial public offering. $450 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the private placement warrants were deposited in a trust account established for the benefit of our public stockholders.

As of December 31, 2019, we have available to us the $951,0602023, certain assets and liabilities of casha collection of foodservice businesses were classified as held for sale in Prepaid expenses and cash equivalentsother current assets and Other accrued expenses on our balance sheet. We will use these funds to identifyConsolidated Balance Sheet. The collection of foodservice businesses were sold during the first quarter of 2024. As part of the sale, the foodservice businesses were combined with an entity owned by the buyer, 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. We are also entitled to up to $1,000,000 in interest from the trust account to be used forwe received approximately $91.0 million, less estimated working capital purposes. The amount of interest available to us from the trust account may be less than $1,000,000 as a result of the current interest rate environment. As of December 31, 2019, our interest incomeadjustment and an ongoing 7.5% stake in the trust account is approximately $3.6 million.entity with which the foodservice businesses will be combined.

2023 Deconsolidation of ASL

In orderOn November 30, 2023, we reduced our equity interest in Advantage Smollan Limited (“ASL”), our European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to fund workinga minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash. We also removed certain participating rights with ASL related to capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor orallocation and certain of our officersdecision making rights. Therefore, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 810 (“ASC 810”), Consolidation, ASL was deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements. Effective December 1, 2023, our investment in ASL is accounted for under the equity method of accounting, with the investment reported in “Investments in unconsolidated affiliates” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. InEquity income (loss) reported in “Income from unconsolidated investments” on the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portionConsolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Impacts of the working capital held outsideCOVID-19 Pandemic

Our services experienced the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceedseffects 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 $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identicalreductions in client spending due to the private placement warrants, including aseconomic impact related to exercise price, exercisabilitythe COVID-19 pandemic. While mixed by services and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliategeography, the spending reductions impacted all of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such fundsservices and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

We expect that we have sufficient resources subsequent to our initial public offering to fundmarkets, which particularly impacted our operations through July 22,in 2021. We do not believe we will needGlobally, the most impacted services were our in-store sampling and demonstration services, which have continued to raise additional funds following our initial public offering and the sale of our private placement warrantsimprove in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial 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 completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination, which may include a specified future issuance. 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 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 addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.2023.

Summary

Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements

We have no obligations, assets or liabilities which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities orOur financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements.

We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or entered into any non-financial assets.


Contractual Obligations

Underwriting Agreement

We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the initial public offering to purchase up to 6,000,000 Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On July 22, 2019, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option for 5,000,000 Units.

The underwriters were entitled to underwriting discounts of $0.20 per unit, or $9.0 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the initial public offering. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $15.75 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Administrative Support Agreement

Commencing on the date our securities were first listed on the NASDAQ, we agreed to pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of the initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Critical Accounting Policies

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

Our portfolio of investments held in Trust Account are comprised solely of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less, classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, held in Trust Account in our statements of operations. The fair value for trading securities is determined using quoted market prices in active markets.

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

Shares of Class A Common Stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable shares of Class A Common Stock (including shares of Class A Common Stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, shares of Class A Common Stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our shares of Class A Common Stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2019, 43,313,166 shares of Class A Common Stock subject to possible redemption at the redemption amount are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.

Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. We have not considered the effect of warrants sold in the initial public offering and private placement to purchase 18,583,333 shares of Class A Common Stock in the calculation of diluted income per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.

Our statements of operation include a presentation of income per share for shares of Class A Common Stock subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net income per share, basic and diluted for Class A common stock are calculated by dividing the interest income earned on investments and marketable securities held in the trust account of approximately $3.6 million, net of applicable taxes of $830,672 and $279,580 of working capital expenses (up to $1,000,000) available to be withdrawn from the trust account, resulting in a total of $2,469,141performance for the year ended December 31, 20192023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022 includes:

Revenues increased by $175.1 million, or 4.3%, to $4,224.8 million;
Operating loss decreased by $1,515.6 million to $76.2 million of operating income;
Net loss decreased by $1,317.0 million to $60.3 million;
Adjusted Net Income decreased by $82.8 million, or 40.1%, to $123.8 million; and
Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $11.6 million, or 2.7%, to $424.3 million.

Factors Affecting Our Business and Financial Reporting

There are a number of factors, in addition to the deconsolidation of ASL, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and, inflation, that affect the performance of our business and the comparability of our results from period to period including:

Organic Growth. Part of our strategy is to generate organic growth by expanding our existing client relationships, continuing to win new clients, pursuing channel expansion, enhancing our service offerings, developing our international platform, delivering operational efficiencies and expanding into logical adjacencies. We believe that by pursuing these

32


organic growth opportunities we will be able to continue to enhance our value proposition to our clients and thereby grow our business.
Acquisitions and Divestitures. We have grown our business in part by acquiring businesses, both domestic and international. Many of our acquisition agreements include contingent consideration arrangements, which are described below. We have completed acquisitions at what we believe are attractive purchase prices and have regularly structured our agreements to result in the generation of long-lived tax assets, which have in turn reduced our effective purchase prices when incorporating the value of those tax assets. We continue to look for strategic acquisitions that can be completed at attractive purchase prices. We continue to evaluate opportunities to further simplify our operations so we can focus more resources on our core businesses.
Contingent Consideration. Many of our acquisition agreements include contingent consideration arrangements, which are generally based on the achievement of financial performance thresholds by the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock outstanding for the period. Net loss per share, basic and diluted for Class B common stock is calculated by dividing the net income of $2,469,141, less incomeoperations attributable to Class A common stock by the weighted average numberacquired businesses. The contingent consideration arrangements are based upon our valuations of sharesthe acquired businesses and are intended to share the investment risk with the sellers of Class B common stocksuch businesses if projected financial results are not achieved. The fair values of $2,469,141 outstanding forthese contingent consideration arrangements are included as part of the period.

49

Fair Valuepurchase price of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderlyacquired companies on their respective acquisition dates. For each transaction, between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:

Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets;

Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and

Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.

In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels ofwe estimate the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

As of December 31, 2019, the carrying values of cash, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to the short-term naturecontingent consideration payments as part of the instruments. The Company’s investments held in trust account is comprised of investments in U.S. Treasury securities with an original maturity of 180 days or lessinitial purchase price. We review and are recognized at fair value. Theassess the estimated fair value of investments heldcontingent consideration on a quarterly basis, and the updated fair value could differ materially from our initial estimates. Adjustments to the estimated fair value related to changes in trust account is determined using quoted pricesall other unobservable inputs are reported in active markets.

Emerging Growth Company

Section 102(b)(1)“Selling, general and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Depreciation and Amortization. As a result of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companiesacquisition of our business by Topco on July 25, 2014 (the “2014 Topco Acquisition”), we acquired significant intangible assets, the value of which is amortized, on a straight-line basis, over 15 years from being requiredthe date of the 2014 Topco Acquisition, unless determined to complybe indefinite-lived. The amortization of such intangible assets recorded in our consolidated financial statements has a significant impact on our operating (loss) income and net loss. Our historical acquisitions have increased, and future acquisitions likely will increase, our intangible assets. We do not believe the amortization expense associated with new or revised financialthe intangible assets created from our purchase accounting standards until private companies (that is, thoseadjustments reflect a material economic cost to our business. Unlike depreciation expense which has an economic cost reflected by the fact that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective orwe must re-invest in property and equipment to maintain the asset base delivering our results of operations, we do not have any capital re-investment requirements associated with the acquired intangible assets, such as client relationships and trade names, that comprise the majority of the finite-lived intangible assets that create our amortization expense.
Impairment of Goodwill and Indefinite-Lived Assets. We recognized a classnon-cash intangible asset impairment charge of securities registered$43.5 million related to our indefinite-lived sales trade name during the year ended December 31, 2023. We recognized $1,275.7 million and $91.8 million impairment charges in the sales and marketing reporting units, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2022. We recognized non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $146.0 million and $59.0 million related to our indefinite-lived sales and marketing trade names, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2022. The impairment charges have been reflected in “Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets” in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income.
Foreign Exchange Fluctuations. Our financial results are affected by fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and other currencies, primarily the Canadian dollars, British pounds and euros, due to our operations in such foreign jurisdictions. See also “—Quantitative and QualitativeDisclosure of Market Risk—Foreign Currency Risk.
Seasonality. Our quarterly results are seasonal in nature, with the fourth fiscal quarter typically generating a higher proportion of our revenues than other fiscal quarters, as a result of higher consumer spending. We generally record slightly lower revenues in the first fiscal quarter of each year, as our clients begin to roll out new programs for the year, and consumer spending generally is less in the first fiscal quarter than other quarters. The timing of our clients’ marketing expenses, associated with marketing campaigns and new product launches, can also result in fluctuations from one quarter to another.

How We Assess the Performance of Our Business

Revenues

Revenues related to our sales segment are primarily comprised of commissions, fee-for-service and cost-plus fees for providing retail services, category and space management, headquarter relationship management and technology solutions. A small portion of our arrangements include performance incentive provisions, which allow us to earn additional revenues on our performance relative to specified quantitative or qualitative goals. We recognize the incentive portion of revenues under these arrangements when the Exchange Act)related services are requiredtransferred to the customer.

33


Marketing segment revenues are primarily recognized in the form of a fee-for-service (including retainer fees, fees charged to clients based on hours incurred, project-based fees or fees for executing in-person consumer engagements or experiences, which engagements or experiences we refer to as events), commissions or on a cost-plus basis, in each case, related to services including experiential marketing, shopper and consumer marketing services, private label development or our digital, social and media services.

We analyze our financial performance, in part, by measuring revenue growth in two ways—revenue growth attributable to organic activities and revenue growth and declines attributable to acquisitions, which we refer to as organic revenues and acquired revenues, respectively.

We define organic revenues as any revenues that are not acquired revenues. Our organic revenues exclude the impacts of acquisitions and divestitures, when applicable, which improves comparability of our results from period to period.

In general, when we acquire a business, the acquisition includes a contingent consideration arrangement (e.g., an earn-out provision) and, accordingly, we separately track the financial performance of the acquired business. In such cases, we consider revenues generated by such a business during the 12 months following its acquisition to be acquired revenues. For example, if we completed an acquisition on July 1, 2022 for a business that included a contingent consideration arrangement, we would consider revenues from the acquired business from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 to be acquired revenues. We generally consider growth attributable to the financial performance of an acquired business after the 12-month anniversary of the date of acquisition to be organic.

If an acquisition of an acquired business does not include a contingent consideration arrangement, or we otherwise do not separately track the financial performance of the acquired business due to operational integration, we consider the revenues that the business generated in the 12 months prior to its acquisition to be our acquired revenues for the 12 months following its acquisition, and any differences in revenues actually generated during the 12 months after its acquisition to be organic. For example, if we completed an acquisition on July 1, 2022 for a business that did not include a contingent consideration arrangement, we would consider the amount of revenues from the acquired business from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 to be acquired revenues during the period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, with any differences from that amount actually generated during the latter period to be organic revenues.

All revenues generated by our acquired businesses are considered to be organic revenues after the 12-month anniversary of the date of acquisition.

When we divest a business, we consider the revenues that the divested business generated in the 12 months prior to its divestiture to be subtracted from acquired revenues for the 12 months following its divestiture. For example, if we completed a divestiture on July 1, 2022 for a business, we would consider the amount of revenues from the divested business from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 to be subtracted from acquired revenues during the period from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

We measure organic revenue growth and acquired revenue growth by comparing the organic revenues or acquired revenues, respectively, period over period, net of any divestitures.

Cost of Revenues

Our cost of revenues consists of both fixed and variable expenses primarily attributable to the hiring, training, compensation and benefits provided to both full-time and part-time associates, as well as other project-related expenses. A number of costs associated with our associates are subject to external factors, including inflation, increases in market specific wages and minimum wage rates at federal, state and municipal levels and minimum pay levels for exempt roles. Additionally, when we enter into certain new client relationships, we may experience an initial increase in expenses associated with hiring, training and other items needed to launch the new relationship.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, payroll taxes and benefits for corporate personnel. Other overhead costs include information technology, professional services fees, including accounting and legal services, and other general corporate expenses. We also incur expenses operating as a public company, including expenses necessary to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides thatrules and regulations applicable to companies listed on a company can electnational securities exchange and related to opt outcompliance and reporting obligations pursuant to the rules and regulations 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 comparison of our financial statements with another public company, which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period, difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Reference is made to Pages F-1 through F-15 comprising a portion of this Report.

Index to Financial Statements

Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting FirmF-1
Financial Statements:
Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2019F-2
Statement of Operations for the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019F-3
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019F-4
Statement of Cash Flows for the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019F-5
Notes to Financial StatementsF-6


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 and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2019. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15 (e) and 15d-15 (e) under the Exchange Act) were effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

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

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

During the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is 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:

Name

AgeTitle
James M. Kilts72Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
David J. West57Chief Executive Officer and Director
Brian K. Ratzan49Chief Financial Officer and Director
Ronald E. Blaylock.60Director
Peter Klein74Director
Irene Rosenfeld67Director
Joseph Schena61Director

James M. Kilts, our Executive Chairman since inception, is a renowned leader in the consumer industry, with over 40 years of experience leading a range of companies and iconic brands. Mr. Kilts is the Founding Partner of Centerview Capital Consumer, founded in 2006. Previously, Mr. Kilts served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Gillette from 2001 until it merged with The Procter & Gamble Company in 2005; at that time he became Vice Chairman of the Board of The Procter & Gamble Company. Before Mr. Kilts joined Gillette, the company’s sales had been flat for 4 years, and it had missed earnings estimates for 14 consecutive quarters. Mr. Kilts took steps to rebuild the management team, cut costs and reinvest the savings in innovation and marketing. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kilts oversaw the creation of approximately $30 billion in equity value for Gillette’s public shareholders. Gillette’s share price appreciated 110% during Mr. Kilts’ tenure, while the S&P 500 declined 3% over the same time period. Under Mr. Kilts’ leadership, Gillette rejoined the top ranks of consumer products companies as sales increased an average of 9% each year. The Harvard Business Review cited Mr. Kilts’ leadership as the driving force behind Gillette’s turnaround. Prior to Gillette, Mr. Kilts served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabisco from 1998 until its acquisition by the Philip Morris Companies in 2000. Before joining Nabisco, Mr. Kilts was an Executive Vice President of The Philip Morris Companies from 1994 to 1997 and headed the Worldwide Food group. In that role, Mr. Kilts was responsible for integrating Kraft and General Foods and for shaping the group’s domestic and international strategy. Mr. Kilts had previously served as President of Kraft USA and Oscar Mayer. He also had been Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development, President of Kraft Limited in Canada, and Senior Vice President of Kraft International. Mr. Kilts began his career with General Foods Corporation in 1970. Owing to Mr. Kilts’ successes across the consumer industry, numerous companies seek his business expertise and advice. Mr. Kilts is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Simply Good Foods Company, where he has served as Chairman since July 2017, Unifi Inc., where he has served since April 2016, Pfizer, Inc., where he has served since 2007, and MetLife, Inc., where he has served since 2005. Mr. Kilts also served as member of the Board of Nielsen Holdings PLC from 2011 to August 2017, Chairman of the Board of Nielsen Holdings PLC from January 2011 to January 2014, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Nielsen Company B.V. from 2009 to January 2014. Previously, Mr. Kilts was a member of the Board of Directors of Big Heart Pet Brands from March 2011 to March 2015 (during which time he served as Chairman), MeadWestvaco from 2006 to April 2014, The New York Times Company from 2005 to 2008, May Department Stores from 1998 to 2005, Whirlpool Corporation from 1999 to 2005, Chairman of the Board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association from 2003 to 2005, and Delta Airlines from 2002 to 2004. Mr. Kilts is also a former member of Citigroup’s International Advisory Board. Mr. Kilts received a bachelor’s degree in History from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago. We believe Mr. Kilts deep consumer industry background, coupled with broad operational and transactional experience, make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

52

David J. West, our Chief Executive Officer and a Director since inception, is an established leader in the consumer industry, with nearly 30 years of experience leading a range of companies and well-known brands. Mr. West became a partner of Centerview Capital Consumer in May 2016. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, Mr. West served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Big Heart Pet Brands (formerly known as Del Monte Foods) from August 2011 to March 2015, at that time one of the world’s largest pure-play pet food and treats company whose brands included Meow Mix®, Kibbles ‘n Bits®, Milk-Bone®, and others. Mr. West helped reposition the business to increase focus on growth and innovation, launched new products such as Milk-Bone Brushing Chews®, enhanced specialty pet distribution channels through the acquisition of Natural Balance Pet Foods, and developed a marketing culture to effectively promote products. Mr. West worked closely with Mr. Kilts during this time period, as Mr. Kilts was Chairman of the Board of Big Heart Pet Brands. In February 2014, Mr. West oversaw the sale of Del Monte Foods’ Consumer Products business and changed the company’s name to Big Heart Pet Brands, reflecting its singular focus on pet food and snacks. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. West oversaw the creation of approximately $2 billion of equity value for investors. Big Heart Pet Brands was sold to The J. M. Smucker Company in March 2015, at which time Mr. West served The J. M. Smucker Company as President, Big Heart Pet Food and Snacks until March 2016 and as a Senior Advisor until April 2016. Prior to joining Del Monte Foods, Mr. West served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of Hershey from 2007 to May 2011. Under Mr. West’s leadership, Hershey experienced strong profits, net sales growth and shareholder returns, and was recognized as one of the World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies by Forbes Magazine in 2011. During Mr. West’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Hershey increased its investment in domestic and international operations, improved the effectiveness of its supply chain and business model, and accelerated its advertising, brand building and distribution programs. The success created by Mr. West’s leadership at Hershey led to more than $5 billion of equity value creation for shareholders during his tenure. Hershey’s share price appreciated 68% during this time period, while the S&P 500 was flat. Prior to his Chief Executive Officer role, Mr. West held various leadership positions at Hershey including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Customer Officer, and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. Prior to joining Hershey in 2001, Mr. West spent 14 years with the Nabisco Biscuit and Snacks group, where he held a range of senior positions including Senior Vice President, Finance, and Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Planning, a role in which he helped shape and execute Nabisco’s strategy, culminating in the acquisition of Nabisco Holdings Corp. by The Philip Morris Companies in 2000. At Nabisco, Mr. West worked closely with Mr. Kilts during Mr. Kilts’ tenure as Chief Executive Officer. Since July 2017, Mr. West has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of The Simply Good Foods Company. Mr. West was a member of the board of directors of Hershey from 2007 to 2011, Del Monte Foods from 2011 to 2014 and Big Heart Pet Brands from 2014 to 2015. Mr. West received a bachelor of science degree, cum laude, in Business Administration from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. We believe Mr. West’s deep consumer industry background, coupled with broad operational and transactional experience, make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

Brian K. Ratzan, our Chief Financial Officer and a Director since inception, has been a Partner of Centerview Capital Consumer since April 2014. Mr. Ratzan has over 20 years of private equity investing experience. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, Mr. Ratzan was Partner and Head of U.S. Private Equity at Pamplona Capital Management from January 2012 to February 2014. Prior to joining Pamplona, he was Managing Director and Head of Consumer at Vestar Capital Partners, which he joined in 1998. Mr. Ratzan also previously worked at ‘21’ International Holdings, a private investment firm and in the Investment Banking Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Since July 2017, Mr. Ratzan has served as a director on the Board of The Simply Good Foods Company. Mr. Ratzan previously served on the boards of other consumer companies including Del Monte Foods, The Sun Products Corporation (formerly known as Huish Detergents, Inc.), and Birds Eye Foods, Inc. Mr. Ratzan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. We believe Mr. Ratzan’s extensive investment management and transactional experience make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

Ronald E. Blaylock serves as a director of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. Mr. Blaylock is Founder and Managing Partner of Gennx360 Capital Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2006 focused on investing in industrial and business services companies in the U.S. middle market. Mr. Blaylock has also served as a director of Pfizer since 2017. Prior to launching Gennx360 Capital Partners, Mr. Blaylock founded and managed Blaylock & Company, an investment banking firm. Mr. Blaylock also held senior management positions at UBS, PaineWebber Group and Citicorp. Mr. Blaylock currently serves as a director of CarMax, Inc. and W.R. Berkley, Inc., an insurance holding company. Mr. Blaylock is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Hall and of the Board of Overseers of New York University Stern School of Business. Mr. Blaylock received an M.B.A. in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and a B.S. in finance from Georgetown University. We believe Mr. Blaylock’s broad investment experience make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

Peter Klein serves as a director of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. In 2005, Mr. Klein founded PK Associates, a consumer products focused growth management consultancy. From March 2001 through September 2005, Mr. Klein was Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer of The Gillette Company, responsible for Strategy, Planning, Business Development and Global Marketing Resources. Mr. Klein was actively involved in acquisitions and divestitures, new products, functional excellence, strategic sourcing, the sale of Gillette to Procter & Gamble and integration planning. Previously, Mr. Klein was Executive Vice President and Corporate Officer of Strategy, Business Development, Marketing Services and Global e-Business at Nabisco Holdings Corp. from January 1998 through December 2000, and departed Nabisco following Nabisco’s public auction and sale to Phillip Morris/Kraft Foods in December 2000. Mr. Klein joined Nabisco Foods from The Cambridge Group, where he served for seven years as Partner and Managing Director of its east coast office, which he opened in 1991. Prior to joining The Cambridge Group, Mr. Klein was a senior partner for ten years at Marketing Corporation of America, where he led the consumer products management consulting practice. Before consulting, Mr. Klein worked in line sales, marketing and business development at Sterling Drug from 1978 to 1981 (Vice President, Business Development), The Gillette Company from 1972 to 1978 (Director of Marketing & Sales for Braun North America and Group Marketing Manager in Personal Care), and Johnson & Johnson from 1971 to 1972 (Consumer Trade Promotion and Marketing). Mr. Klein is on the Board of Selectors of the Multiplying Good/Jefferson Awards Foundation, on the marketing advisory board at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, on the advisory board of Centerview Capital Consumer, and is Non-Executive Chairman of Vision For and From Children. Mr. Klein received a B.S. degree in Marketing & Finance from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. We believe Mr. Klein’s broad operational, marketing, and transactional experience make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

53

Irene Rosenfeld serves as a director of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. Ms. Rosenfeld is the former Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International. After a distinguished 21 year career at General Foods and then Kraft Foods, Ms. Rosenfeld became Chairman and CEO of Frito-Lay North America for two years. Ms. Rosenfeld returned to Kraft Foods, the predecessor to Mondelēz International, in June 2006 as CEO, and became Chairman in March 2007. In October 2012, Ms. Rosenfeld and her team created Mondelez International by spinning off the company’s North American grocery operations, which were subsequently acquired by Heinz/3G. In July 2014, Ms. Rosenfeld spun off the company’s coffee assets into a new entity, Jacobs Douwe Egbert. In addition to Ms. Rosenfeld’s twelve years of public board experience serving as Chair of the Mondelez International Board, Ms. Rosenfeld served on the AutoNation Inc. board for eight years and has served as a director of Qualcomm Incorporated since October 2018. Ms. Rosenfeld has also been active in a number of industry and community organizations, including The Economic Club of Chicago, the Board of the Consumer Goods Forum, The Business Council and serves on the Chicago-Northwest Indiana board of Teach for America. Ms. Rosenfeld received a Ph.D. in Marketing and Statistics, an M.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University. We believe Ms. Rosenfeld’s deep global consumer industry background, coupled with broad transactional and operational experience, make her well qualified to serve as a Director.

Joseph Schena serves as a director of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. Mr. Schena is a Consumer Products industry executive with 40 years of experience in the areas of Financial Operations and Accounting, Strategy and Business Planning, Investor relations and Mergers & Acquisitions. Mr. Schena had served as the Chief of Staff at Cohen Enterprises focused on C&S Wholesale Grocers and Warehouse Technologies from November 2015 until April 2019. Mr. Schena also served as a director of Warehouse Technologies until January 2020. Previously, Mr. Schena served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at C&S Wholesale Grocers. Prior to joining Cohen Enterprises, Mr. Schena served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Bacardi International Limited and as the Chief Financial Officer of Bacardi Limited. Mr. Schena was an Operating Partner at Centerview Capital Consumer from 2007 to 2012 focused on financial operations of portfolio companies. Mr. Schena was involved in the $5.5 billion privatization of Del Monte Foods and the acquisition of Richelieu Foods. Mr. Schena served as the Vice President of Global Financial Operations, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller at The Gillette Company and transitioned to the Chief Financial Officer of the Gillette business unit of Procter & Gamble ("P&G") after P&G acquired Gillette in October 2005 where Mr. Schena was responsible for Gillette's business resultsSEC, as well as integrating Gillette'shigher expenses for general and P&G's financial operations. Prior to Gillette, Mr. Schena served in various senior financial and strategy positions at Kraft/Nabisco from 1980 to 2000. Mr. Schena received an M.B.A. in Finance and a B.B.A. in Accounting from Iona College. We believe Mr. Schena's deep consumer industry background, coupled with broad operational experience, make him well qualified to serve as a Director.

Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Blaylock and Mr. Klein, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Ms. Rosenfeld and Mr. Schena, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Kilts, West and Ratzan, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination (unless we do not consummate our initial business combination prior to December 31, 2020, in which case NASDAQ rules require that we hold an annual meeting prior to December 31, 2020).

Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.


Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our sponsor, upon consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors.

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, President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Involvement in certain legal proceedings

There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.

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 Mr. Blaylock, Mr. Klein, Ms. Rosenfeld and Mr. Schena are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Committees of the Board of Directors

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

Audit Committee

Mr. Blaylock, Mr. Klein and Mr. Schena serve as members of our 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 member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Schena qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules, and will chair the audit committee.

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

the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other 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 or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;

reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships they have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;

setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm;

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 and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent registered public accounting 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;

reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the Commission 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 Commission or other regulatory authorities.

Compensation Committee

The members of our compensation committee are Mr. Blaylock, Ms. Rosenfeld and Mr. Schena. 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. Mr. Blaylock, Ms. Rosenfeld and Mr. Schena are independent. Mr. Blaylock will chair the compensation committee.

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

reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, 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 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 $10,000 per month administrative fee payable to an affiliate of our sponsor and reimbursement of expenses, no other compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a 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 Commission.


Director Nominations

We do not have a standing nominating committee. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) 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. 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 the Board 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 executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our officers and directors. We have filed copies of our code of ethics, our audit committee charter and our compensation committee charter as exhibits to our registration statement in connection with our initial public offering. You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the Commission’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the code of ethics will be provided without charge upon request to us.

Conflicts of Interest

Centerview Capital sponsors several investment vehicles. Funds managed by Centerview Capital Consumer or its affiliates may compete with us for acquisition opportunities and Simply Good Foods may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these funds and Simply Good Foods decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Centerview Capital Consumer and Simply Good Foods may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Centerview Capital Consumer fund or portfolio company and may be directed to such entity and Simply Good Foods rather than to us. Centerview Capital Consumer or members of our management team who are also employed by Centerview Capital Consumer and Simply Good Foods and members of our management team who are directors of Simply Good Foods have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Centerview Capital Consumer and/or our management, in their capacities as employees of Centerview Capital Consumer or in their other endeavors, may be required to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Centerview Capital Consumer investment vehicles, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with any such fund or other investment vehicle. Such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such fund or vehicle.

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 business combination opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, in the future, 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 do not believe, however, that any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers arising in the future would materially undermine our ability to complete our business combination. In addition, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. 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.


Our directors and officers, Centerview Capital or its affiliates may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates and the director and officer teams. However, we do not expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Potential investors should also be awareinsurance, investor relations, and professional services. Additionally, included in selling, general and administrative expenses are costs associated with the changes in fair value of the followingcontingent consideration of acquisitions and other potential conflictscosts related to acquisition or divestiture

34


transactions. These transaction-related costs are comprised of interest:fees related to change of equity ownership, professional fees, due diligence and integration or divestiture activities.

None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.

In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our initial offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable by our sponsor until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our 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 our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our sponsor or its permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following our initial public offering, our officers and directors 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.

Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 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.

Impairment of Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Assets

The conflicts described above may not be resolvedGoodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired in an acquisition. We test for impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level. We generally combine components that have similar economic characteristics, nature of services, types of clients, distribution methods and regulatory environment. For 2023 and 2022 we had two reporting units, sales and marketing, which were also our favor.

In general, officers and directorsoperating segments. We test our goodwill for impairment at the beginning of the fourth quarter of a corporation incorporated undergiven fiscal year, and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:

the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;

the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and

it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.

Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities.


Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers, directors and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:

IndividualEntityEntity’s BusinessAffiliation
James M. KiltsCenterview Capital ConsumerPrivate EquityFounder
MetLife, Inc.InsuranceDirector
Pfizer, Inc.PharmaceuticalsDirector
Unifi Inc.YarnsDirector
The Simply Good Foods CompanyPackaged Food ProductsChairman of the Board
David J. WestCenterview Capital ConsumerPrivate EquityPartner
The Simply Good Foods CompanyPackaged Food ProductsVice-Chairman of the Board
Brian K. RatzanCenterview Capital ConsumerPrivate EquityPartner
The Simply Good Foods CompanyPackaged Food ProductsDirector
Ronald E. BlaylockGennx360 Capital PartnersPrivate EquityFounder and Managing Partner
PfizerPharmaceuticalsDirector
CarMax, Inc.Retailer for Used VehiclesDirector
W.R. Berkley, Inc.InsuranceDirector
Peter KleinPK AssociatesManagement ConsultancyFounder
Centerview Capital ConsumerPrivate EquityMember of Advisory Board
Irene RosenfeldQualcomm IncorporatedTelecommunicationDirector

Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers, directors or director nominees becomes awarecarrying value of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for anyreporting unit may exceed its fair value.

Other Expenses

Change in Fair Value of the above entities to which he or she has 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 entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that anyWarrant Liability

Change in fair value of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity aswarrant liability represents 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.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our companynon-cash (income) expense resulting from a financial point of view.

In the event that we submit our initial business combinationfair value adjustment to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination and our officers and directors have also agreed to vote any public shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.

59

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.

We entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for anywarrant liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.

These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against 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 officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

In June 2019, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Ms. Rosenfeld and Messrs. Klein, Blaylock and Schena. None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date our securities were first listed on the NASDAQ, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of 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 finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. 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. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.

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 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 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 30, 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.

In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 45,000,000 shares of our Class A Common Stock (which includes Class A Common Stock that are underlying the Company’s Units) and 11,250,000 shares of our Class B Common Stock outstanding as of March 30, 2020. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock owned beneficially by such person. On all matters to be voted upon, the holders of the Class A Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock vote together as a single class, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of shares of Class B Common Stock have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial business combination. Currently, all of the shares of Class B Common Stock are convertible into shares of Class A Common Stock on a one-for-one basis. The table below does not include the shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the private placement warrants held or to be held by our officers or sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this Report.

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.

 

Name of Beneficial Owners(1)

 Class B Common Stock
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned
  Class B Common Stock
Approximate Percentage of Class
  Class A Common Stock Number of Shares Beneficially Owned  Class A Common Stock Approximate Percentage of Class  Approximate Percentage of Voting Control 
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(2)        4,529,507   10.07%  8.05%
Manulife Asset Management Limited(3)        3,175,868   7.06%  5.65%
Woodson Capital Management, LP(4)          3,000,000   6.67%  5.33%
Alyeska Investment Group, L.P.(5)        2,812,500   6.25%  5.00%
Governors Land Master Fund LP(6)        2,439,000   5.42%  4.34%
Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC(7)  11,150,000   99.1%        19.82%
James M. Kilts(7)               
David J. West(7)               
Brian K. Ratzan(7)               
Ronald E. Blaylock.  25,000   *      *   * 
Peter Klein  25,000   *      *   * 
Irene Rosenfeld  25,000   *      *   * 
Joseph Schena  25,000   *         * 
All directors and executive officers as a group (7 individuals)  100,000   *      *   * 

*Less than 1 percent.

(1)Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Conyers Park Acquisition Corp., 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 601, Naples, FL 34108.


(2)As of December 31, 2019, as reported on Schedule 13G. T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (“Price Associates”) is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Price Associates does not serve as custodian of the assets of any of its clients; accordingly, in each instance only the client or the client’s custodian or trustee bank has the right to receive dividends paid with respect to, and proceeds from the sale of, such securities. The ultimate power to direct the receipt of dividends paid with respect to, and the proceeds from the sale of, such securities, is vested in the individual and institutional clients which Price Associates serves as investment adviser. Any and all discretionary authority which has been delegated to Price Associates may be revoked in whole or in part at any time. With respect to securities owned by any one of the registered investment companies sponsored by Price Associates which it also serves as investment adviser (“T. Rowe Price Funds”), only the custodian for each of such Funds, has the right to receive dividends paid with respect to, and proceeds from the sale of, such securities. No other person is known to have such right, except that the shareholders of each such Fund participate proportionately in any dividends and distributions so paid. The business address of Price Associates is 100 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

(3)As of December 31, 2019, as reported on Schedule 13G. Manulife Investment Management Limited (“MIML”) has beneficial ownership of 3,967,935 of Common Stock (including 792,067 shares issuable upon exercise of warrants). Through its parent-subsidiary relationship to MIML, Manulife Financial Corporation (“MFC”) may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of these same shares. MIML has sole power to vote or to direct the voting of the shares of the common stock beneficially owned by them. The business address of MFC and MFC’s indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary MIML is 200 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4W 1E5.

(4)As of December 31, 2019, as reported on Schedule 13G jointly filed by Woodson Capital Master Fund, LP (“Woodson Master”) with respect to the Units held by it, Woodson Capital General Partner, LLC, the general partner of the Woodson funds, with respect to the Units held by the Woodson funds, Woodson Capital Management, LP, the investment manager of the Woodson funds (the “Investment Manager”), with respect to the Units held by the Woodson funds, Woodson Capital GP, LLC, the general partner of the Investment Manager (the “Investment Manager General Partner”), with respect to the Units held by the Woodson funds, and James Woodson Davis, the sole managing member of the Investment Manager General Partner (“Woodson”), with respect to the Units held by the Woodson funds. The address of the principal business office of Woodson Master is Maples Corporate Services Limited, Ugland House Grand Cayman, KY1-1104 Cayman Islands. The address of all other Reporting Persons is 101 Park Avenue, 48th Floor, New York, New York, 10178.

(5)As of December 31, 2019, as reported on Schedule 13G filed by Alyeska Investment Group, L.P., Alyeska Fund GP, LLC, which serves as the General Partner and control person of Alyeska Master Fund, L.P., Alyeska Fund 2 GP, LLC, which serves as the General Partner and control person of Alyeska Master Fund 2, L.P., and Anand Parekh, who is the Chief Executive Officer and control person of Alyeska Investment Group, L.P. The business address of Alyeska Investment Group, L.P., Alyeska Fund GP, LLC, Alyeska Fund 2 GP, LLC and Anand Parekh is 77 West Wacker Drive, 7th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601.

(6)As of December 31, 2019, as reported on Schedule 13G filed by (i) Governors Land Master Fund LP, (ii) Governors Lane LP, (iii) Governors Lane Fund General Partner LLC and (iv) Isaac Corre. Governors Lane LP serves as discretionary investment manager to Governors Lane Master Fund LP and Governors Lane SIF LP. Governors Lane Fund General Partner LLC is the general partner of Governors Lane Master Fund LP and Governors Lane SIF LP. Mr. Corre is the chief executive officer of Governors Lane LP and the managing member of Governors Lane Fund General Partner LLC. The business address of the Reporting Persons is 510 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

(7)Excludes 7,333,333 shares which may be purchased by exercising warrants that are not presently exercisable. There are five managers of our sponsor’s board of managers, including Kilts, West and Ratzan. Each manager has one vote, and the approval of three of the five members of the board of managers is required to approve an action of our sponsor. Under the so-called “rule of three”, if voting and dispositive decisions regarding an entity’s securities are made by three or more individuals, and a voting or dispositive decision requires the approval of a majority of those individuals, then none of the individuals is deemed a beneficial owner of the entity’s securities. This is the situation with regard to our sponsor. Based upon the foregoing analysis, no individual manager of our sponsor exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by our sponsor, even those in which he directly holds a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of such shares.

Changes in Control

None.


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

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

In May 2019, our sponsor purchased 11,500,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash, or approximately $0.002 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20.0% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. In June 2019, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Ms. Rosenfeld and Messrs. Klein, Blaylock and Schena, our independent directors. The 11,500,000 founder shares held by the sponsor prior to the exercise of the over-allotment option included 1,500,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option was not exercised in full. Since the underwriters exercised the over-allotment option in full, the sponsor did not forfeit any of its founder shares.

Our sponsor purchased 7,333,333 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant, or $11,000,000 in the aggregate, in private placement transactions that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering and the closing of the over-allotment option for our initial public offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share. Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A Common Stock. The private placement warrants (including the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.

If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a 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 opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors current have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We may, at our option, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.

We have entered into an Administrative Support Agreement with Centerview Capital Consumer Investors LLC, an affiliate of our sponsor, pursuant to which we will pay 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 finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. 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. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and 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.

Although we believe that Centerview Partners, an independent investment banking and advisory firm associated with Centerview Capital, will serve as a valuable potential source of acquisition opportunities, neither Centerview Partners nor any of its directors, officers or affiliates is under any fiduciary or contractual obligation to do so or to otherwise assist us with our business, and neither our initial public offering nor the conduct of our business will in any way restrict or limit the conduct by Centerview Partners of its business. In addition, we may pay Centerview Partners a fee for financial advisory services rendered in connection with our identification, negotiation and consummation of our initial business combination in the event that it should be retained to provide such services. The amount of any fee we pay to Centerview Partners will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for such transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest.

Prior to our initial public offering, our sponsor provided an aggregate of $300,000 to us under an unsecured promissory note and in advances, to be used for a portion of the expenses of our initial public offering. These loans and advances were non-interest bearing, unsecured and were repaid upon the closing of our initial public offering.


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 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 $1.50 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. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

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 and stockholder rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants. Based on the availability of sufficient observable information, we determine the fair value of the liability classified private placement warrants by approximating the value with the price of the public warrants issuable upon conversionat the respective period end, which is inherently less subjective and judgmental given it is based on observable inputs. We believe these amounts are not correlated to future business operations.

Interest Expense

Interest expense relates primarily to borrowings under our material debt agreements as described below. See “ —Liquidity and Capital Resources.

Depreciation and Amortization

Amortization Expense

As a result of the 2014 Topco Acquisition, we acquired significant intangible assets, the value of which is amortized, on a straight-line basis, over 15 years from the date of the 2014 Topco Acquisition, unless determined to be indefinite-lived. Included in our depreciation and amortization expense is amortization of acquired intangible assets. We have ascribed value to identifiable intangible assets other than goodwill in our purchase price allocations for companies we have acquired. These assets include, but are not limited to, client relationships and trade names. To the extent we ascribe value to identifiable intangible assets that have finite lives, we amortize those values over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Such amortization expense, although non-cash in the period expensed, directly impacts our results of operations. It is difficult to predict with any precision the amount of expense we may record relating to future acquired intangible assets.

Depreciation Expense

Depreciation expense relates to the property and equipment that we own, which represented less than 1% of our total assets at December 31, 2023.

Income Taxes

Income tax (benefit) expense and our effective tax rates can be affected by many factors, including state apportionment factors, our acquisition strategy, tax incentives and credits available to us, changes in judgment regarding our ability to realize our deferred tax assets, changes in our worldwide mix of pre-tax losses or earnings, changes in existing tax laws and our assessment of uncertain tax positions.

Cash Flows

We have positive cash flow characteristics, as described below, due to the limited required capital investment in the fixed assets and working capital loans (if any)needs to operate our business in the normal course. See “ —Liquidity and Capital Resources.

35


Our principal sources of liquidity are cash flows from operations, borrowings under the sharesRevolving Credit Facility (as defined below), and other debt. Our principal uses of Class A Common Stock issuable uponcash are operating expenses, working capital requirements, acquisitions and repayment of debt.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted Net Income means net loss before (i) impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets, (ii) gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, (iii) loss on divestitures, (iv) amortization of intangible assets, (v) equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P., (vi) changes in fair value of warrant liability, (vii) fair value adjustments of contingent consideration related to acquisitions, (viii) acquisition and divestiture related expenses, (ix) costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received, (x) net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, (xi) reorganization expenses, (xii) litigation expenses, (xiii) deferred financing fees, (xiv) gain on repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt, (xv) recovery from and costs associated with the Take 5 Matter, (xvi) other adjustments that management believes are helpful in evaluating our operating performance, and (xvii) related tax adjustments.

We present Adjusted Net Income because we use it as a supplemental measure to evaluate the performance of our business in a way that also considers our ability to generate profit without the impact of items that we do not believe are indicative of our operating performance or are unusual or infrequent in nature and aid in the comparability of our performance from period to period. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative for net loss, our most directly comparable measure presented on a GAAP basis.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment are supplemental non-GAAP financial measures of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA means net loss before (i) interest expense, net, (ii) (benefit from) provision for income taxes, (iii) depreciation, (iv) impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets, (v) amortization of intangible assets, (vi) gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, (vii) loss on divestitures, (viii) equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P., (ix) changes in fair value of warrant liability, (x) stock-based compensation expense, (xi) fair value adjustments of contingent consideration related to acquisitions, (xii) acquisition and divestiture related expenses, (xiii) costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received, (xiv) EBITDA for economic interests in investments, (xv) reorganization expenses, (xvi) litigation expenses, (xviii) recovery from and costs associated with the Take 5 Matter and (xix) other adjustments that management believes are helpful in evaluating our operating performance.

We present Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment because they are key operating measures used by us to assess our financial performance. These measures adjust for items that we believe do not reflect the ongoing operating performance of our business, such as certain non-cash items, unusual or infrequent items or items that change from period to period without any material relevance to our operating performance. We evaluate these measures in conjunction with our results according to GAAP because we believe they provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business than GAAP measures alone. Furthermore, the agreements governing our indebtedness contain covenants and other tests based on measures substantially similar to Adjusted EBITDA. Neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA by segment should be considered as an alternative for net loss or operating income (loss), respectively, our most directly comparable measures presented on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments by management about which expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. Additionally, other companies may calculate non-GAAP measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore our non-GAAP measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss and Adjusted EBITDA by segment to operating income (loss), see “ —Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Take 5 Matter

On April 1, 2018, we acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Take 5 Media Group. In June 2019, as a result of a review of internal allegations related to inconsistency of data provided by Take 5 to its clients, we commenced an investigation into Take 5’s operations. In July 2019, as a result of our investigation, we terminated all operations of Take 5 and offered refunds to Take 5 clients of collected revenues attributable to Take 5 since our acquisition of Take 5. For the foregoingyears ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and upon conversion2021, we incurred $0.3 million, $2.5 million, and $4.9 million, respectively, of the founder shares. The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have “piggy-back” registration rights to include such securities in other registration statements filed by us and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements.

Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions

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 consistentassociated with the best interest of our companyinvestigation 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;

whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interest for any director or executive officer; and

any pre-existing contractual obligations.

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.

Our sponsor, officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.


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. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement we used for our initial public offering, we had “independent directors” as defined by NASDAQ’s listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Ms. Rosenfeld and Messrs. Klein, Blaylock and Schena 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 to WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“Withum”), for services rendered.

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements and services that are normally provided by Withumremediation activities in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregatethe Take 5 Matter, primarily professional fees billed by Withumand other related costs. These costs were recorded in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for professional services renderedsuch years.

36


Reorganization Charges

Reorganization charges include severance plans designed to integrate and reduce costs intended to further improve efficiencies in operational activities and align cost structures consistent with revenue levels associated with business changes. We recorded severance expenses of $15.4 million, $3.2 million, and $1.0 million included in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the audityears ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Revenues

 

$

4,224,846

 

 

 

100.0

%

 

$

4,049,742

 

 

 

100.0

%

Cost of revenues

 

 

3,660,464

 

 

 

86.6

%

 

 

3,493,183

 

 

 

86.3

%

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

 

 

265,091

 

 

 

6.3

%

 

 

187,504

 

 

 

4.6

%

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1.0

%

 

 

1,572,523

 

 

 

38.8

%

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

224,697

 

 

 

5.3

%

 

 

233,075

 

 

 

5.8

%

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

(1.4

)%

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

Loss on divestitures

 

 

19,068

 

 

 

0.5

%

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

0.1

%

Income from unconsolidated investments

 

 

(5,273

)

 

 

(0.1

)%

 

 

 

 

 

0.0

%

Total expenses

 

 

4,148,656

 

 

 

98.2

%

 

 

5,489,148

 

 

 

135.5

%

Operating income (loss)

 

 

76,190

 

 

 

1.8

%

 

 

(1,439,406

)

 

 

(35.5

)%

Other (income) expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

(286

)

 

 

0.0

%

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

(0.5

)%

Interest expense, net

 

 

165,802

 

 

 

3.9

%

 

 

104,459

 

 

 

2.6

%

Total other expenses

 

 

165,516

 

 

 

3.9

%

 

 

83,223

 

 

 

2.1

%

Loss before income taxes

 

 

(89,326

)

 

 

(2.1

)%

 

 

(1,522,629

)

 

 

(37.6

)%

Benefit from income taxes

 

 

(29,008

)

 

 

(0.7

)%

 

 

(145,337

)

 

 

(3.6

)%

Net loss

 

$

(60,318

)

 

 

(1.4

)%

 

$

(1,377,292

)

 

 

(34.0

)%

Other Financial Data

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted Net Income(1)

 

$

123,834

 

 

 

2.9

%

 

$

206,599

 

 

 

5.1

%

Adjusted EBITDA(1)

 

$

424,347

 

 

 

10.0

%

 

$

435,995

 

 

 

10.8

%

(1)
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA are financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP. For a discussion of our annual financial statements, reviewpresentation of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliations of net loss to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA, see “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Comparison of the financial information includedYears Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenues

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

$

 

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

2,445,015

 

 

$

2,507,017

 

 

$

(62,002

)

 

 

(2.5

%)

Marketing

 

 

1,779,831

 

 

 

1,542,725

 

 

 

237,106

 

 

 

15.4

%

Total revenues

 

$

4,224,846

 

 

$

4,049,742

 

 

$

175,104

 

 

 

4.3

%

Total revenues increased by $175.1 million, or 4.3%, during the year ended December 31, 2023, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022.

The sales segment revenues decreased $62.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. Excluding $91.4 million of revenues from divested businesses and the deconsolidation of our European joint venture, net of acquired businesses and favorable foreign exchange rates of $1.3 million, the segment experienced an increase of $28.2 million in organic revenues primarily due to an increase in our Forms 10-Q forretail-centric merchandising services with an increase in volume and pricing realization as well as growth in our European joint venture, partially offset by an intentional client exit.

The marketing segment revenues increased $237.1 million during the respective periodsyear ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, which includes revenues of $0.3 million from acquired businesses, net of a divested business. Excluding revenues from acquired businesses, net of a divested business and other required filings withunfavorable foreign exchange rates of $9.1 million, the Commissionsegment experienced an increase of $245.9 million in organic revenues. The increase in revenues was primarily due to an increase in our in-store sampling and demonstration services and pricing realization, partially offset by a decrease in certain of our digital services.

37


Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues as a percentage of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2019, including services in connection with2023 was 86.6%, as compared to 86.5% for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is consistent year over year.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023 was 6.3%, as compared to 4.6% for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase as a percentage of revenues was primarily attributable to our initial public offering totaled $62,660. 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 reasonablyinternal reorganization activities, largely related to performanceprofessional fees and severance, coupled with increased incentive compensation and technology expenses.

Impairment of Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Assets

We recognized a $43.5 million non-cash trade name intangible asset impairment charge during the year ended December 31, 2023. The impairment charges were due to the deconsolidation of our European joint venture and intended sale of the audit or reviewfoodservice businesses. We recognized a $1,367.5 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge and a $205.0 million non-cash intangible asset impairment charge during the year ended December 31, 2022. The impairment charges were due to the confluence of sustained decline in our share price, challenges in the labor market and continued inflationary pressures, and an increase to the discount rate as a result of the increases in interest rates during 2022.

Depreciation and Amortization Expense

Depreciation and amortization expense was $224.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to $233.1 million, which was primarily due to a decrease in software amortization expenses and intangible assets amortization expense.

Gain on Deconsolidation of Subsidiaries

On November 30, 2023, we reduced our equity interest in ASL, our European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to a minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash. We also removed certain participating rights with ASL related to capital allocation and certain of our decision making rights, resulting in a loss of control. Therefore, in accordance with ASC 810, ASL was deconsolidated from our consolidated financial statements and are not reportedresulting in the recognition of a $58.9 million gain for the year ended December 31, 2023. Effective December 1, 2023, our investment in ASL is accounted for under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. the equity method of accounting.

Loss on Divestitures

During the year ended December 31, 2019,2023, we recognized a loss on the sale of businesses of $19.1 million. We determined the sale of the businesses did not pay Withummeet the criteria for consultations concerning financial accountingclassification as discontinued operations. We received $21.1 million of proceeds, which are net of transaction fees and reporting standards.holdbacks.

Income from Unconsolidated Investments

Tax Fees. We did not pay WithumIncome from unconsolidated investments increased by $5.3 million for tax planningthe year ended December 31, 2023 due to the net income attributable from our unconsolidated affiliates as a result of the deconsolidation of ASL. Subsequent to the deconsolidation of ASL, we anticipate that over the next few years these investments will become a growing source of income and tax adviceoperating cash flows. For additional information see Item 8. Financial Statements And Supplementary Data — Note 10. Investments.

Operating Income (Loss)

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

$

 

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

38,443

 

 

$

(1,323,192

)

 

$

1,361,635

 

 

 

102.9

%

Marketing

 

 

37,747

 

 

 

(116,214

)

 

 

153,961

 

 

 

132.5

%

Total operating income (loss)

 

$

76,190

 

 

$

(1,439,406

)

 

$

1,515,596

 

 

 

105.3

%

38


The change in operating income (loss) was primarily attributable to the non-cash goodwill and non-cash intangible asset impairment charges in the prior year and the gain on deconsolidation of ASL, partially offset by the charges in selling, general and administrative expenses and non-cash intangible asset impairment charges as described above.

Change in Fair Value of Warrant Liability

Change in fair value of warrant liability represents $0.3 million of non-cash gain resulting from a fair value adjustment to the warrant liability for the private placement warrants for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense, net increased $61.3 million, or 58.7%, to $165.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $104.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in interest expense, net was primarily due to the higher interest rates and a decrease in fair value in our derivative instruments, partially offset by gains associated with the repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Second Term debt for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Benefit from Income Taxes

Benefit from income taxes was $29.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to a benefit from income taxes of $145.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The fluctuation was primarily attributable to the decrease in pre-tax loss for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. In addition, the variance is explained by the non-cash goodwill impairment charge for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the deconsolidation of our European joint venture for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Net Loss

Net loss was $60.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to net loss of $1,377.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in net loss was driven by the increase in operating income partially offset by the increase in interest expense as described above.

Adjusted Net Income

The decrease in Adjusted Net Income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was attributable to the decrease in Adjusted EBITDA as described below coupled with the increase in interest expense. For a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to Net loss, see “ —Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by Segment

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

Change

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

$

 

 

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

 

$

265,255

 

 

$

294,234

 

 

$

(28,979

)

 

 

(9.8

%)

Marketing

 

 

159,092

 

 

 

141,761

 

 

 

17,331

 

 

 

12.2

%

Total Adjusted EBITDA

 

$

424,347

 

 

$

435,995

 

 

$

(11,648

)

 

 

(2.7

%)

Adjusted EBITDA decreased $11.6 million, or 2.7% to $424.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $436.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

In the sales segment, the decrease in Adjusted EBITDA during the year ended December 31, 2019.2023 was primarily attributable to decline in revenues and increase in cost of revenues, largely due to inflationary pressures, increase in incentive compensation and technology expenses.

In the marketing segment, the increase in Adjusted EBITDA during the year ended December 31, 2023 was primarily attributable to the growth in revenues from the in-store sampling and demonstration services as described above, partially offset by headwinds in our higher-margin digital services.

39


For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), see “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

All Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted Net Income is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted Net Income means net (loss) income before (i) amortization of intangible assets, (ii) impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets (iii) gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, (iv) loss on divestitures (v) equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P., (vi) changes in fair value of warrant liability, (vii) fair value adjustments of contingent consideration related to acquisitions, (viii) acquisition and divestiture related expenses, (iv) costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received, (x) net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, (xi) reorganization expenses, (xii) litigation expenses, (xiii) gain on repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt, (xiv) deferred financing fees, (xv) recovery from and costs associated with the Take 5 Matter, (xvi) other adjustments that management believes are helpful in evaluating our operating performance, and (xvii) related tax adjustments.

We present Adjusted Net Income because we use it as a supplemental measure to evaluate the performance of our business in a way that also considers our ability to generate profit without the impact of items that we do not believe are indicative of our operating performance or are unusual or infrequent in nature and aid in the comparability of our performance from period to period. Adjusted Net Income should not be considered as an alternative for our net (loss) income, our most directly comparable measure presented on a GAAP basis.

A reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to Net (loss) income is provided in the following table:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

$

(60,318

)

 

$

(1,377,292

)

 

$

57,549

 

Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

2,940

 

 

 

3,210

 

 

 

3,055

 

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1,572,523

 

 

 

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

19,068

 

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.(a)

 

 

 

(2,524

)

 

 

(6,934

)

 

 

(10,313

)

Fair value adjustments related to contingent consideration
     related to acquisitions
(b)

 

 

 

10,362

 

 

 

4,774

 

 

 

4,562

 

Acquisition and divestiture related expenses(c)

 

 

 

7,024

 

 

 

21,039

 

 

 

20,173

 

Reorganization expenses(d)

 

 

 

57,021

 

 

 

6,094

 

 

 

12,502

 

Litigation expenses (recovery)(e)

 

 

 

9,519

 

 

 

5,357

 

 

 

(910

)

Amortization of intangible assets(f)

 

 

 

196,424

 

 

 

200,836

 

 

 

198,946

 

Costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received(g)

 

 

 

3,283

 

 

 

7,208

 

 

 

(991

)

Deferred financing fees(h)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,895

 

Gain on repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt(i)

 

 

 

(8,665

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Recovery from) costs associated with the Take 5 Matter(j)

 

 

 

(1,380

)

 

 

2,465

 

 

 

4,901

 

Tax adjustments related to non-GAAP adjustments(k)

 

 

 

(87,363

)

 

 

(207,888

)

 

 

(64,421

)

Adjusted Net Income

 

 

$

123,834

 

 

$

206,599

 

 

$

223,793

 

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment are supplemental non-GAAP financial measures of our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA means net loss before (i) interest expense, net, (ii) (benefit from) provision for income taxes, (iii) depreciation, (iv) impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets, (v) amortization of intangible assets, (vi) gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, (vii) loss on divestitures, (viii) equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P., (ix) changes in fair value of warrant liability, (x) stock-based compensation expense, (xi) fair value adjustments of contingent consideration related to acquisitions, (xii) acquisition and divestiture related expenses, (xiii) costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received, (xiv) EBITDA for economic interests in investments, (xv) reorganization expenses, (xvi) litigation expenses, (xvii) recovery from and costs associated with the Take 5 Matter and (xviii) other adjustments that management believes are helpful in evaluating our operating performance.

We present Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA by segment because they are key operating measures used by us to assess our financial performance. These measures adjust for items that we believe do not reflect the ongoing operating performance of our business, such as certain non-cash items, unusual or infrequent items or items that change from period to period without any material relevance to our operating performance. We evaluate these measures in conjunction with our results according to GAAP because we believe they provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business than GAAP measures alone. Furthermore, the agreements governing our indebtedness contain covenants and other tests based on measures substantially similar to Adjusted EBITDA. Neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA by segment should be considered as an alternative for our net

40


(loss) income or operating (loss) income, respectively, our most directly comparable measures presented on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP financial measures are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgments by management about which expense and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. Additionally, other companies may calculate non-GAAP measures differently, or may use other measures to calculate their financial performance, and therefore our non-GAAP measures may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net (loss) income is provided in the following table:

Consolidated

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

$

(60,318

)

 

$

(1,377,292

)

 

$

57,549

 

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

165,802

 

 

 

104,459

 

 

 

137,927

 

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes

 

 

 

(29,008

)

 

 

(145,337

)

 

 

33,617

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

224,697

 

 

 

233,075

 

 

 

240,041

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1,572,523

 

 

 

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries, net

 

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

19,068

 

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.(a)

 

 

 

(2,524

)

 

 

(6,934

)

 

 

(10,313

)

Fair value adjustments related to contingent consideration
     related to acquisitions
(b)

 

 

 

10,362

 

 

 

4,774

 

 

 

4,562

 

Acquisition and divestiture related expenses(c)

 

 

 

7,024

 

 

 

21,039

 

 

 

20,173

 

Reorganization expenses(d)

 

 

 

57,021

 

 

 

6,094

 

 

 

12,502

 

Litigation expenses (recovery)(e)

 

 

 

9,519

 

 

 

5,357

 

 

 

(910

)

Costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received(g)

 

 

 

3,283

 

 

 

7,208

 

 

 

(991

)

(Recovery from) costs associated with the Take 5 Matter(j)

 

 

 

(1,380

)

 

 

2,465

 

 

 

4,901

 

Stock-based compensation expense(l)

 

 

 

42,880

 

 

 

39,825

 

 

 

34,602

 

EBITDA for economic interests in investments(m)

 

 

 

(6,402

)

 

 

(12,888

)

 

 

(13,437

)

Adjusted EBITDA

 

 

$

424,347

 

 

$

435,995

 

 

$

521,178

 

Financial information by segment, including a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA by segment to operating (loss) income, the closest GAAP financial measure, is provided in the following table:

Sales Segment

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating (loss) income

 

 

$

38,443

 

 

$

(1,323,192

)

 

$

182,529

 

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

154,891

 

 

 

161,385

 

 

 

170,076

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1,421,719

 

 

 

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

14,911

 

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

 

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.(a)

 

 

 

(1,270

)

 

 

(3,721

)

 

 

(6,490

)

Fair value adjustments related to contingent consideration
     related to acquisitions
(b)

 

 

 

6,616

 

 

 

550

 

 

 

(6,553

)

Acquisition and divestiture related expenses(c)

 

 

 

4,887

 

 

 

11,679

 

 

 

13,945

 

Reorganization expenses(d)

 

 

 

36,853

 

 

 

4,826

 

 

 

4,478

 

Litigation expenses (recovery)(e)

 

 

 

6,860

 

 

 

6,057

 

 

 

(584

)

Costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received(g)

 

 

 

369

 

 

 

1,412

 

 

 

1,511

 

Stock-based compensation expense(l)

 

 

 

23,850

 

 

 

24,025

 

 

 

18,357

 

EBITDA for economic interests in investments(m)

 

 

 

(5,764

)

 

 

(13,369

)

 

 

(14,058

)

Sales Segment Adjusted EBITDA

 

 

$

265,255

 

 

$

294,234

 

 

$

363,211

 

41


Marketing Segment

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating (loss) income

 

 

$

37,747

 

 

$

(116,214

)

 

$

47,519

 

Add:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

69,806

 

 

 

71,690

 

 

 

69,965

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

150,804

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

4,157

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.(a)

 

 

 

(1,254

)

 

 

(3,213

)

 

 

(3,823

)

Fair value adjustments related to contingent consideration
     related to acquisitions
(b)

 

 

 

3,746

 

 

 

4,224

 

 

 

11,115

 

Acquisition and divestiture related expenses(c)

 

 

 

2,137

 

 

 

9,360

 

 

 

6,228

 

Reorganization expenses(d)

 

 

 

20,168

 

 

 

1,268

 

 

 

8,024

 

Litigation expenses (recovery)(e)

 

 

 

2,659

 

 

 

(700

)

 

 

(326

)

Costs associated with COVID-19, net of benefits received(g)

 

 

 

2,914

 

 

 

5,796

 

 

 

(2,502

)

(Recovery from) costs associated with the Take 5 Matter(j)

 

 

 

(1,380

)

 

 

2,465

 

 

 

4,901

 

Stock-based compensation expense(l)

 

 

 

19,030

 

 

 

15,800

 

 

 

16,245

 

EBITDA for economic interests in investments(m)

 

 

 

(638

)

 

 

481

 

 

 

621

 

Marketing Segment Adjusted EBITDA

 

 

$

159,092

 

 

$

141,761

 

 

$

157,967

 

(a)
Represents expenses related to (i) equity-based compensation expense associated with grants of Common Series D Units of Topco made to one of the Advantage Sponsors, and (ii) equity-based compensation expense associated with the Common Series C Units of Topco.
(b)
Represents adjustments to the estimated fair value of our contingent consideration liabilities related to our acquisitions, for the applicable periods. See Note 6—Other Fees. Liabilities to our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(c)
Represents fees and costs associated with activities related to our acquisitions, divestitures, and related reorganization activities, including professional fees, due diligence, and integration activities.
(d)
Represents fees and costs associated with various internal reorganization activities, including professional fees, lease exit costs, severance, and nonrecurring compensation costs.
(e)
Represents legal settlements, reserves, and expenses that are unusual or infrequent costs associated with our operating activities.
(f)
Represents the amortization of intangible assets recorded in connection with the 2014 Topco Acquisition and our other acquisitions.
(g)
Represents (i) costs related to implementation of strategies for workplace safety in response to COVID-19, including employee-relief fund, additional sick pay for front-line associates, medical benefit payments for furloughed associates, and personal protective equipment; and (ii) benefits received from government grants for COVID-19 relief.
(h)
Represents fees associated with the issuance of the indebtedness associated with our material debt agreements and the amendment of our term loan credit facility. For additional information, refer to Note 7—Debt of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(i)
Represents a gain associated with the repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Note debt. For additional information, refer to Note 7—Debt of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(j)
Represents cash receipts from an insurance policy for claims related to the Take 5 Matter and costs associated with investigation and remediation activities related to the Take 5 Matter, primarily, professional fees and other related costs.
(k)
Represents the tax provision or benefit associated with the adjustments above, taking into account the Company’s applicable tax rates, after excluding adjustments related to items that do not have a related tax impact.
(l)
Represents non-cash compensation expense related to PSUs, RSUs, and stock options under the 2020 Plan and the Advantage Solutions 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
(m)
Represents additions to reflect our proportional share of Adjusted EBITDA related to our equity method investments and reductions to remove the Adjusted EBITDA related to the minority ownership percentage of the entities that we fully consolidate in our financial statements.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of liquidity were cash flows from operations, borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, and other debt. Our principal uses of cash are operating expenses, working capital requirements, acquisitions, interest on debt and repayment of debt.

42


Share Repurchase Program

On November 9, 2021, we announced that our board of directors authorized the 2021 Share Repurchase Program pursuant to which we may repurchase up to $100 million of our Class A common stock.

The 2021 Share Repurchase Program does not have an expiration date but provides for suspension or discontinuation at any time. The 2021 Share Repurchase Program permits the repurchase of our Class A common stock on the open market and in other means from time to time. The timing and amount of any share repurchase is subject to prevailing market conditions, relevant securities laws and other considerations, and we are under no obligation to repurchase any specific number of shares.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we executed open market purchases of $6.4 million of our Class A common stock under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program. As of December 31, 2023, there remained $81.1 million of share repurchase availability under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program as of December 31, 2023. In December 2023, the Company entered into a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act authorizing the repurchase of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. No stock repurchases were made pursuant to this plan for the year ended December 31, 2023.

We did notanticipate that our cash from operations, together with our current borrowing capacity, will be sufficient to fund purchases of our Class A common stock pursuant to the 2021 Share Repurchase Program and pay Withumprincipal and interest as it comes due under our debt arrangements.

Cash Flows

A summary of cash provided by or used in our operating, investing and financing activities are shown in the following table:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

$

238,995

 

 

$

121,258

 

 

$

125,991

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

 

(55,223

)

 

 

(113,540

)

 

 

(75,843

)

Net cash used in financing activities

 

 

 

(181,338

)

 

 

(41,644

)

 

 

(86,300

)

Net effect of foreign currency fluctuations on cash

 

 

 

1,876

 

 

 

(8,179

)

 

 

(3,177

)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

 

 

$

4,310

 

 

$

(42,105

)

 

$

(39,329

)

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2023, consisted of net loss of $60.3 million adjusted for othercertain non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization of $224.7 million, impairment charge of $43.5 million, loss on divestitures of $19.1 million, gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries of $58.9 million, gain on repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt of $8.7 million, and effects of changes in working capital. Net cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2022, consisted of net loss of $1,377.3 million adjusted for certain non-cash items, including depreciation and amortization of $233.1 million and effects of changes in working capital. The increase in cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 relative to the same period in 2022 was primarily due to the increased need for working capital requirements to stand up our services during the year ended December 31, 2019.2022.

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

Pre-Approval PolicyFor the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, our net cash used in investing activities primarily consisted of the purchase of property and equipment of $46.3 million and $40.5 million, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2023 our net cash used in investing activities included the deconsolidation of subsidiaries, net of proceeds of $31.5 million, partially offset by proceeds from divestitures of $21.1 million. Additionally, we invest cash for the purchase of property and equipment to support our employee and overall growth in our business. We expect that we will make additional capital expenditures and investments in the future to support the future growth of our business including our enterprise resource planning software.

Net Cash Used in Financing Activities

We primarily finance our business initiatives through cash flows from operations, however, we also incur long-term debt or borrow under lines of credit when necessary to execute acquisitions. Cash flows from financing activities consisted of borrowings related to these lines of credit and subsequent payments of principal and financing fees. Additionally, many of our acquisition agreements include contingent consideration arrangements, which are generally based on the achievement of future financial performance by the operations attributable to the acquired companies. The portion of the cash payment up to the acquisition date fair

43


value of the contingent consideration liability are classified as financing outflows, and amounts paid in excess of the acquisition date fair value of that liability are classified as operating outflows. From time to time, we may voluntarily repurchase our long-term debt to deploy capital that deleverages our balance sheet while generating a favorable rate of return.

Cash flows used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2023 were primarily related to repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt of $156.6 million, repayment of principal on our Term Loan Facility of $13.6 million, payments of contingent consideration and holdback payments of $6.8 million, and open market purchases of $6.4 million of our Class A common stock under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program. This was partially offset by $1.3 million of proceeds from a government loan for COVID-19 relief and $2.2 million related to proceeds from shares issued under the 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

Cash flows used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2022 were primarily related to payments of contingent consideration and holdback payments of $34.2 million, repayment of principal on our Term Loan Facility of $13.4 million, partially offset by $3.3 million related to our 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Planand $5.2 million of contribution from noncontrolling interest.

Description of Credit Facilities

Senior Secured Credit Facilities

Effective October 28, 2020, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Borrower”), entered into the Senior Secured Credit Facilities consisting of (i) the Revolving Credit Facility, which is a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $400.0 million, subject to borrowing base capacity and (ii) the Term Loan Facility, which is a secured first lien term loan credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1.325 billion.

Revolving Credit Facility

Our audit committee was formedRevolving Credit Facility provides for revolving loans and letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to $500.0 million, subject to borrowing base capacity. Letters of credit are limited to the lesser of (a) $150.0 million and (b) the aggregate unused amount of commitments under our Revolving Credit Facility then in effect. Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility may be denominated in either U.S. dollars or Canadian dollars. Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”), will act as administrative agent and collateral agent. The Revolving Credit Facility matures five years after the date we enter into the Revolving Credit Facility. We may use borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility to fund working capital and for other general corporate purposes, including permitted acquisitions and other investments.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are limited by borrowing base calculations based on the sum of specified percentages of eligible accounts receivable plus specified percentages of qualified cash, minus the amount of any applicable reserves. Borrowings will bear interest at a floating rate, which can be either an adjusted Term SOFR or Alternative Currency Spread rate plus an applicable margin or, at the Borrower’s option, a base rate or Canadian Prime Rate plus an applicable margin. The applicable margins for the Revolving Credit Facility are 1.75%, 2.00% or 2.25%, with respect to Term SOFR or Alternative Currency Spread rate borrowings and 0.75%, 1.00%, or 1.25%, with respect to base rate or Canadian Prime Rate borrowings, in each case depending on average excess availability under the Revolving Credit Facility. The Borrower’s ability to draw under the Revolving Credit Facility or issue letters of credit thereunder will be conditioned upon, among other things, the Borrower’s delivery of prior written notice of a borrowing or issuance, as applicable, the Borrower’s ability to reaffirm the representations and warranties contained in the credit agreement governing the Revolving Credit Facility and the absence of any default or event of default thereunder.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed by Karman Intermediate Corp. (“Holdings”) and all of the Borrower’s direct and indirect wholly owned material U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) and Canadian subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions, including exceptions based on immateriality thresholds of aggregate assets and revenues of Canadian subsidiaries) (the “Guarantors”). The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’, the Borrower’s and the Guarantors’ assets (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The Borrower’s Revolving Credit Facility has a first-priority lien on the current asset collateral and a second-priority lien on security interests in the fixed asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Notes and the Term Loan Facility discussed below), in each case, subject to other permitted liens.

The Revolving Credit Facility has the following fees: (i) an unused line fee of 0.375% or 0.250% per annum of the unused portion of the Revolving Credit Facility, depending on average excess availability under the Revolving Credit Facility; (ii) a letter of credit participation fee on the aggregate stated amount of each letter of credit equal to the applicable margin for adjusted Eurodollar rate loans, as applicable; and (iii) certain other customary fees and expenses of the lenders and agents thereunder.

44


The Revolving Credit Facility contains customary covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the Borrower’s ability and that of our subsidiaries to merge and consolidate with other companies, incur indebtedness, grant liens or security interests on assets, make acquisitions, loans, advances or investments, pay dividends, sell or otherwise transfer assets, optionally prepay or modify terms of any junior indebtedness, enter into transactions with affiliates or change our line of business. The Revolving Credit Facility will require the maintenance of a fixed charge coverage ratio (as set forth in the credit agreement governing the Revolving Credit Facility) of 1.00 to 1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter when excess availability is less than the greater of $25 million and 10% of the lesser of the borrowing base and maximum borrowing capacity. Such fixed charge coverage ratio will be tested at the end of each quarter until such time as excess availability exceeds the level set forth above.

The Revolving Credit Facility provides that, upon the consummationoccurrence of certain events of default, the Borrower’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated and the lending commitments terminated. Such events of default include payment defaults to the lenders thereunder, material inaccuracies of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, corporate arrangement, winding-up, liquidation or similar proceedings, material money judgments, material pension-plan events, certain change of control events and other customary events of default.

On October 28, 2021, the Borrower and Holdings entered into the First Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, which amended the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, dated October 28, 2020, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders from time to time party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent (the “Prior Revolving Credit Facility”). This amendment was entered into by the Borrower to amend certain terms and provisions, including (i) reducing the interest rate floor for Eurocurrency rate loans from 0.50% to 0.00% and base rate loans from 1.50% to 1.00%, and (ii) updating the provisions by which U.S. Dollar LIBOR will eventually be replaced with SOFR or another interest rate benchmark to reflect the most recent standards and practices used in the industry.

On December 2, 2022, Borrower, Holdings and certain of the Borrower’s subsidiaries, entered into the Second Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement (the “Second Amendment”), which amends the Revolving Credit Agreement, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders from time to time party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent, and the other parties thereto. The Second Amendment was entered into by the Borrower to amend certain terms and provisions of the Second Agreement, including, among other things: (i) increasing the aggregate amount of maximum revolving commitments available from $400 million to $500 million; (ii) replacing the Eurocurrency Rate interest rate metric with a metric based on Term SOFR (as defined in the Second Amendment), whereby applicable borrowings in United States dollars will bear interest at a floating rate based on Term SOFR plus an applicable margin; (iii) reducing each applicable interest rate pricing tier based on the Average Historical Excess Availability (as defined therein) with respect to Term SOFR borrowings, Alternative Currency borrowings, base rate borrowings and Canadian Prime Rate borrowings, in each case for each pricing tier by 0.25% per annum; and (iv) extending the scheduled maturity date of the borrowings to December 2, 2027.

Term Loan Facility

The Term Loan Facility consists of a term loan credit facility denominated in U.S. dollars in an aggregate principal amount of $1.149 billion. Borrowings under the Term Loan Facility amortize in equal quarterly installments in an amount equal to 1.00% per annum of the principal amount. Borrowings will bear interest at a floating rate of Term SOFR plus an applicable margin of 4.50% per annum, subject to additional spread adjustment on SOFR ranging from 0.11% to 0.26%.

The Borrower may voluntarily prepay loans or reduce commitments under the Term Loan Facility, in whole or in part, subject to minimum amounts, with prior notice but without premium or penalty.

The Borrower will be required to prepay the Term Loan Facility with 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain asset sales (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios) and subject to certain reinvestment rights, 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain debt issuances and 50% of excess cash flow (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios).

The Borrower’s obligations under the Term Loan Facility are guaranteed by Holdings and the Guarantors. Our Term Loan Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’, the Borrower’s and the Guarantors’ assets (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The Term Loan Facility has a first- priority lien on the fixed asset collateral (equal in priority with the liens securing the Notes) and a second-priority lien on security interests in the current asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Revolving Credit Facility), in each case, subject to other permitted liens.

The Term Loan Facility contains certain customary negative covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the Borrower’s ability and that of our initial public offering.restricted subsidiaries to merge and consolidate with other companies, incur indebtedness, grant

45


liens or security interests on assets, pay dividends or make other restricted payments, sell or otherwise transfer assets or enter into transactions with affiliates.

The Term Loan Facility provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events of default, the Borrower’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated. Such events of default will include payment defaults to the lenders thereunder, material inaccuracies of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, corporate arrangement, winding-up, liquidation or similar proceedings, material money judgments, change of control and other customary events of default.

On October 28, 2021, the Borrower, Holdings, and certain of the Borrower’s subsidiaries, entered into Amendment No. 1 to the First Lien Credit Agreement (the “First Lien Amendment”), which amended the First Lien Credit Agreement, dated October 28, 2020, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, Bank of America, as administrative agent and collateral agent, each lender party from time-to-time thereto, and the other parties thereto. The First Lien Amendment was entered into by the Borrower to reduce the applicable interest rate on the term loan to 5.25% per annum, resulting in estimated interest savings of approximately $9.9 million or $7.3 million, net of tax, per annum. Additional terms and provisions amended include (i) resetting the period for six months following October 28, 2021 in which a 1.00% prepayment premium shall apply to any prepayment of the term loan in connection with certain repricing events, and (ii) updating the provisions by which U.S. Dollar LIBOR will eventually be replaced with SOFR or another interest rate benchmark to reflect the most recent standards and practices used in the industry and by Bank of America. In May 2023 the Company amended the Term Loan Facility to replace the U.S. Dollar LIBOR provisions with SOFR, effective June 30, 2023.

Senior Secured Notes

Effective as of October 28, 2020, Advantage Solutions FinCo LLC (“Finco”) issued $775.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2028 (the “Notes”). Substantially concurrently with the issuance, Finco merged with and into Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. (the “Issuer”), with the Issuer continuing as the surviving entity and assuming the obligations of Finco. The Notes were sold to certain financial institutions that then resold the Notes to certain non-U.S. persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act, and to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act at a purchase price equal to 100% of their principal amount. The terms of the Notes are governed by an Indenture, dated as of October 28, 2020 (the “Indenture”), among Finco, the Issuer, the guarantors named therein (the “Notes Guarantors”) and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee and collateral agent.

Interest and maturity

Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15 and November 15 at a rate of 6.50% per annum, commencing on May 15, 2021. The Notes will mature on November 15, 2028.

Guarantees

The Notes are guaranteed by Holdings and each of the Issuer’s direct and indirect wholly owned material U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) and Canadian subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions, including exceptions based on immateriality thresholds of aggregate assets and revenues of Canadian subsidiaries) that is a borrower or guarantor under the Term Loan Facility.

Security and ranking

The Notes and the related guarantees are the general, senior secured obligations of the Issuer and the Notes Guarantors, are secured on a first-priority pari passu basis by security interests on the fixed asset collateral (equal in priority with liens securing the Term Loan Facility), and are secured on a second-priority basis by security interests on the current asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Revolving Credit Facility and equal in priority with liens securing the Term Loan Facility), in each case, subject to certain limitations and exceptions and permitted liens.

The Notes and related guarantees rank (i) equally in right of payment with all of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ senior indebtedness, without giving effect to collateral arrangements (including the Senior Secured Credit Facilities) and effectively equal to all of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ senior indebtedness secured on the same priority basis as the Notes, including the Term Loan Facility, (ii) effectively subordinated to any of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ indebtedness that is secured by assets that do not constitute collateral for the Notes to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness and to indebtedness that is secured by a senior-priority lien, including the Revolving Credit Facility to the extent of the value of the current asset collateral and (iii) structurally subordinated to the liabilities of the Issuer’s non-Guarantor subsidiaries.

46


Optional redemption for the Notes

The Notes are redeemable at the applicable redemption prices specified in the Indenture plus accrued and unpaid interest. If the Issuer or its restricted subsidiaries sell certain of their respective assets or experience specific kinds of changes of control, subject to certain exceptions, the Issuer must offer to purchase the Notes at par. In connection with any offer to purchase all Notes, if holders of no less than 90% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes validly tender their Notes, the Issuer is entitled to redeem any remaining Notes at the price offered to each holder. The Issuer may voluntarily prepay loans or reduce commitments under the Notes, in whole or in part without premium or penalty.

Restrictive covenants

The Notes are subject to covenants that, among other things limit the Issuer’s ability and its restricted subsidiaries’ ability to: incur additional indebtedness or guarantee indebtedness; pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, the Issuer’s or a parent entity’s capital stock; prepay, redeem or repurchase certain indebtedness; issue certain preferred stock or similar equity securities; make loans and investments; sell or otherwise dispose of assets; incur liens; enter into transactions with affiliates; enter into agreements restricting the Issuer’s subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; and consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of the Issuer’s assets. Most of these covenants will be suspended on the Notes when they have investment grade ratings from both Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and S&P Global Ratings and so long as no default or event of default under the Indenture has occurred and is continuing.

Events of default

The following constitute events of default under the Notes, among others: default in the payment of interest; default in the payment of principal; failure to comply with covenants; failure to pay other indebtedness after final maturity or acceleration of other indebtedness exceeding a specified amount; certain events of bankruptcy; failure to pay a judgment for payment of money exceeding a specified aggregate amount; voidance of subsidiary guarantees; failure of any material provision of any security document or intercreditor agreement to be in full force and effect; and lack of perfection of liens on a material portion of the collateral, in each case subject to applicable grace periods.

Future Cash Requirements

The following summarizes future cash requirements as of December 31, 2023:

 

Total

 

 

Current

 

 

Long-Term

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liabilities(1)

$

50,645

 

 

$

15,204

 

 

$

35,441

 

Client deposits(2)

 

11,516

 

 

 

11,516

 

 

 

 

Total debt excluding deferred issuance costs(3)

 

1,897,455

 

 

 

13,580

 

 

 

1,883,875

 

Other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contingent consideration(4)

 

18,472

 

 

 

18,355

 

 

 

117

 

Unpaid claims(5)

 

71,849

 

 

 

36,824

 

 

 

35,025

 

Total contractual obligations

$

2,049,937

 

 

$

95,479

 

 

$

1,954,458

 

(1)
Refer to Note 8 — Leases of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 for additional information regarding the maturity of operating lease liabilities.
(2)
Represents payments collected from our clients, primarily, associated with market development funds that arise out of our business.
(3)
We have an aggregate principal amount of $1.149 billion borrowing on the Term Loan Facility, which bears the applicable interest rate of 5.25% per annum, and $743.0 million in Senior Secured Notes, which is subject to a fixed interest rate of 6.5%. Refer to Note 7 — Debt of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 for additional information regarding the maturities of debt principal. Total debt excluding deferred issuance costs does not include the obligation of future interest payments.
(4)
Refer to Note 6 — Other Liabilities of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023 for additional information regarding the contingent consideration liabilities.
(5)
Represents $63.0 million of an estimated liability under our workers’ compensation programs for claims incurred but unpaid and $8.9 million of employee insurance reserves as of December 31, 2023.

47


Cash and Cash Equivalents Held Outside the United States

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, $43.8 million and $81.8 million, respectively, of our cash and cash equivalents were held by foreign subsidiaries. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents held by foreign subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2023 was due to the deconsolidation of ASL. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, $30.4 million and $28.1 million, respectively, of our cash and cash equivalents were held by foreign branches.

We assessed our determination as to our indefinite reinvestment intent for certain of our foreign subsidiaries and recorded a deferred tax liability of approximately $0.4 million of withholding tax as of December 31, 2023 for unremitted earnings in Canada with respect to which we do not have an indefinite reinvestment assertion. We will continue to evaluate our cash needs, however we currently do not intend, nor do we foresee a need, to repatriate funds from the foreign subsidiaries except for Canada. We have continued to assert indefinite reinvestment on all other earnings as it is necessary for continuing operations and to grow the business. If at a point in the future our assertion changes, we will evaluate tax-efficient means to repatriate the income. In addition, we expect existing domestic cash and cash flows from operations to continue to be sufficient to fund our domestic operating activities and cash commitments for investing and financing activities, such as debt repayment and capital expenditures, for at least the next 12 months and thereafter for the foreseeable future. If we should require more capital in the United States than is generated by our domestic operations, for example, to fund significant discretionary activities such as business acquisitions or to settle debt, we could elect to repatriate future earnings from foreign jurisdictions. These alternatives could result in higher income tax expense or increased interest expense. We consider the majority of the undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries, as of December 31, 2023, to be indefinitely reinvested and, accordingly, no provision has been made for taxes in excess of the $0.4 million noted above.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet financing arrangements or liabilities, guarantee contracts, retained or contingent interests in transferred assets or any obligation arising out of a material variable interest in an unconsolidated entity. We do not have any majority-owned subsidiaries that are not included in our consolidated financial statements. Additionally, we do not have an interest in, or relationships with, any special-purpose entities.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and related notes, as well as the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. We evaluate our accounting policies, estimates and judgments on an on-going basis. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.

We evaluated the development and selection of our critical accounting policies and estimates and believe that the following involve a higher degree of judgment or complexity and are most significant to reporting our results of operations and financial position, and are therefore discussed as critical. The following critical accounting policies reflect the significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. With respect to critical accounting policies, even a relatively minor variance between actual and expected experience can potentially have a materially favorable or unfavorable impact on subsequent results of operations. More information on all of our significant accounting policies can be found in the footnotes to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenues when control of promised goods or services are transferred to the client in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to be entitled to in exchange for such goods or services. Substantially all of our contracts with clients involve the transfer of a service to the client, which represents the performance obligation that is satisfied over time because the client simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of the services provided. In most cases, the contracts include a performance obligation that is comprised of a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer (i.e., distinct days of service). We allocate variable consideration to each period of service to which it relates.

Revenues related to the sales segment are primarily recognized in the form of commissions, fee-for-service or on a cost-plus basis for providing headquarter relationship management, analytics, insights and intelligence services, administrative services, retail services, retailer client relationships and in-store media programs and digital technology solutions (which include our business intelligence solutions, e-commerce services and content services).

48


Marketing segment revenues are primarily recognized in the form of a fee-for-service (including retainer fees, fees charged to clients based on hours incurred, project-based fees or fees for executing in-person consumer engagements or experiences, which engagements or experiences we refer to as events), commissions or on a cost-plus basis for providing experiential marketing, shopper and consumer marketing services, private label development and our digital, social and media services.

Our revenue recognition policies generally result in recognition of revenues at the time services are performed. Our accounting policy for revenue recognition has an impact on our reported results and relies on certain estimates that require judgments on the part of management. We record an allowance as a reduction to revenue for differences between estimated revenues and the amounts ultimately invoiced to our clients based on our historical experience and current trends. Cash collected in advance of services being performed is recorded as deferred revenues.

We have contracts that include variable consideration whereby the ultimate consideration is contingent on future events such as the client’s sales to retailers, hours worked, event count, costs incurred and performance incentive bonuses. Commission revenues are generally earned upon performance of headquarter relationship management, analytics, insights and intelligence, e-commerce, administration and retail services arrangements. As part of these arrangements, we provide a variety of services to consumer goods manufacturers in order to improve the manufacturer’s sales to retailers. This includes primarily outsourced sales, business development, category and space management, relationship management and in-store sales strategy services. In exchange for these services, we earn an agreed upon percentage of our client’s sales to retailers, which is agreed upon on a manufacturer-by-manufacturer basis. We may be entitled to additional fees upon meeting specific performance goals or thresholds, which we refer to as bonus revenue. The variability of the consideration for the services transferred during a reporting period is typically resolved by the end of the reporting period. However, for certain client contracts, we estimate the variable consideration for the services that have been transferred to the client during the reporting period. We typically estimate the variable consideration based on the expected value method. Estimates are based on historical experience and current facts known during the reporting period. We recognize revenue related to variable consideration if it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue recognized will not occur. When such probable threshold is not satisfied, we will constrain some or all of the variable consideration, and such constrained amount will not be recognized as revenue until the probable threshold is met or the uncertainty is resolved and the final amount is known. We record an adjustment to revenue for differences between estimated revenues and the amounts ultimately invoiced to the client. Adjustments to revenue during the current period related to services transferred during prior periods were not material for the year ended December 31, 2023.

We have contracts that include fixed consideration such as a fee per project or a fixed monthly fee. For contracts with a fee per project, revenue is recognized over time using an input method such as hours worked that reasonably depicts our performance in transferring control of the services to the client. We determined that the input method represents a reasonable method to measure the satisfaction of the performance obligation to the client. For contracts with a fixed monthly fee, revenue is recognized using a time-based measure resulting in a straight-line revenue recognition. A time-based measure was determined to represent a reasonable method to measure the satisfaction of the performance obligation to the client because we have a stand ready obligation to make itself available to provide services upon the client’s request or the client receives the benefit from our services evenly over the contract period.

We evaluate each client contract individually in accordance with the applicable accounting guidance to determine whether we act as a principal (whereby we would present revenue on a gross basis) or as an agent (whereby we would present revenue on a net basis). While we primarily act as a principal in our arrangements and report revenues on a gross basis, given the varying terms of our client contracts, we will occasionally act as an agent and in such instances present revenues on a net basis. For example, for certain advertising arrangements, our clients purchase media content in advance, and we do not take on any risk of recovering the cost to acquire the media. As a result, we determined we act as the audit committee didagent in these arrangements and record revenues and their related costs on a net basis as its agency services are performed. However, in cases where media is not pre-approvepurchased in advance by our clients, we record such revenues and the related costs on a gross basis, as we bear the risk of recovering the costs to acquire the media and are responsible for fulfillment of the services.

We record revenues from sales of services and the related direct costs in accordance with the accounting guidance on reporting revenue gross as a principal versus net as an agent. In situations where we act as a principal in the transaction, we report gross revenues and cost of revenues. When we act as an agent, we report the revenues and their related costs on a net basis.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired in an acquisition. We test for impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level. We generally combine components that have similar economic characteristics, nature of services, types of clients, distribution methods and regulatory environment. We have two reporting units, sales and marketing, which are also our operating segments.

49


We test our goodwill for impairment at the beginning of the fourth quarter of a given fiscal year, and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit may exceed its fair value. We have the option to perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value before performing a quantitative impairment test. To the extent that the qualitative approach indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount is less than its fair value, we apply a quantitative approach. When it is determined that a quantitative impairment test should be performed, if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over the fair value is recognized as an impairment loss; however, the loss recognized would not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

Our annual goodwill impairment assessment for each year is performed effective as of October 1. We utilize a combination of income and market approaches to estimate the fair value of our reporting units. The income approach utilizes estimates of discounted cash flows of the reporting units, which requires assumptions for, the reporting units’ revenue growth rates, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) margins, terminal growth rate, discount rate, and incremental net working capital, all of which require significant management judgment. The market approach applies market multiples derived from the historical earnings data of selected guideline publicly-traded companies to our reporting units’ businesses to yield a second assumed value of each reporting unit, which requires significant management judgment. The guideline companies are first screened by industry group and then further narrowed based on the reporting units’ business descriptions, markets served, competitors, EBITDA margins and revenue size. Market multiples are then selected from within the range of these guideline companies’ multiples based on the subject reporting unit. We compare a weighted average of the output from the income and market approaches to the carrying value of each reporting unit. We also compare the aggregate estimated fair value of our reporting units to the estimated value of our total market capitalization. The assumptions in the income and market approach are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value hierarchy (described in “Fair Value Measurements in Note 1, Organization and Significant Accounting Policies,”). We based our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable but which are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. A change in these underlying assumptions would cause a change in the results of the tests and, as such, could cause fair value to be less than the carrying amounts and result in an impairment of goodwill in the future. Additionally, if actual results are not consistent with the estimates and assumptions or if there are significant changes to our planned strategy, it may cause fair value to be less than the carrying amounts and result in an impairment of goodwill in the future.

In connection with our annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2023, we concluded that our goodwill was not impaired as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the sales reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by 19.1% as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the marketing reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by 6.8% as of October 1, 2023.

Indefinite-Lived Assets

Our indefinite-lived intangible assets are comprised of our sales and marketing trade names. Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but tested annually, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, for impairment or more often if events occur or circumstances change that would create a triggering event. We have the option to perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset’s fair value is less than its carrying value before performing a quantitative impairment test. We test our indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment using a relief from royalty method by comparing the estimated fair values of the indefinite-lived intangible assets with the carrying values. The estimates used in the determination of fair value are subjective in nature and involve the use of significant assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates, terminal growth rate, discount rates and royalty rate. which requires significant management judgment. The assumptions are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value hierarchy. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable, but which are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from the estimates.

In connection with our annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2023, we concluded that our indefinite-lived intangible assets were not impaired. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset related to sales trade name exceeded its carrying value by 23.2% as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset related to marketing trade name exceeded its carrying value by 6.9% as of October 1, 2023.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, services, although any services rendered priorduring the fourth quarter of 2023, we determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the sales indefinite-lived trade name due to the formationdeconsolidation of our audit committee were approved byEuropean joint venture and the planned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses. As a result, we recognized non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $43.5 million related to our boardindefinite-lived sales trade name during the year ended December 31, 2023, which has been reflected in “Impairment of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee,goodwill 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 thede minimis exceptions for non-audit services describedindefinite-lived assets” in the Exchange Act which are approved byConsolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Additionally, during the audit committee priorfourth quarter of 2023, we determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the marketing indefinite-lived trade name due to the completionplanned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses. The

50


fair value of the audit).indefinite-lived intangible asset related to marketing trade name exceeded its carrying value by 17.0% for the year ended December 31, 2023.


PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report:

(1) Financial Statements

(2) Financial Statements Schedule

All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable ortable represents a sensitivity analysis on the amounts are immaterial and not required, orindefinite-lived sales trade name intangible asset depicting the required information is presentedpercent increase in the financial statements and notes thereto in is Item 15 of Part IV below.

(3) Exhibits

We hereby file as part of this Report$43.5 million charge related to the exhibits listedindefinite-lived sales trade name had the fair value been estimated with a 0.1% increase in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspecteddiscount rate used and copieda 0.1% decrease in the royalty rate used at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission, 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 Commission, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the Commission website at www.sec.gov.

EXHIBIT INDEX

December 31, 2023.

Exhibit
No.
Assumption Change

Description

% Increase in Impairment Charge
Sales Trade Name

3.1

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.(1)

3.2

Amended and Restated Bylaws.(2)

4.1

0.1% increase in discount rate

Warrant Agreement, dated July 22, 2019, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.(1)

11.0%

4.2

0.1% decrease in royalty rate

Description of the Company’s securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

27.9%

Stock-Based Compensation

Performance restricted stock units (“PSUs”) are subject to the achievement of certain performance conditions based on our revenues and Adjusted EBITDA targets in the respective measurement period and the recipient’s continued service to us. The PSUs are scheduled to vest over a three-year period from the date of grant and may vest from 0% to 150% of the number of shares. The number of PSUs earned is adjusted to be proportional to the partial performance between the Threshold Goals, Target Goals and Maximum Goals. The fair value of PSU grants was equal to the closing price of our stock on the date of the applicable grant. Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) are subject to the recipient’s continued service to us. The RSUs are generally scheduled to vest over three years and are subject to the provisions of the RSU agreement under the Advantage Solutions. Inc. 2020 Incentive Award Plan, as amended and restated (the “Plan”).

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.

Topco, our current majority stockholder, has a long-term equity incentive plan that allows for the grant of time-and performance-based profit interests, or Common Series C Units, in Topco to certain of its and its subsidiaries’ directors and employees in exchange for services provided to us. Since we receive the benefit associated with such services the related expense is recorded within our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

We recognized a non-cash compensation gain related to forfeitures of $3.7 million and $2.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Refer to Note 11—Stock Based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report for details regarding Topco’s and our equity-based compensation plans.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 1, Organization and Significant Accounting Policies – Recent Accounting Pronouncements, to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Foreign Currency Risk

Our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations is primarily the result of foreign subsidiaries and foreign branches primarily domiciled in Europe and Canada. We use financial derivative instruments to hedge foreign currency exchange rate risks associated with our Canadian subsidiary.

The assets and liabilities of our foreign subsidiaries and foreign branches, whose functional currencies are primarily the Canadian dollar, British pound and euro, are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates prevailing during the period. The cumulative translation effects for subsidiaries using a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar are included in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. We estimate that had the exchange rate in each country unfavorably changed by ten percent relative to the U.S. dollar, our consolidated loss before income taxes would have increased by approximately $11.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

51


Interest Rate Risk

Interest rate exposure relates primarily to the effect of interest rate changes on borrowings outstanding under the Term Loan Facility, Revolving Credit Facility and Notes.

We manage our interest rate risk through the use of derivative financial instruments. Specifically, we have entered into interest rate cap agreements to manage our exposure to potential interest rate increases that may result from fluctuations in SOFR. We do not designate these derivatives as hedges for accounting purposes, and as a result, all changes in the fair value of derivatives, used to hedge interest rates, are recorded in “Interest expense, net” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

As of December 31, 2023, we had interest rate cap contracts on $650.0 million of notional value of principal from various financial institutions, with a maturity date of December 16, 2024 to manage our exposure to interest rate movements on variable rate credit facilities when one-months SOFR on term loans exceeds cap of 0.75%. We also had interest rate collar contracts with an aggregate notional value of principal of $300.0 million with a maturity date of April 5, 2026. The aggregate fair value of our interest rate caps represented an outstanding net asset of $26.3 million as of December 31, 2023.

Holding other variables constant, a change of one-eighth percentage point in the weighted average interest rate above the floor of 0.75% on the Term Loan Facility and 0.00% on Revolving Credit Facility would have resulted in an increase of $0.9 million in interest expense, net of gains from interest rate caps, for the year ended December 31, 2023.

In the future, in order to manage our interest rate risk, we may refinance our existing debt, enter into additional interest rate cap agreements or modify our existing interest rate cap agreement. However, we do not intend or expect to enter into derivative or interest rate cap transactions for speculative purposes.

52


Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

10.1

Investment Management Trust Account Agreement, dated July 22, 2019, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.(1)

Page

10.2

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID 238)

Registration and Stockholder Rights Agreement, dated July 17, 2019, between the Company and certain security holders.(1)

54

10.3

Consolidated Balance Sheets

Letter Agreement, by and among the Company and certain security holders, officers and directors of the Company.(1)

57

10.4

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income

Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated July 22, 2019 among the Company and Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC.(1)

58

10.5

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

Administrative Support Agreement, dated July 22, 2019, by and between the Company and Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC.(1)

59

14.1

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Code of Ethics*

60

31.1

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*

61

31.2

Schedule I—Condensed Registrant Only Financial Information of Advantage Solutions Inc. as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021

Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
32.1Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350**
32.2Certification of the 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.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema*
101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase*
101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase*
101.PREXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*
101.DEFXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*

103

53


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

*Filed herewith

**Furnished herewith

(1)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on July 23, 2019.

(2)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Commission on July 12, 2019.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp.

OpinionOpinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheetsheets of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp.Advantage Solutions Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”), as of December 31, 2019,2023 and 2022, and the related consolidated statements of operations changes inand comprehensive (loss) income, of stockholders’ equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) throughended December 31, 2019, and2023, including the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the accompanying index (collectively referred to as the “financial“consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019,2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) throughended December 31, 2019,2023 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Basis for OpinionOpinions

TheseThe Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, are the responsibilityfor maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the Company’s management.effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express an opinionopinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting 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 auditaudits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding offraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectivenesswas maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the entity’s internal control overconsolidated financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our auditstatements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statement,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 consolidated 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 consolidated financial statement.statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit providesaudits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

54


Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Annual Goodwill Impairment Assessments – sales and marketing reporting units

As described in Notes 1 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s goodwill balance was $855.4 million as of December 31, 2023, which is related to two reporting units, sales and marketing. Management tests goodwill for impairment at the beginning of the fourth quarter and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit may exceed its fair value. When it is determined that a quantitative impairment test should be performed, if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over the fair value is recognized as an impairment loss. Management utilizes a combination of income and market approaches to estimate the fair value of the Company’s reporting units. The income approach utilizes estimates of discounted cash flows of the reporting units, which requires assumptions for the reporting units’ revenue growth rates, EBITDA margins, terminal growth rate, discount rate, and incremental net working capital, all of which require significant management judgment. The market approach applies market multiples derived from the historical earnings data of selected guideline publicly-traded companies to the Company’s reporting units’ businesses, which requires significant management judgment.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the annual goodwill impairment assessments of the sales and marketing reporting units is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the fair value estimate of the sales and marketing reporting units; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to revenue growth rates, EBITDA margins, discount rate, and market multiples; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s goodwill impairment assessments, including controls over the valuation of the sales and marketing reporting units. These procedures also included, among others (i) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimate of the sales and marketing reporting units; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the income and market valuation approaches used by management, including utilizing a combination of the approaches to develop the fair value estimate of the sales and marketing reporting units; (iii) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the income and market valuation approaches; and (iv) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions used by management related to revenue growth rates, EBITDA margins, discount rate, and market multiples. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to revenue growth rates and EBITDA margins involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering (i) the current and past performance of the sales and marketing reporting units; (ii) the consistency with external market and industry data; and (iii) whether the assumptions were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating (i) the appropriateness of the income and market valuation approaches, including utilizing a combination of the approaches to develop the fair value estimate of the sales and marketing reporting units and (ii) the reasonableness of the discount rate and market multiples assumptions.

Annual and Interim Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Impairment Assessments – sales and marketing trade names

As described in Notes 1 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets balance was $651.5 million as of December 31, 2023, which is related to sales and marketing trade names. Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but tested annually, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, for impairment or more often if evidence exists that triggering events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets may not be recoverable. Management tests the Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment using a relief from royalty method by comparing the estimated fair values of the indefinite-lived intangible assets with the carrying values. The estimates used in the determination of fair value are subjective in nature and involve the use of significant assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates, terminal growth rate, discount rates, and royalty rate, all of which require significant management judgment. During the fourth quarter of 2023, management determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the sales indefinite-lived trade name due to the deconsolidation of the Company’s European joint venture and the planned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses, which was determined to be held for sale. Additionally, during the fourth quarter of 2023, management

55


determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the marketing indefinite-lived trade name due to the planned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses. As a result, the Company recognized non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $43.5 million related to its indefinite-lived sales trade name.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the annual and interim indefinite-lived intangible assets impairment assessments of the sales and marketing trade names is a critical audit matter are (i) the significant judgment by management when developing the fair value estimates of the sales and marketing trade names; (ii) a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity, and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to revenue growth rates, discount rates, and royalty rate; and (iii) the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s indefinite-lived intangible assets impairment assessments, including controls over the valuation of the sales and marketing trade names. These procedures also included, among others (i) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimates of the sales and marketing trade names; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the relief from royalty method used by management; (iii) testing the completeness and accuracy of underlying data used in the relief from royalty method; and (iv) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions used by management related to revenue growth rates, discount rates, and royalty rate. Evaluating management’s assumption related to revenue growth rates involved evaluating whether the assumption used by management was reasonable considering (i) the current and past performance of the sales and marketing brands; (ii) the consistency with external market and industry data; and (iii) whether the assumption was consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating (i) the appropriateness of the relief from royalty method and (ii) the reasonableness of the discount rates and royalty rate assumptions.

/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PCPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Irvine, California

March 1, 2024

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.2003.

56


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

New York, New York

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands, except share data)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

126,479

 

 

$

120,715

 

Restricted cash

 

 

16,363

 

 

 

17,817

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for expected credit losses of
     $
34,807 and $22,752, respectively

 

 

703,252

 

 

 

869,000

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

165,940

 

 

 

149,476

 

Total current assets

 

 

1,012,034

 

 

 

1,157,008

 

Property and equipment, net

 

 

73,910

 

 

 

70,898

 

Goodwill

 

 

855,391

 

 

 

887,949

 

Other intangible assets, net

 

 

1,580,134

 

 

 

1,897,503

 

Investments in unconsolidated affiliates

 

 

211,393

 

 

 

129,491

 

Other assets

 

 

46,461

 

 

 

119,522

 

Total assets

 

$

3,779,323

 

 

$

4,262,371

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current portion of long-term debt

 

$

13,580

 

 

$

13,991

 

Accounts payable

 

 

181,076

 

 

 

261,464

 

Accrued compensation and benefits

 

 

165,701

 

 

 

154,744

 

Other accrued expenses

 

 

153,015

 

 

 

133,173

 

Deferred revenues

 

 

27,925

 

 

 

37,329

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

541,297

 

 

 

600,701

 

Long-term debt, net of current portion

 

 

1,852,784

 

 

 

2,022,819

 

Deferred income tax liabilities

 

 

204,251

 

 

 

297,874

 

Warrant liability

 

 

667

 

 

 

953

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

76,247

 

 

 

110,554

 

Total liabilities

 

 

2,675,246

 

 

 

3,032,901

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 18)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

3,746

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity attributable to stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, no par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized; none issued
     and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 3,290,000,000 shares authorized;
     
322,235,261 and 319,690,300 shares issued and outstanding as of
     December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

32

 

 

 

32

 

Additional paid in capital

 

 

3,449,261

 

 

 

3,408,836

 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

(2,314,650

)

 

 

(2,247,109

)

Loans to Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

(6,387

)

 

 

(6,363

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

 

(3,945

)

 

 

(18,849

)

Treasury stock, at cost; 3,600,075 and 1,610,014 shares as of
   December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

(18,949

)

 

 

(12,567

)

Total equity attributable to stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

1,105,362

 

 

 

1,123,980

 

Nonredeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

(1,285

)

 

 

101,744

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

 

1,104,077

 

 

 

1,225,724

 

Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest, and
     stockholders’ equity

 

$

3,779,323

 

 

$

4,262,371

 

March 30, 2020See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

57


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.


CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

BALANCE SHEET 

DECEMBER 31, 2019

Assets   
Current assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents $951,060 
Prepaid expenses  316,667 
Prepaid income taxes  25,327 
Total current assets  1,293,054 
Marketable securities held in Trust Account  452,816,525 
Total assets $454,109,579 
     
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity    
Current liabilities:    
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $100,000 
Accounts payable - related party  127,912 
Total current liabilities  227,912 
Deferred underwriting commissions  15,750,000 
Total liabilities  15,977,912 
     
Commitments and contingencies    
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 43,313,166 shares subject to possible redemption at redemption value  433,131,660 
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; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 1,686,834 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 43,313,166 shares subject to possible redemption)  169 
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 11,250,000 shares issued and outstanding  1,125 
Additional paid-in capital  2,529,572 
Retained earnings  2,469,141 
Total stockholders’ equity  5,000,007 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $454,109,579 

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


CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

STATEMENTCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenues

 

 

$

4,224,846

 

 

$

4,049,742

 

 

$

3,602,298

 

Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and
     amortization shown separately below)

 

 

 

3,660,464

 

 

 

3,493,183

 

 

 

2,964,123

 

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

 

 

 

265,091

 

 

 

187,504

 

 

 

168,086

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1,572,523

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

224,697

 

 

 

233,075

 

 

 

240,041

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

19,068

 

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

 

Income from unconsolidated investments

 

 

 

(5,273

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

 

4,148,656

 

 

 

5,489,148

 

 

 

3,372,250

 

Operating income (loss)

 

 

 

76,190

 

 

 

(1,439,406

)

 

 

230,048

 

Other (income) expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

165,802

 

 

 

104,459

 

 

 

137,927

 

Total other expenses

 

 

 

165,516

 

 

 

83,223

 

 

 

138,882

 

(Loss) income before income taxes

 

 

 

(89,326

)

 

 

(1,522,629

)

 

 

91,166

 

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes

 

 

 

(29,008

)

 

 

(145,337

)

 

 

33,617

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

 

(60,318

)

 

 

(1,377,292

)

 

 

57,549

 

Less: net income attributable to
     noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

2,940

 

 

 

3,210

 

 

 

3,055

 

Net (loss) income attributable to stockholders of
     Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

 

(63,258

)

 

 

(1,380,502

)

 

 

54,494

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

 

5,817

 

 

 

(14,370

)

 

 

(5,153

)

Total comprehensive (loss) income attributable to
     stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

$

(57,441

)

 

$

(1,394,872

)

 

$

49,341

 

Net (loss) income per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

$

(0.20

)

 

$

(4.33

)

 

$

0.17

 

Diluted

 

 

$

(0.20

)

 

$

(4.33

)

 

$

0.17

 

Weighted-average number of common shares:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

 

 

323,677,515

 

 

 

318,682,548

 

 

 

318,198,860

 

Diluted

 

 

 

323,677,515

 

 

 

318,682,548

 

 

 

321,004,756

 

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

58


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

  For the Period From
May 2, 2019
(inception) through
December 31, 2019
 
General and administrative expenses $279,580 
State franchise taxes  100,000 
Loss from operations  (379,580)
Other income:    
Interest income earned on cash equivalents and marketable securities held in Trust Account  3,579,393 
Income before income tax expense  3,199,813 
Income tax expense  730,672 
Net income $2,469,141 
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A common stock  45,000,000 
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A $0.05 
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B common stock  11,250,000 
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B $0.00 

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


CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

STATEMENTCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Advantage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other

 

 

Solutions Inc.

 

 

Nonredeemable

 

 

Total

 

 

Common Stock

 

Treasury Stock

 

 

Paid-in

 

 

Accumulated

 

 

Loans to

 

 

Comprehensive

 

 

Stockholders'

 

 

Noncontrolling

 

 

Stockholders'

(in thousands, except share data)

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

Shares

 

 

Amount

 

 

Capital

 

 

Deficit

 

 

Topco

 

 

Income (Loss)

 

 

Equity

 

 

Interests

 

 

Equity

Balance at January 1, 2021

 

318,425,182

 

 $

32

 

 

 $

 

 $

3,348,546

 

 $

(921,101)

 

 $

(6,316)

 

 $

674

 

 $

2,421,835

 

 $

96,954

 

 $

2,518,789

Comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

54,494

 

 

 

 

 

 

54,494

 

 

2,964

 

 

57,458

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5,153)

 

 

(5,153)

 

 

(3,069)

 

 

(8,222)

Total comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

49,341

 

 

(105)

 

 

49,236

Interest on loans to Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(24)

 

 

 

 

(24)

 

 

 

 

(24)

Redemption of noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(444)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(444)

 

 

235

 

 

(209)

Equity-based compensation of
      Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,030)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(15,030)

 

 

 

 

(15,030)

Purchase of treasury stock

 

(1,610,014)

 

 

 

1,610,014

 

 

(12,567)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(12,567)

 

 

 

 

(12,567)

Shares issued under 2020 Incentive
     Award Plan

 

66,208

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares issued under 2020 Employee
     Stock Purchase Plan

 

77,172

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

736

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

736

 

 

 

 

736

Shares issued upon exercise of warrants

 

5,004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

58

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

58

 

 

 

 

58

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39,412

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39,412

 

 

 

 

39,412

Balance at December 31, 2021

 

316,963,552

 

 

32

 

1,610,014

 

 

(12,567)

 

 

3,373,278

 

 

(866,607)

 

 

(6,340)

 

 

(4,479)

 

 

2,483,317

 

 

97,084

 

 

2,580,401

Comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,380,502)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,380,502)

 

 

2,995

 

 

(1,377,507)

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(14,370)

 

 

(14,370)

 

 

(4,526)

 

 

(18,896)

Total comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,394,872)

 

 

(1,531)

 

 

(1,396,403)

Interest on loans to Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(23)

 

 

 

 

(23)

 

 

 

 

(23)

Increase in noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,191

 

 

6,191

Equity-based compensation of
     Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,934)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6,934)

 

 

 

 

(6,934)

Shares issued under 2020 Employee
     Stock Purchase Plan

 

713,213

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,320

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,320

 

 

 

 

3,320

Shares issued under 2020 Incentive
     Award Plan

 

2,013,535

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39,172

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

39,172

 

 

 

 

39,172

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

319,690,300

 

 

32

 

1,610,014

 

 

(12,567)

 

 

3,408,836

 

 

(2,247,109)

 

 

(6,363)

 

 

(18,849)

 

 

1,123,980

 

 

101,744

 

 

1,225,724

Comprehensive income (loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(63,258)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(63,258)

 

 

2,639

 

 

(60,619)

Foreign currency translation adjustments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,817

 

 

5,817

 

 

3,201

 

 

9,018

Total comprehensive loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(57,441)

 

 

5,840

 

 

(51,601)

Interest on loans to Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(24)

 

 

 

 

(24)

 

 

 

 

(24)

Purchase of treasury stock

 

(4,164,010)

 

 

 

4,164,010

 

 

(10,665)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10,665)

 

 

 

 

(10,665)

Retirement of shares

 

 

 

 

(2,173,949)

 

 

4,283

 

 

 

 

 

(4,283)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity-based compensation of
     Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,524)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2,524)

 

 

 

 

(2,524)

Shares issued under 2020 Employee
     Stock Purchase Plan

 

1,241,440

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,248

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,248

 

 

 

 

2,248

Shares issued under 2020 Incentive
     Award Plan and tax related to net
     share settlement

 

5,467,531

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,880)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,880)

 

 

 

 

(1,880)

Stock-based compensation expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

42,581

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

42,581

 

 

 

 

42,581

Deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,087

 

 

9,087

 

 

(108,869)

 

 

(99,782)

Balance at December 31, 2023

 

322,235,261

 

 $

32

 

3,600,075

 

 $

(18,949)

 

 $

3,449,261

 

 $

(2,314,650)

 

 $

(6,387)

 

 $

(3,945)

 

 $

1,105,362

 

 $

(1,285)

 

 $

1,104,077

FOR THE PERIOD FROM MAY 2, 2019 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2019

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

59


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

              Additional  Accumulated    
  Class A Common Stock  Class B Common Stock  Paid-in  Retained  Stockholders’ 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Capital  Earnings  Equity 
Balance as of May 2, 2019 (inception)     $     $  $   $   $  
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor        11,500,000   1,150   23,850      25,000 
Sale of 45,000,000 Units in Initial Public Offering  45,000,000   4,500         449,995,500      450,000,000 
Sale of 7,333,333 Private Placement Warrants to Sponsor              11,000,000      11,000,000 
Underwriting discounts and offering costs              (25,362,474)     (25,362,474)
Forfeiture of Class B common stock        (250,000)  (25)  25       
Common stock subject to possible redemption  (43,313,166)  (4,331)        (433,127,329)     (433,131,660)
Net income                 2,469,141   2,469,141 
Balance as of December 31, 2019  1,686,834  $169   11,250,000  $1,125  $2,529,572  $2,469,141  $5,000,007 

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


CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

STATEMENTCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income

 

 

$

(60,318

)

 

$

(1,377,292

)

 

$

57,549

 

Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by
   operating activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncash interest income

 

 

 

(7,660

)

 

 

(43,785

)

 

 

(8,315

)

Amortization of deferred financing fees

 

 

 

8,292

 

 

 

8,860

 

 

 

9,250

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

43,500

 

 

 

1,572,523

 

 

 

 

Extinguishment costs related to repayment and repricing of long-term debt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,569

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

224,697

 

 

 

233,075

 

 

 

240,041

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Fair value adjustments related to contingent consideration

 

 

 

10,362

 

 

 

4,774

 

 

 

5,763

 

Deferred income taxes

 

 

 

(80,416

)

 

 

(190,754

)

 

 

(10,012

)

Equity-based compensation of Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

 

(2,524

)

 

 

(6,934

)

 

 

(15,030

)

Stock-based compensation

 

 

 

42,880

 

 

 

39,825

 

 

 

39,412

 

Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates

 

 

 

(5,511

)

 

 

(10,609

)

 

 

(10,298

)

Distribution received from unconsolidated affiliates

 

 

 

2,100

 

 

 

1,826

 

 

 

1,465

 

Loss on disposal of property and equipment

 

 

 

3,318

 

 

 

644

 

 

 

7,162

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

19,068

 

 

 

2,863

 

 

 

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

(58,891

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gain on repurchases from the Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt

 

 

 

(8,665

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects from
   divestitures and purchases of businesses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

 

45,601

 

 

 

(75,688

)

 

 

(215,501

)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

 

 

50,626

 

 

 

(22,738

)

 

 

(14,000

)

Accounts payable

 

 

 

(26,175

)

 

 

(17,635

)

 

 

46,000

 

Accrued compensation and benefits

 

 

 

26,941

 

 

 

16,678

 

 

 

(2,363

)

Deferred revenues

 

 

 

6,974

 

 

 

(11,551

)

 

 

(2,694

)

Other accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

 

 

5,082

 

 

 

18,412

 

 

 

(4,962

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

 

 

238,995

 

 

 

121,258

 

 

 

125,991

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of businesses, net of cash acquired

 

 

 

 

 

 

(74,206

)

 

 

(42,668

)

Purchase of investment in unconsolidated affiliates

 

 

 

(3,023

)

 

 

(775

)

 

 

(2,000

)

Purchase of property and equipment

 

 

 

(46,271

)

 

 

(40,455

)

 

 

(31,175

)

Proceeds from divestitures

 

 

 

21,108

 

 

 

1,896

 

 

 

 

Deconsolidation of subsidiaries cash and
     cash equivalents and restricted cash, net of proceeds

 

 

 

(31,465

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from sale of investment in unconsolidated affiliates

 

 

 

4,428

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

 

 

(55,223

)

 

 

(113,540

)

 

 

(75,843

)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Borrowings under lines of credit

 

 

 

99,538

 

 

 

326,090

 

 

 

61,629

 

Payments on lines of credit

 

 

 

(99,102

)

 

 

(326,968

)

 

 

(111,736

)

Proceeds from government loans for COVID-19 relief

 

 

 

1,339

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,975

 

Principal payments on long-term debt

 

 

 

(13,602

)

 

 

(13,394

)

 

 

(13,309

)

Repurchases of Term Loan Facility and Senior Secured Notes debt

 

 

 

(156,559

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock

 

 

 

2,248

 

 

 

3,320

 

 

 

794

 

Payments for taxes related to net share settlement
     under 2020 Incentive Award Plan

 

 

 

(1,880

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contingent consideration payments

 

 

 

(4,898

)

 

 

(23,164

)

 

 

(9,814

)

Holdback payments

 

 

 

(1,886

)

 

 

(11,057

)

 

 

(3,989

)

Purchase of treasury stock

 

 

 

(6,382

)

 

 

 

 

 

(12,567

)

Financing fees paid

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1,464

)

 

 

(74

)

Contribution from noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,217

 

 

 

 

Redemption of noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

(154

)

 

 

(224

)

 

 

(209

)

Net cash used in financing activities

 

 

 

(181,338

)

 

 

(41,644

)

 

 

(86,300

)

Net effect of foreign currency changes on cash

 

 

 

1,876

 

 

 

(8,179

)

 

 

(3,177

)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

 

 

 

4,310

 

 

 

(42,105

)

 

 

(39,329

)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

 

 

 

138,532

 

 

 

180,637

 

 

 

219,966

 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

 

 

$

142,842

 

 

$

138,532

 

 

$

180,637

 

SUPPLEMENTAL NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exchange of ownership of SPV for fair value of GSH

 

 

$

15,854

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Non-cash proceeds from divestitures

 

 

$

4,283

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Purchase of property and equipment recorded in accounts payable and accrued expenses

 

 

$

1,201

 

 

$

842

 

 

$

759

 

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash payments for interest

 

 

$

174,767

 

 

$

126,560

 

 

$

137,467

 

Cash received from interest rate derivatives

 

 

$

28,808

 

 

$

6,527

 

 

$

 

Cash payments for income taxes, net

 

 

$

39,007

 

 

$

45,729

 

 

$

40,189

 

FORSee Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

60


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

NOTES TO THE PERIOD FROM MAY 2, 2019 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2019CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies

Cash flows from operating activities:   
Net income $2,469,141 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used by operating activities:    
     
Interest income earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account  (3,572,525)
     
Change in operating assets and liabilities:    
Prepaid expenses  (316,667)
Prepaid income taxes  (25,327)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses  100,000 
Accounts payable - related party  127,912 
Net cash used by operating activities  (1,217,466)
     
Cash flows from investing activities:    
Cash deposited in Trust Account  (450,000,000)
Investment income released from Trust Account  756,000 
Net cash used by investing activities  (449,244,000)
     
Cash flows from financing activities:    
Proceeds from sale of Class A Units to public  450,000,000 
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants to Sponsor  11,000,000 
Payment of underwriters’ discount  (9,000,000)
Payment of offering costs  (587,474)
Proceeds from Promissory Note - related party  141,636 
Repayment of Promissory Note - related party  (141,636)
Net cash provided by financing activities  451,412,526 
     
Net change in cash  951,060 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period   
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $951,060 
     
Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities:    
Offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B common stock $25,000 
Deferred underwriting commission in connection with initial public offering $15,750,000 
Value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption $433,131,660 

On July 25, 2014, Advantage Solutions Inc. (“ASI Intermediate”) acquired Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. (the “2014 Topco Acquisition”). As a result of the 2014 Topco Acquisition, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of ASI Intermediate and Karman Topco L.P. (“Topco”) became the sole stockholder of ASI Intermediate.

The units of Topco are held by equity funds affiliated with or advised by CVC Capital Partners, Leonard Green & Partners, Juggernaut Capital Partners, Centerview Capital, L.P., and Bain Capital, as well as by current and former members of the Company’s management.

The accompanying notes areOn September 7, 2020, ASI Intermediate entered into an integral partagreement and plan of these financial statements.


merger (as amended, modified, supplemented or waived, the “Merger Agreement”), with Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp.

Notes to Financial Statements

Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations

Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated as, a Delaware corporation, on May 2, 2019. The Company was formed fornow known as Advantage Solutions Inc. (“Conyers Park”), CP II Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Conyers Park (“Merger Sub”), and Topco.

On October 28, 2020, Conyers Park consummated the purpose of effecting a merger capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating its Business Combination, the Company intends to focus on the consumer sector and consumer-related businesses. The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 relatespursuant to the Company’s formationMerger Agreement, by and among Merger Sub, ASI Intermediate, and Topco. Pursuant to the preparation for its initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) as described below,Merger Agreement, Merger Sub was merged with and sinceinto Legacy Advantage with Legacy Advantage being the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating incomesurviving company in the formmerger as a wholly owned subsidiary of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s sponsor is Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”“Merger”). The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on July 17, 2019. On July 22, 2019, the Company consummatedOctober 28, 2020, Conyers Park changed its Initial Public Offering of 45,000,000 unitsname to Advantage Solutions Inc. (the “Units”“Company” or “Advantage”), including 5,000,000 additional Units and ASI Intermediate changed its name to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, which is discussed in Note 3, generating gross proceeds of $450 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $25.36 million, inclusive of approximately $15.75 million in deferred underwriting commissions following the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option (Note 5).ASI Intermediate Corp.

SimultaneouslyIn connection with the closing ofentry into the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated theMerger Agreement, Conyers Park also entered into subscription agreements with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which, among other things, Conyers Park agreed to issue and sell in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 7,333,333 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11.0 million (Note 4).

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $450 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and was invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the assets held in the Trust Account as described below.

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 Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.


The Company will provide the holders (the “Public Stockholders”) of shares of itsConyers Park Class A common stock par value $0.0001 (the “Class A Common Stock”), soldfor a purchase price of $10.00 per share. The PIPE Investors, other than the equity holders of Topco that participated in the Initial Public OfferingPIPE Investment (the “Public Shares”), with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares were classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to the amended and restated certificate of incorporation which the Company adopted upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”“Advantage Sponsors”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem the Public Shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether such Public Stockholder votes for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial stockholders (as defined below) havetheir affiliates, agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and any Public Shares acquired by them in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 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”)), is restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more thanpurchase an aggregate of 15% or more51,130,000 shares of Conyers Park Class A common stock. Certain of the Public Shares, without the prior consentAdvantage Sponsors or their affiliates agreed to purchase an aggregate of the Company.

The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate34,410,000 shares of Incorporation (a) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or July 22, 2021, (the “Combination Period”) or (b) which adversely affects the rights of holders of theConyers Park Class A common stock, unlessand, at their sole discretion. The shares of Conyers Park Class A common stock purchased by the PIPE Investors in the private placement are referred to as the “PIPE Shares” and the aggregate purchase price paid for the PIPE Shares is referred to as the “PIPE Investment.” On October 28, 2020, the PIPE Investment was consummated, and 85,540,000 shares of Class A common stock were issued for aggregate gross proceeds of $855.4 million.

The Company is headquartered in Irvine, California and is a business solutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers.

The Company’s common stock and public warrants (as further described in Note 12, Equity) are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ADV” and warrants to purchase the common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ADVWW”.

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Sharesand its controlled subsidiaries and have been prepared in conjunction with any such amendment.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly and as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company for working capital purposes (up to $1,000,000) or to pay its franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly and as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

The initial stockholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial stockholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination during the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to 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 discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all third parties, including vendors, service providers (excluding the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), 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.


Liquidity

The Company has principally financed its operations from inception using proceeds from the sale of its equity securities to its shareholders prior to the Initial Public Offering and such amount of proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units and the Initial Public Offering that were placed in an account outside of the Trust Account for working capital purposes. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had $951,060 in its operating bank account, $452,816,525 in cash and marketable securities held in the Trust Account to be used for a Business Combination or to repurchase or redeem its common stock in connection therewith and working capital of approximately $1,040,000 (excluding prepaid income taxes).

The Company intends to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less up to $1,000,000 for working capital, taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete its initial Business Combination. To the extent necessary, the Sponsors, members of the Company’s management team or any of their respective affiliates or other third parties may but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required, up to $1,500,000. Such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Placement Warrants (see Note 4).

Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will be using funds held outside of the Trust Account for identifying and evaluating target businesses, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structuring, negotiating and completing a Business Combination.

If the Company’s estimates 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, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to a Business Combination. Moreover, the Company may need to obtain additional financing either to complete a Business Combination or because it becomes obligated to redeem a significant number of its Public Shares upon completion of a Business Combination, in which case the Company may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.

Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformityaccordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The financial information set forth herein reflects: (a) the consolidated statements of operations and pursuantcomprehensive (loss) income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 and (b) the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. The consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 reflect Topco’s basis in the assets and liabilities of the Company, as a result of the 2014 Topco Acquisition. The Company’s share in the earnings or losses for its investments in affiliates is reflected in “Investments in unconsolidated affiliates” and “Income from unconsolidated investments” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income, respectively. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. Reclassifications of certain immaterial prior period amounts have been made to conform to the rulescurrent period presentation that were combined in previous years.

On November 30, 2023 the Company reduced its equity interest in Advantage Smollan Limited ("ASL"), its European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to a minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash. The Company also removed certain participating rights with ASL related to capital allocation and regulationscertain of the SEC.Company’s decision making rights, resulting in a loss of control. Therefore, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 810 ("ASC 810"), Consolidation, ASL

61


was deconsolidated from the Company’s consolidated financial statements resulting in the recognition of a $58.9 million gain for the year ended December 31, 2023. Effective December 1, 2023, the Company’s investment in ASL is accounted for under the equity method of accounting, with the investment reported in “Investments in unconsolidated affiliates” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and equity income (loss) reported in “Income from unconsolidated investments” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Reportable Segments

The Company provides services across two segments — sales and marketing.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, certain organizational changes were announced that will impact the Company’s future internal reporting. As a result of these changes, the Company expects to have three reportable segments. The Company expects that any operational changes impacting the reportable segments will be effective in the first quarter of 2024.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

Making Actual results could differ from such estimates. The most significant estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. Itinclude revenues, workers’ compensation and employee medical claim reserves, fair value of contingent consideration, leases, income taxes, equity-based compensation, derivative instruments and fair value considerations in applying purchase accounting and assessing goodwill and other asset impairments.

Foreign Currency

The Company’s reporting currency is at least reasonably possibleU.S. dollars as that is the estimatecurrency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates. The Company translates the assets and liabilities of its non-U.S. dollar functional currency subsidiaries into U.S. dollars using exchange rates in effect at the end of a condition, situation or seteach period. Revenues and expenses for these subsidiaries are translated using rates that approximate those in effect during the period. Gains and losses from these translations are included in “Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income” in the Consolidated Statements of circumstances that existedStockholders’ Equity. Transactions in foreign currencies other than the entities’ functional currency are converted using the rate of exchange at the date of transaction. The gains or losses arising from the financial statements, which management consideredrevaluation of foreign currency transactions to functional currency are included in formulating its estimate, could change“Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the near term due to oneConsolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Unrealized foreign currency exchange gains and losses on certain intercompany transactions that are of a long-term investment nature (i.e., settlement is not planned or more future confirming events. Accordingly,anticipated in the actual results could differ from those estimates.

F-8

Emerging Growth Company

foreseeable future) are also recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income in stockholders’ equity. 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”),reports gains and it may take advantage of certain exemptionslosses from various reporting requirementsforeign exchange rate changes related to intercompany receivables and payables that are applicable to other public companies thatof a long-term investment nature, in “Other comprehensive (loss) income” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. These items represented a net loss of $0.2 million, a gain of $7.3 million, and a gain of $1.0 million during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and highly liquid investments having an original maturity of three months or less. The Company’s investments consist primarily of U.S. Treasury securities. The Company’s investments 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 an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable.carried at cost, which approximates fair value. The Company has elected notrestricted cash related to opt out of such extended transition period, which meansfunds received from clients 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 standardwill be disbursed at the time private companies adoptdirection of those clients. Corresponding liabilities have been recorded in “Other accrued expenses” in the new or revised standard.Consolidated Balance Sheets.

This may make comparisonThe following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the Company’s financial statements with another public companyConsolidated Statements of Cash Flows:

December 31,

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

126,479

 

 

$

120,715

 

 

$

164,622

 

Restricted cash

 

16,363

 

 

 

17,817

 

 

 

16,015

 

Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

$

142,842

 

 

$

138,532

 

 

$

180,637

 

62


Accounts Receivable and Expected Credit Losses

Accounts receivable consist of amounts due from clients for services provided in normal business activities and are recorded at invoiced amounts. The Company measures expected credit losses against certain billed receivables based upon the latest information regarding whether invoices are ultimately collectible. Assessing the collectability of client receivables requires management judgment. The Company determines its expected credit losses by specifically analyzing individual accounts receivable, historical bad debts, client creditworthiness, current economic conditions, and accounts receivable aging trends. Valuation reserves are periodically re-evaluated and adjusted as more information about the ultimate collectability of accounts receivable becomes available. Upon determination that a receivable is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of usinguncollectible, the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.receivable balance and any associated reserve is written off.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of accounts receivable and cash balances at various financial institutions. The Company maintains cash balances in accounts in aat various financial institution, which, atinstitutions. At times such cash balances may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. At December 31, 2019, thefederally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts.

Derivatives

The Company uses financial instruments to hedge interest rate and foreign exchange risk. Derivative instruments, used to hedge interest rates, consist of interest rate swaps and interest rate caps. Interest rate swap contracts involve the exchange of floating rate interest payment obligations for fixed interest rate payments without the exchange of the underlying principal amounts. Interest rate cap contracts limit the floating interest rate exposure to the indicative rate in the agreement. Derivatives are initially recognized at fair value on the date a contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at fair value. The fair values of derivatives are measured using observable market prices or, where market prices are not available, by using discounted expected future cash flows at prevailing interest and exchange rates. The Company does not designate these derivatives as hedges for accounting purposes, and as a result, all changes in the fair value of derivatives used to hedge interest rates and foreign exchange risk are recorded in “Interest expense” and in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income, respectively. Cash flows associated with such derivatives are reported in cash flows from operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. These arrangements contain an element of risk in that the counterparties may be unable to meet the terms of such arrangements. In the event the counterparties are unable to fulfill their related obligations, the Company could potentially incur significant additional costs by replacing the positions at then current market rates. The Company manages its risk of exposure by limiting counterparties to those banks and institutions deemed appropriate by management.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, and the balances are presented net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation expense is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The following table provides the range of estimated useful lives used for each asset type:

Leasehold improvements

310 years

Furniture and fixtures

37 years

Computer hardware and other equipment

35 years

Software

35 years

The Company capitalizes certain direct costs associated with the development and purchase of internal-use software within property and equipment. Costs incurred in the preliminary stages of development are expensed as incurred. Once an application has reached the development stage, internal and external costs, if direct and incremental, are capitalized until the software is substantially complete and ready for its intended use. Capitalization ceases upon completion of all substantial testing. The Company also capitalizes costs related to specific upgrades and enhancements when it is probable the expenditures will result in additional functionality. Maintenance and training costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalized costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the software, generally not exceeding five years. The Company evaluates the useful lives of these assets on an annual basis and tests for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances occur that could impact the recoverability of these assets. There were no impairments to capitalized internal-use software for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of their respective lease terms or their respective estimated useful lives. The cost and accumulated depreciation of assets sold or otherwise disposed of are removed from the Consolidated Balance Sheets and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in the “Cost of revenues” and “Selling, general, administrative expenses” within the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income, depending on the nature of the

63


assets. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred, whereas expenditures for improvements and replacements are capitalized.

Equity Method Investments

Investments in companies in which the Company exercises significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee and are not required to be consolidated are accounted for using the equity method. The Company’s proportionate share of the net income or loss of equity method investments is included in the results of operations and any dividends received reduce the carrying value of the investment. The excess of the cost of the Company’s investment over its proportionate share of the fair value of the net assets of the investee at the acquisition date is recognized as goodwill and included in the carrying amount of the investment. Goodwill in the equity method investments is not amortized. Gains and losses from changes in the Company’s ownership interests are recorded in results of operations until control is achieved. In instances in which a change in the Company’s ownership interest results in obtaining control, the existing carrying value of the investment is remeasured to the acquisition date fair value and any gain or loss is recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Distributions received from unconsolidated entities that represent returns on the investor’s investment are reported as cash flows from operating activities in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Cash distributions from unconsolidated entities that represent returns of the Company’s investment are reported as cash flows from investing activities.

Business Combinations

The Company accounts for business combinations using the acquisition method. Under this method, the purchase price of an acquisition is allocated to the underlying assets acquired and liabilities assumed based upon their estimated fair values at the date of acquisition. To the extent the purchase price exceeds the fair value of the net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, such excess is allocated to goodwill. Factors giving rise to goodwill generally include assembled workforce, geographic presence, expertise, and synergies that are anticipated as a result of the business combination, including enhanced product and service offerings. The Company determines the estimated fair values after review and consideration of relevant information, including discounted cash flows, quoted market prices and estimates made by management. The Company adjusts the preliminary purchase price allocation, as necessary, during the measurement period of up to one year after the acquisition closing date as the Company obtains more information as to facts and circumstances existing at the acquisition date impacting asset valuations and liabilities assumed. Goodwill acquired in business combinations is assigned to the reporting unit expected to benefit from the combination as of the acquisition date. Acquisition-related costs are recognized separately from the acquisition and are expensed as incurred.

Divestitures

The Company nets the proceeds on the divestitures of businesses with the carrying amount of the related net assets and liabilities and records a gain or loss in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Any contingent payments that are potentially due to the Company as a result of these divestitures are recorded when it is probable that a significant reversal of such consideration will not occur, or in the case of a business, when such payments are realizable. For divestitures of businesses, the Company includes the relative fair value of goodwill associated with the businesses in the determination of the gain or loss on sale.

Held for Sale

Assets and liabilities to be disposed of by sale are classified as “held for sale” if their carrying amounts are expected to be recovered through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use. The classification occurs when the disposal group is available for immediate sale and the sale is probable. These criteria are generally met when management has committed to a plan to sell the assets within one year. Components and businesses that meet accounting requirements to be classified as held for sale are presented as single asset and liability amounts in the Company's financial statements with a valuation allowance, if necessary, to recognize the net carrying amount at the lower of cost or fair value, less costs to sell. The Company reviews its businesses and assets held for sale each reporting period to determine whether the existing carrying amounts are fully recoverable in comparison to estimated fair values. When the net realizable value of a disposal group increases during a period, a gain can be recognized to the extent that it does not increase the value of the disposal group beyond its original carrying value when the disposal group was reclassified as held for sale.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired in an acquisition. The Company tests for impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level. The Company generally combines components that have similar economic characteristics, nature of services, types of clients, distribution methods and

64


regulatory environment. The Company has two reporting units, sales and marketing, which are also the Company’s operating segments.

The Company tests its goodwill for impairment at the beginning of the fourth quarter of a given fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit may exceed its fair value. The Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value before performing a quantitative impairment test. To the extent that the qualitative approach indicates that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount is less than its fair value, the Company applies a quantitative approach. When it is determined that a quantitative impairment test should be performed, if the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, goodwill is impaired and the excess of the reporting unit’s carrying value over the fair value is recognized as an impairment loss; however, the loss recognized would not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

The Company’s annual goodwill impairment assessment for each year is performed as of October 1. The Company utilizes a combination of income and market approaches to estimate the fair value of its reporting units. The income approach utilizes estimates of discounted cash flows of the reporting units, which requires assumptions for the reporting units’ revenue growth rates, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) margins, terminal growth rate, discount rate, and incremental net working capital, all of which require significant management judgment. The market approach applies market multiples derived from the historical earnings data of selected guideline publicly-traded companies to the Company’s reporting units’ businesses, which requires significant management judgment. The guideline companies are first screened by industry group and then further narrowed based on the reporting units’ business descriptions, markets served, competitors, EBITDA margins and revenue size. Market multiples are then selected from within the range of these guideline companies’ multiples based on the subject reporting unit. The Company compares a weighted average of the output from the income and market approaches to the carrying value of each reporting unit. The Company also compares the aggregate estimated fair value of its reporting units to the estimated fair value of its total market capitalization. The assumptions in the income and market approach are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value hierarchy (described in “Fair Value Measurements,” below). The Company based its fair value estimates on assumptions it believes to be reasonable but which are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. A change in these underlying assumptions would cause a change in the results of the tests and, as such, could cause fair value to be less than the carrying amounts and result in an impairment of goodwill in the future. Additionally, if actual results are not consistent with the estimates and assumptions or if there are significant changes to the Company’s planned strategy, it may cause fair value to be less than the carrying amounts and result in an impairment of goodwill in the future.

In connection with the Company's annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2023, the Company concluded that the goodwill was not impaired as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the sales and marketing reporting units exceeded their carrying value by 19.1% and 6.8%, respectively, as of October 1, 2023. The Company determined that no additional goodwill impairment occurred through December 31, 2023.

In connection with the Company's annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2022, the Company’s sales and marketing reporting units were written down to their respective fair values, resulting in zero excess fair value over their carrying values. The Company recognized $1,275.7 million and $91.8 million impairment charges in the sales and marketing reporting units, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2022, which has been reflected in “Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets” in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income. While there was no single determinative event or factor, the consideration of the weight of evidence of several factors that culminated during the fourth quarter of 2022 led the Company to conclude that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the sales and marketing reporting units were below their carrying values. These factors included: (a) sustained decline in the Company’s share price; (b) challenges in the labor market and continued inflationary pressures; and (c) an increase to the discount rate as a result of the recent increases in interest rates which adversely affected the results of the quantitative impairment tests.

The uncertainty and volatility in the economic environment in which the Company operates could have an impact on the Company's future growth and could result in future impairment charges. There is no assurance that actual future earnings, cash flows or other assumptions for the reporting units will not significantly decline from these projections.

In connection with the Company's annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2021, the Company concluded that the goodwill was not impaired for the year ended December 31, 2021. The fair value of the sales and marketing reporting units exceeded their carrying value by 23.8% and 41.6%, respectively, as of October 1, 2021.

Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets

The Company’s indefinite-lived intangible assets are its sales and marketing trade names. Intangible assets with indefinite useful lives are not amortized but tested annually, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, for impairment or more often if events occur or

65


circumstances change that would create a triggering event. The Company has the option to perform a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset’s fair value is less than its carrying value before performing a quantitative impairment test. The Company tests its indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment using a relief from royalty method by comparing the estimated fair values of the indefinite-lived intangible assets with the carrying values. The estimates used in the determination of fair value are subjective in nature and involve the use of significant assumptions. These estimates and assumptions include revenue growth rates, terminal growth rate, discount rates and royalty rate, all of which require significant management judgment. The assumptions are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value hierarchy. The Company based its fair value estimates on assumptions it believes to be reasonable, but which are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from the estimates.

In connection with the Company’s annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2023, the Company concluded that the indefinite-lived intangible assets were not impaired as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets related to the sales trade name exceeded its carrying value by 23.2% as of October 1, 2023. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset related to the marketing trade name exceeded its carrying value by 6.9% as of October 1, 2023.

During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the sales indefinite-lived trade name due to the deconsolidation of the Company’s European joint venture and the planned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses, which was determined to be held for sale. Additionally, during the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company determined a triggering event occurred and an impairment assessment was warranted for the marketing indefinite-lived trade name due to the planned divestitures of a collection of foodservice businesses.

As a result, the Company recognized a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $43.5 million related to its indefinite-lived sales trade name during the year ended December 31, 2023, which has been reflected in “Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets” in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets related to sales and marketing trade names exceeded their carrying value by 0.0% and 17.0%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2023.

In connection with the Company's annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2022, the Company concluded the carrying value of the indefinite-lived trade names in the sales and marketing reporting units exceeded their estimated fair values. As a result, the Company recognized non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $146.0 million and $59.0 million related to the Company’s indefinite-lived sales and marketing trade names, respectively, which has been reflected in “Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets” in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive (Loss) Income. While there was no single determinative event or factor, the factors that led to the impairment were the same circumstances outlined in the goodwill impairment discussion above.

In connection with the Company's annual quantitative impairment test effective as of October 1, 2021, the Company concluded that the indefinite-lived intangible assets were not impaired. The fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets related to sales and marketing trade names exceeded their carrying value by 65.0% and 33.3%, respectively.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets to be held and used, including finite-lived intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be fully recoverable. These events or changes in circumstances may include a significant deterioration of operating results, changes in business plans, or changes in anticipated future cash flows. If an impairment indicator is present, the Company evaluates recoverability by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If the assets are impaired, the impairment recognized is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the fair value of the assets. Fair value is generally determined by estimates of discounted cash flows. The discount rate used in any estimate of discounted cash flows would be the rate required for a similar investment of like risk. Noimpairment related to the Company’s long-lived assets were recorded during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.

Contingent Consideration

Certain of the Company’s acquisitions include contingent consideration arrangements, which are generally based on the achievement of future financial performance. If it is determined the contingent consideration arrangements are not compensatory, the fair values of these contingent consideration arrangements are included as part of the purchase price of the acquisitions or divestitures on their respective transaction dates. For each transaction, the Company estimates the fair value of contingent consideration payments as part of the initial purchase price and records the estimated fair value of contingent consideration related to proceeds from

66


divestitures as an asset in “Other Assets” or related to purchases of businesses as a liability in “Other accrued expenses” or “Other long-term liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company reviews and assesses the estimated fair value of contingent consideration on a quarterly basis, and the updated fair value could differ materially from these initial estimates. Adjustments to the estimated fair value related to changes in all other unobservable inputs are reported in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

The portion of the cash settlement up to the acquisition date fair value of the contingent consideration is classified as “Contingent consideration payments” in cash flows from financing activities, and amounts paid in excess of the acquisition date fair value are classified as “Other accrued expenses and other liabilities” in cash flows from operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Leases

The Company has obligations under various real estate leases, equipment leases, and software license agreements. The Company assesses whether these arrangements are or contain leases at lease inception. Classification of the leases between financing and operating leases is determined by assessing whether the lease transfers ownership of the asset to the Company, the lease grants an option for the Company to purchase the underlying asset, the lease term is for the majority of the asset’s remaining economic life, or if the minimum lease payments equal or substantially exceed all of the leased asset’s fair market value. As of December 31, 2023, the Company's finance leases were not material. See Note 8, Leases, for further information regarding the Company’s operating leases.

Self-Insurance Liability

The Company maintains a high deductible program for workers’ compensation claims. Losses and liabilities relating to workers’ compensation claims and employee medical claims are fully insured beyond the Company’s deductible limits. The Company’s estimated liabilities are not discounted and are based on information provided by third party administrators, combined with management’s judgment regarding a number of assumptions and factors, including the frequency and severity of claims, claims development history, case jurisdiction, applicable legislation and claims settlement practices.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue when control of promised goods or services are transferred to the client in an amount that reflects the consideration that the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for such goods or services. Substantially all of the Company’s contracts with clients involve the transfer of a service to the client, which represents a performance obligation that is satisfied over time because the client simultaneously receives and consumes the benefits of the services provided. In most cases, the contracts consist of a performance obligation that is comprised of a series of distinct services that are substantially the same and that have the same pattern of transfer (i.e., distinct days of service). For these contracts, the Company allocates the ratable portion of the consideration based on the services provided in each period of service to such period.

Revenues related to the sales segment are primarily recognized in the form of commissions, fee-for-service, or on a cost-plus basis for providing headquarter relationship management, analytics, insights and intelligence services, administrative services, retail services, retailer client relationships and in-store media programs, and digital technology solutions (which include business intelligence solutions, e-commerce services, and content services).

Marketing segment revenues are primarily recognized in the form of fee-for-service (including retainer fees, fees charged to clients based on hours incurred, project-based fees, or fees for executing in-person consumer engagements or experiences, which engagements or experiences the Company refers to as “events”), commissions, or on a cost-plus basis for providing experiential marketing, shopper and consumer marketing services, private label development and digital, social, and media services.

The Company disaggregates revenues from contracts with clients by reportable segment. Revenues within each segment are further disaggregated between brand-centric services and retail-centric services. Brand-centric services are centered on providing

67


solutions to support manufacturers’ sales and marketing strategies. Retail-centric services are centered on providing solutions to retailers. Disaggregated revenues were as follows:

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales brand-centric services

$

1,362,612

 

 

$

1,364,673

 

 

$

1,292,639

 

Sales retail-centric services

 

1,082,403

 

 

 

1,142,344

 

 

 

1,031,245

 

Total sales revenues

 

2,445,015

 

 

 

2,507,017

 

 

 

2,323,884

 

Marketing brand-centric services

 

545,243

 

 

 

559,218

 

 

 

554,447

 

Marketing retail-centric services

 

1,234,588

 

 

 

983,507

 

 

 

723,967

 

Total marketing revenues

 

1,779,831

 

 

 

1,542,725

 

 

 

1,278,414

 

Total revenues

$

4,224,846

 

 

$

4,049,742

 

 

$

3,602,298

 

The Company is party to certain client contracts that include variable consideration, whereby the ultimate consideration is contingent on future events such as the client’s sales to retailers, hours worked, event count, costs incurred, and performance incentive bonuses. For commission-based service contracts, the consideration received from the client is variable because the Company earns an agreed upon percentage of the client’s sales to retailers, which is agreed upon on a manufacturer-by-manufacturer basis. Revenues are recognized for the commission earned during the applicable reporting period. The Company generally earns commission revenues from headquarter relationship management, analytics, insights and intelligence, e-commerce, administration, private label development and retail services arrangements. As part of these arrangements, the Company provides a variety of services to consumer goods manufacturers in order to improve the manufacturer’s sales at retailers. This includes primarily outsourced sales, business development, category and space management, relationship management, and sales strategy services. In exchange for these services, the Company earns an agreed upon percentage of its client’s sales to retailers, which is agreed upon on a manufacturer-by-manufacturer basis.

For service contracts whereby the client is charged a fee per hour incurred or fee per event completed, revenues are recognized over time as actual hours are incurred or as events are completed, respectively. For service contracts with a cost-plus arrangement, revenues are recognized on a gross basis over time for a given period based on the actual costs incurred plus a fixed mark-up fee that is negotiated on a client-by-client basis.

For certain contracts with clients, the Company is not exposedentitled to significant risks on such accounts.additional fees upon meeting specific performance goals or thresholds, which are referred to as bonus revenues. Bonus revenues are estimated and are recognized as revenues as the related services are performed for the client.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The variability of the consideration for the services transferred during a reporting period is typically resolved by the end of the reporting period. However, for certain client contracts, the Company is required to estimate the variable consideration for the services that have been transferred to the client during the reporting period. The Company considerstypically estimates the variable consideration based on the expected value method. Estimates are based on historical experience and current facts known during the reporting period. The Company only recognizes revenues related to variable consideration if it is probable that a significant reversal of revenues recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. When such probable threshold is not satisfied, the Company will constrain some or all short-term investmentsof the variable consideration and the constrained variable consideration will not be recognized as revenues. The Company records an adjustment to revenue for differences between estimated revenues and the amounts ultimately invoiced to the client. Adjustments to revenue during the current period related to services transferred during prior periods were not material during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021.

The Company has contracts that include fixed consideration such as a fee per project or a fixed monthly fee. For contracts with a fee per project, revenues are recognized over time using an original maturityinput method such as hours worked that reasonably depicts the Company’s performance in transferring control of three monthsthe services to the client. The Company determined that the input method represents a reasonable method to measure the satisfaction of the performance obligation to the client. For contracts with a fixed monthly fee, revenues are recognized using a time-based measure resulting in a straight-line revenue recognition. A time-based measure was determined to represent a reasonable method to measure the satisfaction of the performance obligation to the client because the Company has a stand ready obligation to make itself available to provide services upon the client’s request or the client receives the benefit from the Company’s services evenly over the contract period.

The Company evaluates each client contract individually in accordance with the applicable accounting guidance to determine whether the Company acts as a principal (whereby the Company would present revenues on a gross basis), or as an agent (whereby the Company would present revenues on a net basis). While the Company primarily acts as a principal in its arrangements and reports revenues on a gross basis, the Company will occasionally act as an agent and accordingly presents revenues on a net basis. For

68


example, for certain advertising arrangements, the Company’s clients purchase media content in advance, and the Company does not take on any risk of recovering its cost to acquire the media content. As a result, the Company determined it acts as the agent in these arrangements and records revenues and their related costs on a net basis. However, in cases where media content is not purchased in advance by its clients, the Company records such revenues and its related costs on a gross basis, as it bears the risk of recovering the costs to acquire the revenues related to such media content and it is responsible for fulfillment of the services thereunder.

Substantially all of the Company’s contracts with its clients either have a contract term that is less than one year with options for renewal and/or can be canceled by either party upon 30 to 120 days’ notice. For the purpose of disclosing the transaction price allocated to remaining unsatisfied performance obligations or partially satisfied performance obligations, the Company elected policies to: (1) exclude contracts with a contract term of one year or less and (2) exclude contracts with variable consideration that is allocated entirely to a wholly unsatisfied performance obligation or to a wholly unsatisfied promise to transfer a distinct service that forms part of a single performance obligation when purchasedthat performance obligation qualifies as a series of remaining performance obligations. After applying these policy elections, the Company determined that it does not have a significant amount of fixed consideration allocated to remaining performance obligations for contracts with a contract term that exceeds one year.

When the Company satisfies its performance obligation and recognizes revenues accordingly, the Company has a present and unconditional right to payment and records the receivable from clients in “Accounts receivable” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s general payment terms are short-term in duration and the Company does not adjust the promised amount of consideration for the effects of a significant financing component.

Contract liabilities represent deferred revenues which are cash payments that are received in advance of the Company’s satisfaction of the applicable obligation(s) and are included in “Deferred revenues” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Deferred revenues are recognized as revenues when the related services are performed for the client. Revenues recognized during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, included $21.5 million, $34.3 million, and $37.2 million of deferred revenues from the respective prior years.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities, and for operating losses and tax credit carry- forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using the currently enacted tax rates that apply to taxable income in effect for the years in which those tax assets are expected to be cash equivalents.realized or settled. The income tax provision (benefit) is computed on the pre-tax income (loss) of the entities located within each taxing jurisdiction based on current tax law. A valuation allowance for deferred tax assets is recorded to the extent that the ultimate realization of the deferred tax assets is not considered more likely than not. The Company had $951,060 in cashbelieves its deferred tax assets are more likely than not to be realized based on historical and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2019.

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

The Company’s portfolio of marketable securitiesprojected future results, or a valuation allowance is comprised solely of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16)established.

Realization of the InvestmentCompany’s deferred tax assets is principally dependent upon its achievement of future taxable income, the estimation of which requires significant management judgment. These judgments regarding future profitability may change due to many factors, including future market conditions and the Company’s ability to successfully execute its business plans. These changes, if any, may require adjustments to deferred tax asset balances and deferred income tax expense.

Equity-based Compensation

The Company Act, with a maturitymeasures the cost of 185 days or less, classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presentednon-employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the balance sheet atmeasurement date fair value consistent with the vesting of the awards and measuring the fair value of these units at the end of each reportingmeasurement period. GainsThe cost is recognized over the requisite service period. The Company’s equity-based compensation is based on grant date fair value determined utilizing the Backsolve Option Pricing Method (“OPM”) for the Topco Common Series C Units and losses resultinga combination of the OPM and Monte Carlo valuation model for the Topco Common Series C-2 Units.

Warrant Liability

The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. The assessment considers whether the changewarrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s Common Stock and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment,

69


which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and on the date of issuance and remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date thereafter.

For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance and remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized in “Changes in fair value of these securities is included in gain on marketable securities (net), dividends and interest, heldwarrant liability” in the Trust AccountConsolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Based on the availability of sufficient observable information, the Company determines the fair value of the liability classified private placement warrants by approximating the value with the price of the public warrants at the respective period end, which is inherently less subjective and judgmental given it is based on observable inputs.

Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income

The Company’s comprehensive (loss) income includes net income (loss) as well as foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax. Unrealized foreign currency exchange gains and losses on certain intercompany transactions that are of a long-term investment nature (i.e., settlement is not planned or anticipated in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of marketable securities heldforeseeable future) are also recorded in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income in stockholders’ equity.

Fair Value of Financial InstrumentsMeasurements

FairThe Company defines fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale offrom selling an asset or paid forto transfer of a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tierWhen determining the fair value measurements for assets and liabilities, which are required to be recorded at fair value, the Company considers the principal or most advantageous market in which the Company would transact and the market-based risk measurements or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, such as risks inherent in valuation techniques, transfer restrictions and credit risk. Fair value is estimated by applying the following hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuringto measure fair value.


Thevalue into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) andupon the lowest prioritylevel of input that is available and significant to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:

the fair value measurement:

Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets; 

Level 1

Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 defined as

Observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets oridentical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar instrumentsassets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are not active; andobservable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 defined as

Inputs that are generally unobservable inputsand typically reflect management’s estimate of assumptions that market participants would use in which littlepricing the asset or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such asliability.

The valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of all other financial instruments, all of which have counterparties with high credit ratings, were valued based on quoted market prices or model driven valuations using significant inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data.

Variable Interest Entities and Investments

In accordance with the guidance for the consolidation of a variable interest entity (“VIE”), the Company analyzes its variable interests, including loans, leases, guarantees, and equity investments, to determine if the entity in which it has a variable interest is a VIE. The Company’s analysis includes both quantitative and qualitative considerations. The Company bases its quantitative analysis on the forecasted cash flows of the entity, and its qualitative analysis on its review of the design of the entity, its organizational structure including decision-making ability and financial agreements. The Company also uses its quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine if it is the primary beneficiary of the VIE, and if such determination is made, it includes the accounts of the VIE in its consolidated financial statements.

Impact of the War in Ukraine

The Company recorded pretax charges of $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2022, primarily consisting of its proportionate share of the net investment in an indirect interest in Russian agencies in “Loss on divestitures” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. This relates to the Company’s minority-interest holding in a European joint venture that has a minority interest in a European company that has majority-ownership interests in local agencies in Russia. As of December 31, 2023,

70


the European joint venture has completely written off its investment in this European company and no amounts pertaining to this European company remain on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Accounting Standards Recently Issued but Not Yet Adopted by the Company

In December 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires entities to expand their existing income tax disclosures, specifically related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2025, with early adoption permitted. The new standard is expected to be applied prospectively, but retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-09 on the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires entities to disclose incremental segment information on an annual and interim basis, including significant segment expenses and measures of profit or loss that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”). The standard is effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2024 and interim periods within fiscal year 2025, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2023-07 on the consolidated financial statements and related disclosures and expects to adopt the new standard using a retrospective approach.

All other new accounting pronouncements issued, but not yet effective or adopted have been deemed to be not relevant to the Company and, accordingly, are not expected to have a material impact once adopted.

2. Acquisitions, Divestitures and Deconsolidation

2023 Foodservice Businesses Held for Sale

The Company has included businesses classified as held for sale within its continuing operations as their dispositions do not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results.

As of December 31, 2023, certain assets and liabilities of a collection of foodservice businesses were classified as held for sale in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Other accrued expenses” on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheet. The collection of foodservice businesses were sold during the first quarter of 2024. As part of the sale, the foodservice businesses were combined with an entity owned by the buyer, with the Company receiving approximately $91.0 million, less estimated working capital adjustments and an ongoing 7.5% stake in the entity with which the foodservice businesses will be combined.

The following table presents the carrying amounts of the major classes of the disposal group's assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2023:

(in thousands)

 

December 31, 2023

 

Carrying amounts of major classes of assets

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

$

13,095

 

Prepaid and other current assets

 

 

2,128

 

Total current assets

 

 

15,223

 

Property and equipment

 

 

1,043

 

Goodwill

 

 

15,200

 

Other intangibles

 

 

12,719

 

Other noncurrent assets

 

 

1,122

 

Total assets

 

$

45,307

 

Carrying amounts of major classes of liabilities

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

1,555

 

Accrued compensation and benefits

 

 

1,475

 

Other accrued expenses

 

 

466

 

Deferred revenues

 

 

1,810

 

Other noncurrent liabilities

 

 

549

 

Total liabilities

 

$

5,855

 

 

 

 

 

Total net assets of the disposal group classified as held for sale

 

$

39,452

 

71


2023 Deconsolidation of ASL

On November 30, 2023 the Company reduced its equity interest in Advantage Smollan Limited (“ASL”), its European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to a minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash. The Company also removed certain participating rights with ASL related to capital allocation and certain of the Company’s decision making rights, resulting in a loss of control. Therefore, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 810 ("ASC 810"), Consolidation, ASL was deconsolidated from the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Effective December 1, 2023, the Company’s investment in ASL is accounted for under the equity method of accounting, with the investment reported in “Investments in unconsolidated affiliates” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and equity income (loss) reported in “Income from unconsolidated investments” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Transactions between the Company and ASL are considered to be related-party transactions from the date of deconsolidation.

The fair value of the Company's continuing investment in ASL of $91.9 million was determined at the date of deconsolidation, recorded within “Investments in unconsolidated subsidiaries” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and is assessed for impairment at each reporting period. The estimated fair value of the underlying business was determined based on a combination of the income and market approaches. The income approach utilizes estimates of discounted cash flows for the underlying business, which requires assumptions for growth rates, EBITDA margins, terminal growth rate, discount rate, and incremental net working capital, all of which require significant management judgment. The market approach applies market multiples derived from historical earnings data of selected guideline publicly traded companies. The Company compared a weighted average of the output from the income and market approaches to compute the fair value of ASL. The assumptions in the income and market approach are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 measurements within the fair value hierarchy (described in Note 1.) The difference between the carrying value of the assets and liabilities of ASL that were deconsolidated and the fair value of the continuing investment, as determined at the date of deconsolidation, was $58.9 million, before tax, and this gain on deconsolidation is reflected within the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the year ended December 31, 2023. As a result of the ASL deconsolidation, the Company determined a triggering event occurred for the sales indefinite-lived trade name and a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $43.5 million was recorded. As part of the Company derecognizing ASL, the Company attributed $18.2 million of the Sales reporting unit goodwill to that business, which was derecognized and reflected in the calculated gain on sale. The Company determined that the remaining Sales reporting unit goodwill was not impaired.

ASL is party to transactions with the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries entered into in the normal course of business; these transactions include corporate expenses for services benefiting ASL. Up to the date of the deconsolidation, these transactions were eliminated on consolidation and had no impact on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. After deconsolidating ASL, these transactions are treated as third-party transactions in the Company’s financial statements. The amount of these related-party transactions is included within Note 14, Related Parties.

2023 Divestitures

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized a loss on the sale of businesses of $19.1 million, as a component of “Loss on divestitures” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. The Company determined the sale of the businesses did not meet the criteria for classification as discontinued operations. The Company received $21.1 million of proceeds, which are net of transaction fees and holdbacks.

2022 Acquisitions

The Company acquired four businesses during the year ended December 31, 2022. The acquisitions were accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. As such, the purchase consideration for each acquired business was allocated to the acquired tangible and intangible assets and liabilities assumed based upon their respective fair values. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the business combinations were recorded on the Company’s financial statements as of the acquisition date based upon the estimated fair value at such date. The excess of the purchase consideration over the estimated fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The results of operations of each acquired business has been included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income since its respective date of acquisition.

The aggregate purchase price for the acquisitions referenced above was $75.5 million, which includes $74.2 million paid in cash, $0.5 million recorded as contingent consideration liabilities, and $0.8 million recorded as holdback amounts. Contingent consideration payments are determined based on future financial performance and payment obligations (as defined in the applicable purchase agreement) and are recorded at fair value. The maximum potential payment outcome related to the acquisitions is $1.6 million. Holdback amounts are used to withhold a portion of the initial purchase price payment until certain post-closing conditions are satisfied and are typically settled within 24 months of the acquisition. The goodwill related to the acquisitions represented the

72


value paid for the assembled workforce, geographic presence, and expertise. Of the resulting goodwill relating to these acquisitions, $1.0 million is deductible for tax purposes.

The fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities of the acquisitions less post-close adjustments related to working capital completed during the year ended December 31, 2022, as of the applicable acquisition dates, are as follows:

(in thousands)

 

 

 

Consideration:

 

 

 

Cash

 

$

74,206

 

Holdback

 

 

810

 

Fair value of contingent consideration

 

 

510

 

Total consideration

 

$

75,526

 

Recognized amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed:

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

$

6,817

 

Other assets

 

 

3,446

 

Identifiable intangible assets

 

 

25,546

 

Total assets

 

 

35,809

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

 

7,363

 

Deferred tax liabilities and other

 

 

8,546

 

Total liabilities

 

 

15,909

 

 

 

 

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

1,987

 

 

 

 

 

Noncontrolling interest

 

 

974

 

Total identifiable net assets

 

 

16,939

 

Goodwill arising from acquisitions

 

$

58,587

 

The identifiable intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. The fair value and estimated useful lives of the intangible assets acquired are as follows:

(in thousands)

 

Amount

 

 

Weighted
Average
Useful Life

Client relationships

 

$

24,413

 

 

6 years

Trade names

 

 

1,133

 

 

5 years

Total identifiable intangible assets

 

$

25,546

 

 

 

The operating results of the businesses acquired during the year ended December 31, 2022 contributed total revenues of $35.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company has determined that the presentation of net income (loss) from the date of acquisition is impracticable due to the integration of the operations upon acquisition.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred $0.8 million in transaction costs related to the acquisitions described above. These costs have been included in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

2021 Acquisitions

The Company acquired six businesses during the year ended December 31, 2021. The acquisitions were accounted for under the acquisition method of accounting. As such, the purchase consideration for each acquired business was allocated to the acquired tangible and intangible assets and liabilities assumed based upon their respective fair values. Assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the business combination were recorded on the Company’s financial statements as of the acquisition date based upon the estimated fair value at such date. The excess of the purchase consideration over the estimated fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. The allocation of the excess purchase price was based upon preliminary estimates and assumptions. The results of operations of each acquired business has been included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income since its respective date of acquisition.

73


The aggregate purchase price for the acquisitions referenced above was $76.0 million, which includes $42.7 million paid in cash, $19.8 million recorded as contingent consideration liabilities, and $13.5 million recorded as holdback amounts. Contingent consideration payments are determined based on future financial performance and payment obligations (as defined in the applicable purchase agreement) and are recorded at fair value. The maximum potential payment outcome related to the acquisitions is $71.4 million. Holdback amounts are used to withhold a portion of the initial purchase price payment until certain post-closing conditions are satisfied and are typically settled within 24 months of the acquisition. The goodwill related to the acquisitions represented the value paid for the assembled workforce, geographic presence, and expertise. Of the resulting goodwill relating to these acquisitions, $14.3 million is deductible for tax purposes.

The fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities of the acquisitions completed during the year ended December 31, 2021, at the respective acquisition dates, are as follows:

(in thousands)

 

 

 

Consideration

 

 

 

Cash

 

$

42,668

 

Holdbacks

 

 

13,464

 

Fair value of contingent consideration

 

 

19,832

 

Total consideration

 

$

75,964

 

Recognized amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed:

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

$

12,677

 

Other assets

 

 

4,315

 

Property and equipment

 

 

998

 

Identifiable intangible assets

 

 

35,571

 

Total assets

 

 

53,561

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

 

21,206

 

Redeemable noncontrolling interest

 

 

1,793

 

Total identifiable net assets

 

 

30,562

 

Goodwill arising from acquisitions

 

$

45,402

 

The identifiable intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. The fair value and estimated useful lives of the intangible assets acquired are as follows:

(in thousands)

 

Amount

 

 

Weighted
Average
Useful Life

Client relationships

 

$

27,387

 

 

7 years

Trade names

 

 

5,084

 

 

5 years

Developed technology

 

 

3,100

 

 

7 years

Total identifiable intangible assets

 

$

35,571

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The operating results of the businesses acquired during the year ended December 31, 2021 contributed total revenues of $75.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company has determined that the presentation of net income (loss) from the date of acquisition is impracticable due to the integration of the operations upon acquisition.

During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $1.6 million, in transaction costs related to the acquisitions described above. These costs have been included in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

74


3. Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Changes in goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, are as follows:

 

 

Sales

 

 

Marketing

 

 

Total

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross carrying amount as of January 1, 2022

 

$

2,144,771

 

 

$

713,233

 

 

$

2,858,004

 

Accumulated impairment charge

 

 

(652,000

)

 

 

 

 

 

(652,000

)

Balance at January 1, 2022

 

 

1,492,771

 

 

 

713,233

 

 

 

2,206,004

 

Acquisitions

 

 

5,732

 

 

 

52,855

 

 

 

58,587

 

Measurement period adjustments

 

 

(392

)

 

 

 

 

 

(392

)

Impairment charge

 

 

(1,275,719

)

 

 

(91,804

)

 

 

(1,367,523

)

Foreign exchange translation effects

 

 

(8,727

)

 

 

 

 

 

(8,727

)

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

 

213,665

 

 

 

674,284

 

 

 

887,949

 

Measurement period adjustments

 

 

350

 

 

 

 

 

 

350

 

Divestitures

 

 

(2,727

)

 

 

 

 

 

(2,727

)

Foodservice businesses held for sale

 

 

(6,900

)

 

 

(8,300

)

 

 

(15,200

)

Deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

(18,193

)

 

 

 

 

 

(18,193

)

Foreign exchange translation effects

 

 

3,212

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,212

 

Balance at December 31, 2023

 

$

189,407

 

 

$

665,984

 

 

$

855,391

 

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized non-cash goodwill impairment charges of $1,275.7 million and $91.8 million related to the Company’s sales and marketing reporting units, respectively, as a result of the Company’s annual evaluation of goodwill impairment test (as further described in Note 1 above). Accumulated impairment losses to goodwill were $2,019.5 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The following tables set forth information for intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2023

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

Weighted Average Useful Life

 

Gross Carrying
Value

 

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

 

Accumulated
Impairment Charges

 

 

Net Carrying
Value

 

Finite-lived intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Client relationships

 

14 years

 

$

2,335,872

 

 

$

1,444,375

 

 

$

 

 

$

891,497

 

Trade names

 

10 years

 

 

88,600

 

 

 

53,493

 

 

 

 

 

 

35,107

 

Developed technology

 

7 years

 

 

3,100

 

 

 

1,070

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,030

 

Total finite-lived intangible assets(1)

 

 

2,427,572

 

 

 

1,498,938

 

 

 

 

 

 

928,634

 

Indefinite-lived intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trade names

 

 

 

 

1,480,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

828,500

 

 

 

651,500

 

Total other intangible assets

 

 

 

$

3,907,572

 

 

$

1,498,938

 

 

$

828,500

 

 

$

1,580,134

 

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2022

 

(amounts in thousands)

 

Weighted Average Useful Life

 

Gross Carrying
Value

 

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

 

Accumulated
Impairment Charges

 

 

Net Carrying
Value

 

Finite-lived intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Client relationships

 

14 years

 

$

2,488,802

 

 

$

1,338,381

 

 

$

 

 

$

1,150,421

 

Trade names

 

10 years

 

 

97,009

 

 

 

47,986

 

 

 

 

 

 

49,023

 

Developed technology

 

6 years

 

 

7,500

 

 

 

4,441

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,059

 

Total finite-lived intangible assets(1)

 

 

2,593,311

 

 

 

1,390,808

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,202,503

 

Indefinite-lived intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trade names

 

 

 

 

1,480,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

785,000

 

 

 

695,000

 

Total other intangible assets

 

$

4,073,311

 

 

$

1,390,808

 

 

$

785,000

 

 

$

1,897,503

 

75


(1) Intangible assets, along with the related accumulated amortization, are removed from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.the table above at the end of the fiscal year they become fully amortized.

As of December 31, 2023, estimated future amortization expenses of the Company’s finite-lived intangible assets are as follows:

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024

 

$

182,811

 

2025

 

 

177,061

 

2026

 

 

173,552

 

2027

 

 

171,862

 

2028

 

 

136,426

 

Thereafter

 

 

86,922

 

Total amortization expense

 

$

928,634

 

The Company records all intangible assets at their respective fair values and assesses the estimated useful lives of the assets at the time of acquisition. Client relationships were valued using the multi-period excess earnings method under the income approach. The values of client relationships are generally regarded as the estimated economic benefit derived from the incremental revenues and related cash flows as a direct result of the client relationships in place versus having to replicate them. Further, the Company evaluated the legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic or other factors in determining the useful life. Trade names were valued using the relief-from-royalty method under the income approach. This method relies on the premise that, in lieu of ownership, a company would be willing to pay a royalty to obtain access to the use and benefits of the trade names. The Company has considered its sales and marketing trade names related to the 2014 Topco Acquisition to be indefinite, as there is no foreseeable limit on the period of time over which such trade names are expected to contribute to the cash flows of the reporting entity. Further, the Company evaluated legal, regulatory, contractual, competitive, economic and other factors in determining the useful life.

In some circumstances,connection with the acquisitions during the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recorded intangible assets of $25.6 million. Amortization expenses included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 were $196.4 million, $200.8 million, and $198.9 million, respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized a non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $43.5 million related to the Company's indefinite-lived sales trade name, in connection with the Company’s deconsolidation of its European joint venture and planned disposition of its foodservice businesses (as further described in Notes 1 and 2 above). During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company recognized non-cash intangible asset impairment charges of $146.0 million and $59.0 million related to the Company's indefinite-lived sales and marketing trade names, respectively, in connection with the Company’s annual intangible asset impairment test on October 1, 2022 (as further described in Note 1 above). No impairment related to the Company’s intangible assets was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2021.

During fiscal year 2022, the Company concluded the impact of challenges in the labor market and continued inflationary pressures was an indicator that impairment may exist related to its client relationship intangible assets and as a result, the Company performed a recoverability test and determined that there was no impairment.

4. Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

Assets held for sale

 

$

45,307

 

 

$

4,959

 

 

Prepaid expenses

 

 

43,767

 

 

 

46,547

 

 

Inventory and supplies

 

 

29,731

 

 

 

78,273

 

 

Interest rate caps

 

 

26,279

 

 

 

 

 

Other receivables

 

 

10,898

 

 

 

6,604

 

 

Prepaid income taxes

 

 

2,889

 

 

 

7,385

 

 

Other current assets

 

 

7,069

 

 

 

5,708

 

 

Total prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

$

165,940

 

 

$

149,476

 

 

76


Inventory is stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Costs are determined on the first-in, first-out basis. The Company records write-downs of inventories which are obsolete or in excess of anticipated demand or net realizable value based on a consideration of marketability, historical sales and demand forecasts which consider assumptions about future demand and market conditions.

Other assets consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

$

35,765

 

 

$

61,744

 

Interest rate caps

 

 

65

 

 

 

47,493

 

Deposits

 

 

3,642

 

 

 

4,596

 

Workers' compensation receivable

 

 

3,941

 

 

 

3,525

 

Other long-term assets

 

 

3,048

 

 

 

2,164

 

Total other assets

 

$

46,461

 

 

$

119,522

 

5. Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consist of the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Software

 

$

121,403

 

 

$

129,329

 

Computer hardware

 

 

61,067

 

 

 

55,736

 

Leasehold improvements

 

 

19,222

 

 

 

20,860

 

Furniture, fixtures, and other

 

 

4,995

 

 

 

10,473

 

Total property and equipment

 

 

206,687

 

 

 

216,398

 

Less: accumulated depreciation

 

 

(132,777

)

 

 

(145,500

)

Total property and equipment, net

 

$

73,910

 

 

$

70,898

 

Depreciation expense was $28.3 million, $32.2 million, and $41.1 million related to property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.

6. Other Liabilities

Other accrued expenses consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accrued interest payable

 

$

35,637

 

 

$

33,168

 

Contingent consideration

 

 

18,355

 

 

 

1,674

 

Operating lease liabilities

 

 

15,204

 

 

 

21,584

 

Taxes

 

 

10,948

 

 

 

7,286

 

General liability insurance reserve

 

 

12,926

 

 

 

12,937

 

Client deposits

 

 

11,516

 

 

 

16,521

 

Rebates due to retailers

 

 

11,432

 

 

 

12,693

 

Client refunds related to the Take 5 Matter

 

 

9,416

 

 

 

9,416

 

Employee medical self-insurance reserves

 

 

8,864

 

 

 

10,007

 

Liabilities held for sale

 

 

5,855

 

 

 

 

Holdbacks

 

 

 

 

 

2,247

 

Other accrued expenses

 

 

12,862

 

 

 

5,640

 

Total other accrued expenses

 

$

153,015

 

 

$

133,173

 

77


Other long-term liabilities consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease liabilities

 

$

35,441

 

 

$

56,371

 

Workers' compensation

 

 

35,025

 

 

 

32,377

 

Contingent consideration

 

 

117

 

 

 

18,660

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

5,664

 

 

 

3,146

 

Total other long-term liabilities

 

$

76,247

 

 

$

110,554

 

Under the workers’ compensation programs, the estimated liability for claims incurred but unpaid at December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $63.0 million and $57.2 million, respectively. These amounts include reported claims as well as claims incurred but not reported. As of December 31, 2023, $28.0 million and $35.0 million of this liability was included in the “Accrued compensation and benefits” and “Other long-term liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, $24.8 million and $32.4 million of this liability was included in the “Accrued compensation and benefits” and “Other long-term liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, respectively. In connection with its deductible limits, the Company has standby letters-of-credit in the amount of $44.1 million and $44.5 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $16.0 million surety bond as of such years supporting the estimated unpaid claim liabilities.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) (as further described in Note 15, Income Taxes) provides for deferred payment of the employer portion of social security taxes between March 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020, with 50% of the deferred amount due December 31, 2021 and the remaining 50% due December 31, 2022. The Company began deferring payment of the employer share of the social security taxes in April 2020. The Company repaid $23.8 million and $24.0 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively, and as a result of such payments, no payments were made during the year ended December 31, 2023 and no amounts were owed as of December 31, 2023.

Contingent Consideration Liabilities

Each reporting period, the Company measures the fair value of its contingent liabilities by evaluating the significant unobservable inputs and probability weightings using Monte Carlo simulations. Any resulting decreases or increases in the fair value result in a corresponding gain or loss reported in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. The Company has reassessed the fair value of contingent consideration based on the achievement of performance targets as defined in the respective purchase agreements and it resulted in a fair value adjustment of a $10.4 million loss that was included in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. As of December 31, 2023, the maximum potential payment outcomes were $50.9 million.

The following table summarizes the changes in the carrying value of the contingent consideration liabilities:

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Beginning of the period

 

$

20,334

 

 

$

58,366

 

Fair value of acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

510

 

Changes in fair value

 

 

10,362

 

 

 

4,774

 

Payments

 

 

(11,941

)

 

 

(42,711

)

Foreign exchange translation effects

 

 

(283

)

 

 

(605

)

End of the period

 

$

18,472

 

 

$

20,334

 

78


7. Debt

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Term Loan Facility

 

$

1,149,057

 

 

$

1,298,500

 

Senior Secured Notes

 

 

743,000

 

 

 

775,000

 

Government loans for COVID-19 relief and other

 

 

5,398

 

 

 

5,687

 

Total long-term debt

 

 

1,897,455

 

 

 

2,079,187

 

Less: current portion

 

 

13,580

 

 

 

13,991

 

Less: debt issuance costs

 

 

31,091

 

 

 

42,377

 

Long-term debt, net of current portion

 

$

1,852,784

 

 

$

2,022,819

 

Senior Secured Credit Facilities

Effective October 28, 2020, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Borrower”), entered into (i) a senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of up to $400.0 million, subject to borrowing base capacity (as amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Revolving Credit Facility”) and (ii) a secured first lien term loan credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $1.325 billion (as amended and/or/restated from time to time, the “Term Loan Facility” and together with the Revolving Credit Facility, the “Senior Secured Credit Facilities”).

Revolving Credit Facility

The Revolving Credit Facility provides for revolving loans and letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to $500.0 million, subject to borrowing base capacity. Letters of credit are limited to the lesser of (a) $150.0 million and (b) the aggregate unused amount of commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility then in effect. Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility may be denominated in either U.S. dollars or Canadian dollars. Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”), will act as administrative agent and collateral agent. The Revolving Credit Facility matures five years after the date the Company enters into the Company's Revolving Credit Facility. The Borrower may use borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility to fund working capital and for other general corporate purposes, including permitted acquisitions and other investments.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are limited by borrowing base calculations based on the sum of specified percentages of eligible accounts receivable plus specified percentages of qualified cash, minus the amount of any applicable reserves. Borrowings will bear interest at a floating rate, which can be either an adjusted Term SOFR or Alternative Currency Spread rate plus an applicable margin or, at the Borrower’s option, a base rate or Canadian Prime Rate plus an applicable margin. The applicable margins for the Revolving Credit Facility are 1.75%, 2.00% or 2.25%, with respect to Term SOFR or Alternative Currency Spread rate borrowings and 0.75%, 1.00%, or 1.25%, with respect to base rate or Canadian Prime Rate borrowings, in each case depending on average excess availability under the Revolving Credit Facility. The Borrower’s ability to draw under the Revolving Credit Facility or issue letters of credit thereunder will be conditioned upon, among other things, the Borrower’s delivery of prior written notice of a borrowing or issuance, as applicable, the Borrower’s ability to reaffirm the representations and warranties contained in the credit agreement governing the Revolving Credit Facility and the absence of any default or event of default thereunder.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are guaranteed by Karman Intermediate Corp. (“Holdings”) and all of the Borrower’s direct and indirect wholly owned material U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) and Canadian subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions, including exceptions based on immateriality thresholds of aggregate assets and revenues of Canadian subsidiaries) (the “Guarantors”). The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’, the Borrower’s and the Guarantors’ assets (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The Revolving Credit Facility has a first-priority lien on the current asset collateral and a second-priority lien on security interests in the fixed asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Notes and the Term Loan Facility discussed below), in each case, subject to other permitted liens.

The Revolving Credit Facility has the following fees: (i) an unused line fee of 0.375% or 0.250% per annum of the unused portion of the Revolving Credit Facility, depending on average excess availability under the Revolving Credit Facility; (ii) a letter of credit participation fee on the aggregate stated amount of each letter of credit equal to the applicable margin for adjusted Eurodollar rate loans, as applicable; and (iii) certain other customary fees and expenses of the lenders and agents thereunder.

79


The Revolving Credit Facility contains customary covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the Borrower’s ability and that of its subsidiaries to merge and consolidate with other companies, incur indebtedness, grant liens or security interests on assets, make acquisitions, loans, advances or investments, pay dividends, sell or otherwise transfer assets, optionally prepay or modify terms of any junior indebtedness, enter into transactions with affiliates or change its line of business. The Revolving Credit Facility will require the maintenance of a fixed charge coverage ratio (as set forth in the credit agreement governing the Revolving Credit Facility) of 1.00 to 1.00 at the end of each fiscal quarter when excess availability is less than the greater of $25.0 million and 10% of the lesser of the borrowing base and maximum borrowing capacity. Such fixed charge coverage ratio will be tested at the end of each quarter until such time as excess availability exceeds the level set forth above.

The Revolving Credit Facility provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events of default, the Borrower’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated and the lending commitments terminated. Such events of default include payment defaults to the lenders thereunder, material inaccuracies of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, corporate arrangement, winding-up, liquidation or similar proceedings, material money judgments, material pension-plan events, certain change of control events and other customary events of default.

On October 28, 2021, the Borrower and Holdings also entered into the First Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement (the “ABL Amendment”), which amended the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, dated October 28, 2020, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders from time-to-time party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent. The ABL Amendment was entered into by the Borrower to amend certain terms and provisions, including (i) reducing the interest rate floor for Eurocurrency rate loans from 0.50% to 0.00% and base rate loans from 1.50% to 1.00%, and (ii) updating the provisions by which U.S. Dollar LIBOR will eventually be replaced with SOFR or another interest rate benchmark to reflect the most recent standards and practices used in the industry. The ABL amendment was deemed to be a modification of the revolving credit facility for accounting purposes.

On December 2, 2022, the Borrower, Holdings and certain of the Borrower’s subsidiaries, entered into the Second Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement (the “Second Amendment”), which amends the ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders from time to time party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent, and the other parties thereto. The Second Amendment was entered into by the Borrower to amend certain terms and provisions of the Revolving Credit Facility, including, among other things: (i) increasing the aggregate amount of maximum revolving commitments available from $400 million to $500 million; (ii) replacing the Eurocurrency Rate interest rate metric with a metric based on Term SOFR (as defined in the Second Amendment), whereby applicable borrowings in United States dollars will bear interest at a floating rate based on Term SOFR plus an applicable margin; (iii) reducing each applicable interest rate pricing tier based on the Average Historical Excess Availability (as defined therein) with respect to Term SOFR borrowings, Alternative Currency borrowings, base rate borrowings and Canadian Prime Rate borrowings, in each case for each pricing tier by 0.25% per annum; and (iv) extending the scheduled maturity date of the borrowings to December 2, 2027.

Term Loan Facility

The Term Loan Facility consists of a term loan credit facility denominated in U.S. dollars in an aggregate outstanding principal amount of $1.149 billion. Borrowings under the Term Loan Facility amortize in equal quarterly installments in an amount equal to 1.00% per annum of the principal amount. Borrowings will bear interest at a floating rate of Term SOFR plus an applicable margin of 4.50% per annum, subject to additional spread adjustment on SOFR ranging from 0.11% to 0.26%.

The Borrower may voluntarily prepay loans or reduce commitments under the Term Loan Facility, in whole or in part, subject to minimum amounts, with prior notice but without premium or penalty. The Company voluntarily repurchased an aggregate of $136.2 million principal amount of its Term Loan Facility during the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company recognized a gain on the repurchase of $7.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, as a component of “Interest expense, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

The Borrower will be required to prepay the Term Loan Facility with 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain asset sales (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios) and subject to certain reinvestment rights, 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain debt issuances and 50% of excess cash flow (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios). The Borrower was not required to make any excess cash flow payment for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the Borrower did not make any other mandatory or voluntary prepayments of the Term Loan Facility for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The Borrower’s obligations under the Term Loan Facility are guaranteed by Holdings and the Guarantors. The Term Loan Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’, the Borrower’s and the Guarantors’ assets (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The Term Loan Facility has a first- priority lien on the fixed asset collateral (equal in priority with the liens securing the

80


Notes) and a second-priority lien on the current asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Revolving Credit Facility), in each case, subject to other permitted liens.

The Term Loan Facility contains certain customary negative covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the Borrower’s ability and that of its restricted subsidiaries to merge and consolidate with other companies, incur indebtedness, grant liens or security interests on assets, pay dividends or make other restricted payments, sell or otherwise transfer assets or enter into transactions with affiliates.

The Term Loan Facility provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events of default, the Company’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated. Such events of default will include payment defaults to the lenders thereunder, material inaccuracies of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, corporate arrangement, winding-up, liquidation or similar proceedings, material money judgments, change of control and other customary events of default.

On October 28, 2021, the Borrower, together Holdings and certain of the Borrower’s subsidiaries, entered into Amendment No. 1 to the First Lien Credit Agreement (the “First Lien Amendment”), which amended the Term Loan Facility, dated October 28, 2020, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, Bank of America, as administrative agent and collateral agent, each lender party from time to time thereto, and the other parties thereto. The First Lien Amendment was entered into by the Borrower to reduce the applicable interest rate on the term loan to 5.25% per annum. Additional terms and provisions amended include (i) resetting the period for six months following October 28, 2021 in which a 1.00% prepayment premium shall apply to any prepayment of the term loan in connection with certain repricing events, and (ii) updating the provisions by which U.S. Dollar LIBOR will eventually be replaced with SOFR or another interest rate benchmark to reflect the most recent standards and practices used in the industry. The First Lien Amendment was deemed to be a modification of the term loan facility for accounting purposes. In connection with the First Lien Amendment, the Company incurred $2.3 million of third-party fees and expenses and recognized $1.5 million of non-cash expense on the extinguishment of debt from write off of unamortized debt issuance costs which were recorded in "Interest expense, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income during the year ended December 31, 2021. In May 2023, the Company amended the Term Loan Facility to replace the U.S. Dollar LIBOR provisions with SOFR, effective June 30, 2023.

Senior Secured Notes

Effective as of October 28, 2020, Advantage Solutions FinCo LLC (“Finco”) issued $775.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2028 (the “Notes”). Substantially concurrently with the issuance of the Notes, Finco merged with and into Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. (the “Issuer”), with the Issuer continuing as the surviving entity and assuming the obligations of Finco. The Notes were sold to certain financial institutions and the Notes were then resold to certain non-U.S. persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act at a purchase price equal to 100% of their principal amount. The terms of the Notes are governed by an Indenture, dated as of October 28, 2020 (the “Indenture”), among Finco, the Issuer, the guarantors named therein (the “Notes Guarantors”) and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee and collateral agent.

Interest and maturity

Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15 and November 15 at a rate of 6.50% per annum, commencing on May 15, 2021. The Notes will mature on November 15, 2028.

Guarantees

The Notes are guaranteed by Holdings and each of the Issuer’s direct and indirect wholly owned material U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) and Canadian subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions, including exceptions based on immateriality thresholds of aggregate assets and revenues of Canadian subsidiaries) that is a borrower or guarantor under the Term Loan Facility.

Security and ranking

The Notes and the related guarantees are the general, senior secured obligations of the Issuer and the Notes Guarantors, are secured on a first-priority pari passu basis by security interests on the fixed asset collateral (equal in priority with liens securing the Term Loan Facility), and are secured on a second-priority basis by security interests on the current asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Revolving Credit Facility and equal in priority with liens securing the Term Loan Facility), in each case, subject to certain limitations and exceptions and permitted liens.

81


The Notes and related guarantees rank (i) equally in right of payment with all of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ senior indebtedness, without giving effect to collateral arrangements (including the Senior Secured Credit Facilities) and effectively equal to all of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ senior indebtedness secured on the same priority basis as the Notes, including the Term Loan Facility, (ii) effectively subordinated to any of the Issuer’s and the Guarantors’ indebtedness that is secured by assets that do not constitute collateral for the Notes to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness and to indebtedness that is secured by a senior-priority lien, including the Revolving Credit Facility to the extent of the value of the current asset collateral and (iii) structurally subordinated to the liabilities of the Issuer’s non-Guarantor subsidiaries.

Optional redemption for the Notes

The Notes are redeemable on or after November 15, 2023 at the applicable redemption prices specified in the Indenture plus accrued and unpaid interest. The Notes were also redeemable at any time prior to November 15, 2023 at a redemption price equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount of such Notes to be redeemed plus a “make-whole” premium, plus accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, the Issuer could have redeemed up to 40% of the original aggregate principal amount of Notes before November 15, 2023 with the net cash proceeds of certain equity offerings at a redemption price equal to 106.5% of the aggregate principal amount of such Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest. Furthermore, prior to November 15, 2023, the Issuer could have redeemed during each calendar year up to 10% of the original aggregate principal amount of the Notes at a redemption price equal to 103% of the aggregate principal amount of such Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest. If the Issuer or its restricted subsidiaries sell certain of their respective assets or experience specific kinds of changes of control, subject to certain exceptions, the Issuer must offer to purchase the Notes at par. In connection with any offer to purchase all Notes, if holders of no less than 90% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes validly tender their Notes, the Issuer is entitled to redeem any remaining Notes at the price offered to each holder. The Borrower may voluntarily prepay loans or reduce commitments under the Notes, in whole or in part without premium or penalty at a mutually agreeable rate between the buyer and the seller. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Borrower repurchased Notes with a par value of $32.0 million for $28.0 million.

Restrictive covenants

The Notes are subject to covenants that, among other things limit the Issuer’s ability and its restricted subsidiaries’ ability to: incur additional indebtedness or guarantee indebtedness; pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, the Issuer’s or a parent entity’s capital stock; prepay, redeem or repurchase certain indebtedness; issue certain preferred stock or similar equity securities; make loans and investments; sell or otherwise dispose of assets; incur liens; enter into transactions with affiliates; enter into agreements restricting the Issuer’s subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends; and consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of the Issuer’s assets. Most of these covenants will be suspended on the Notes when they have investment grade ratings from both Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and S&P Global Ratings and so long as no default or event of default under the Indenture has occurred and is continuing.

Events of default

The following constitute events of default under the Notes, among others: default in the payment of interest; default in the payment of principal; failure to comply with covenants; failure to pay other indebtedness after final maturity or acceleration of other indebtedness exceeding a specified amount; certain events of bankruptcy; failure to pay a judgment for payment of money exceeding a specified aggregate amount; voidance of subsidiary guarantees; failure of any material provision of any security document or intercreditor agreement to be in full force and effect; and lack of perfection of liens on a material portion of the collateral, in each case subject to applicable grace periods.

Government Loans for COVID-19 Relief

On May 25, 2020, a majority owned subsidiary of the Company operating in Japan entered into two loan agreements with a bank lender pursuant to a local government loan program. Subsequently, one of the loans was refinanced on October 26, 2020. The loans, bear interest rates of 1.82% and 1.83% per annum with maturity dates of May 27, 2029 and October 27, 2029, respectively, and the amounts under the loans will be repayable to the lender in monthly installments.

On December 28, 2021, the same subsidiary entered into a loan agreement from the bank lender pursuant to a local government loan program. The purpose of the loan is to use the borrowed funds for working capital and to fund the anticipated recovery of business operations from the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan bears an interest rate of 0.35% per annum until December 24, 2024, at which time the loan will bear an interest rate of 1.25% until the maturity date of December 31, 2036.

On April 18, 2023, the same subsidiary entered into a loan agreement from the bank lender pursuant to a local government loan program. The purpose of the loan is to use the borrowed funds for working capital and to fund the anticipated recovery of business

82


operations from the COVID-19 pandemic. Half of the loan bears an interest rate of 1.70% per annum until the maturity date of April 30, 2043. The remainder of the loan bears an interest rate of 0.80% per annum until April 18, 2026, at which time the loan will bear an interest rate of 1.70% until the maturity date of April 30, 2043.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had aggregate principal amounts of $5.3 million and $4.5 million borrowings outstanding, respectively, associated with government loan programs for relief associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Debt Maturities

Future minimum principal payments on long-term debt are as follows:

 

 

 

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

2024

 

$

13,580

 

2025

 

 

13,760

 

2026

 

 

13,764

 

2027

 

 

1,109,811

 

2028

 

 

743,557

 

Thereafter

 

 

2,983

 

Total future minimum principal payments

 

$

1,897,455

 

8. Leases

The Company leases facilities, and equipment under noncancelable leases that have been classified as operating leases for financial reporting purposes. These leases often include one or more options to renew and the lease term includes the renewal terms when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise the option. In general, for the Company’s material leases, the renewal options are not included in the calculation of its right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, as the Company does not believe that it is reasonably certain that these renewal options will be exercised. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual guarantees or material restrictive covenants.

All operating lease expenses are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term as a component of “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Payments under the Company’s lease arrangements are primarily fixed. However, certain lease agreements contain variable costs, which are expensed as incurred and not included in the calculation of the Company’s right-of-use assets and related liabilities for those leases. These costs typically include real estate taxes, common area maintenance and utilities for which the Company is obligated to pay under the terms of those leases.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company expensed approximately $27.8 million, $30.7 million, and $28.7 million, respectively, of total operating lease costs, which includes $4.8 million, $4.4 million, and $4.6 million, of variable lease costs, respectively.

Based on the present value of the lease payments for the remaining lease term of the Company’s existing leases, the Company’s right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 were as follows:

 

 

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

Classification

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

 

Other assets

 

$

35,766

 

 

$

61,072

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current operating lease liabilities

 

Other accrued expenses

 

 

15,204

 

 

 

21,584

 

Noncurrent operating lease liabilities

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

 

35,441

 

 

 

56,371

 

          Total lease liabilities

 

 

 

$

50,645

 

 

$

77,955

 

Because the rate implicit in each lease is not readily determinable, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate to determine the present value of the lease payments. In determining its incremental borrowing rate, the Company reviewed the terms of its leases, its credit facilities, and other factors.

83


Information related to the Company’s right-of-use assets and related lease liabilities were as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Cash paid for operating lease liabilities

 

$

26,769

 

 

$

23,298

 

 

$

25,022

 

Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new
   operating lease obligations

 

 

18,187

 

 

 

31,007

 

 

 

19,869

 

Weighted-average remaining lease term

 

 

3.8 years

 

 

 

4.2 years

 

 

 

4.1 years

 

Weighted-average discount rate

 

 

9.7

%

 

 

8.6

%

 

 

7.7

%

Maturities of lease liabilities as of December 31, 2023 were as follows:

(in thousands)

 

 

 

2024

 

$

18,567

 

2025

 

 

16,216

 

2026

 

 

11,829

 

2027

 

 

6,495

 

2028

 

 

3,795

 

Thereafter

 

 

4,966

 

Total lease payments

 

$

61,868

 

Less: imputed interest

 

 

(11,223

)

Present value of lease liabilities

 

$

50,645

 

9. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company measures fair value based on the prices that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements are based on a three-tier hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value.

As of December 31, 2023, and 2022, the Company’s interest rate derivatives and forward contracts are Level 2 assets and liabilities with the related fair values based on third-party pricing service models. These models use discounted cash flows that utilize market-based forward swap curves commensurate with the terms of the underlying instruments.

As of December 31, 2023, and 2022, the contingent consideration liabilities are Level 3 liabilities with the related fair values based on the significant unobservable inputs and probability weightings in using the income approach.

The following table sets forth the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured on a recurring basis at fair value, might be categorized by input level within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, theThe carrying amounts of “Cash and cash equivalents”, “Accounts receivable”, and “Accounts payable” approximate fair value measurement is categorizeddue to the short-term maturities of these financial instruments in its entiretythe Consolidated Balance Sheets.

 

 

December 31, 2023

 

(in thousands)

 

Fair Value

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

Assets measured at fair value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments

 

$

26,344

 

 

$

 

 

$

26,344

 

 

$

 

Total assets measured at fair value

 

$

26,344

 

 

$

 

 

$

26,344

 

 

$

 

Liabilities measured at fair value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warrant liability

 

$

667

 

 

$

 

 

$

667

 

 

$

 

Contingent consideration liabilities

 

 

18,472

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18,472

 

Total liabilities measured at fair value

 

$

19,139

 

 

$

 

 

$

667

 

 

$

18,472

 

84


 

 

December 31, 2022

 

(in thousands)

 

Fair Value

 

 

Level 1

 

 

Level 2

 

 

Level 3

 

Assets measured at fair value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Derivative financial instruments

 

$

47,493

 

 

$

 

 

$

47,493

 

 

$

 

Total assets measured at fair value

 

$

47,493

 

 

$

 

 

$

47,493

 

 

$

 

Liabilities measured at fair value

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warrant liability

 

$

953

 

 

$

 

 

$

953

 

 

$

 

Contingent consideration liabilities

 

 

20,334

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,334

 

Total liabilities measured at fair value

 

$

21,287

 

 

$

 

 

$

953

 

 

$

20,334

 

Interest Rate Cap Agreements

The Company had interest rate cap and interest rate collar contracts with an aggregate notional value of principals of $650.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 from various financial institutions to manage the Company’s exposure to interest rate movements on variable rate credit facilities. On April 3, 2023, the Company entered into two interest rate collar contracts in an aggregate notional amount of $300.0 million with a maturity date of April 5, 2026 to manage the Company's exposure to potential interest rate increases that may result from fluctuation in SOFR.

The fair value of the Company's outstanding interest rate caps and collars of $26.3 million and $47.5 million were included in “Prepaid expenses and other current assets” and “Other assets” in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, with changes in fair value recognized as a component of “Interest expense, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized interest income of $7.7 million, $43.8 million and $8.3 million, respectively, related to changes in the fair value hierarchy basedof its derivative instruments.

Warrant Liability

The estimated fair value of the liability is recorded using sufficient observable information and is therefore classified as a Level 2 financial instrument. The warrant liability is stated at fair value at each reporting period with the change in fair value recorded on the lowest level input that is significantConsolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income until the warrants are exercised, expire or other facts and circumstances lead the warrant liability to be reclassified as an equity instrument.

On October 28, 2020, the Company recorded the initial warrant liability of the private placement warrants of $7.9 million. Subsequently, the warrant liability was remeasured to fair value measurement.

resulting in a gain of $0.3 million, a gain of $21.2 million and a loss of $1.0 million reflected in “Change in fair value of warrant liability” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2019,2023, and 2022, 7,333,333 private placement warrants remained outstanding at a fair value of $0.7 million and $1.0 million, respectively.

The Company previously valued its private placement warrants using a Black-Scholes Model. The private placement warrants were classified as Level 3 at the initial measurement date due to the use of unobservable inputs. Beginning in the first quarter of 2022, they are classified as Level 2 based on the availability of sufficient observable information using the price of the public warrants as an indirectly observable quoted price in active markets to measure the fair value of the private placement warrants, which is inherently less subjective and judgmental given it is based on observable inputs. Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs.

Long-term Debt

The following table sets forth the carrying values of cash, accounts payable, accrued expenses approximate theirand fair values due to the short-term nature of the instruments. The Company’s portfolio of marketable securities held infinancial liabilities measured on a non-recurring basis, categorized by input level within the Trust Account is comprised of investments in U.S. Treasury securities with an original maturity of 185 days or less. fair value hierarchy:

(in thousands)

 

Carrying Value

 

 

Fair Value
(Level 2)

 

Balance at December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Loan Facility

 

$

1,149,057

 

 

$

1,221,012

 

Notes

 

 

743,000

 

 

 

745,223

 

Government loans for COVID-19 relief and other

 

 

5,398

 

 

 

4,680

 

Total long-term debt

 

$

1,897,455

 

 

$

1,970,915

 

85


(in thousands)

 

Carrying Value

 

 

Fair Value
(Level 2)

 

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Loan Facility

 

$

1,298,500

 

 

$

1,372,125

 

Notes

 

 

775,000

 

 

 

736,517

 

Government loans for COVID-19 relief and other

 

 

5,687

 

 

 

5,930

 

Total long-term debt

 

$

2,079,187

 

 

$

2,114,572

 

The fair value for trading securitiesof debt reported in the table above is determined using quoted market pricesbased on adjusted price quotations on the debt instruments in an active markets.

Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the Initial Public Offering that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering and were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering on July 22, 2019.

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable shares of Class A common stock (including shares of Class A common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, shares of Class A common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events.market. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and will adjustbelieves that the carrying value of its other borrowings, including amounts outstanding, if any, for the security at the endRevolving Credit Facility, approximate fair market value based on maturities for debt of each reporting period. Increases or decreasessimilar terms.

10. Investments in the carrying amount of redeemable shares of Class A common stock shall be affected by charges against additional paid-in capital. Unconsolidated Subsidiaries

The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and will adjust the carrying value of the security atCompany’s investments in unconsolidated affiliates accounted for under the endequity method was $211.4 million and $129.5 million as of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable shares of approximately $3.6 million, less franchise taxes of $100,000, income taxes of $730,672 and working capital expense of $279,580 (up to $1,000,000) or $2,469,141 of Class A common stock shall be affected by charges against additional paid-in capital. Accordingly, at December 31, 2019, 43,313,166 shares2023 and 2022, respectively. The investment as of Class A common stock are subject to possible redemption are presentedDecember 31, 2023 comprised the Company’s investment in ASL and Global Smollan Holdings (“GSH”). The investment as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity sectionDecember 31, 2022 comprised of the Company’s balance sheet.

Netinvestment in GSH, Smollan Holdings Proprietary Limited (“SH”), Ceuta Holdings Limited (“Ceuta”), and Partnership SPV 1 Limited (“SPV”). Income Per Share

Net income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the periods. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 18,583,333 shares offrom the Company’s Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.

The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income per share for common stock subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net income per share, basic and diluted for Class A common stock are calculated by dividing the interest income earned onunconsolidated investments and marketable securities held in the Trust Account of approximately $3.6was $5.3 million net of applicable taxes of $830,672 and $279,580 of working capital expenses (up to $1,000,000) available to be withdrawn from the Trust Account, resulting in a total of $2,469,141 for the year ended December 31, 2019 by2023. Income from the weighted average number of shares of Class A common stock outstandingCompany’s unconsolidated investments was not material for the period. Net loss peryears ended December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company’s proportionate share basicin their net assets at December 31, 2023, and diluted2022 were $205.6 million and $123.2 million, respectively.

The Company’s equity method investments are not considered significant based on Regulation S-X Rule 4-08(g); therefore, no summarized financial information for Class B common stock is calculated by dividing the net incomeCompany’s unconsolidated subsidiaries have been presented.

Contribution of $2,469,141, less income attributable to Class A common stock byEquity Method Investment in Smollan Holdings Proprietary Limited

In May 2023, the weighted average number of shares of Class BCompany entered into a transaction in which it contributed its 25% ownership in the common stock of $2,469,141 outstandingSH to GSH. Subsequent to this contribution, the Company holds a 25% non-voting equity investment in SH that provides the Company with preferred rights to non-cumulative dividends declared by SH with specified annual maximum dividends (“SH Dividend Shares”). Other than the preferred non-cumulative dividend rights, the equity investment in SH has no other economic rights and the Company does not have any significant influence over SH through its non-voting equity investments. As a result of this contribution, the Company no longer has significant influence in SH and ceased to account for its investment in SH under the period.


Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liabilityequity method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognizedat the time of the contribution. In regard to the accounting for the estimated future tax consequences attributableSH Dividend Shares, the Company elected the measurement alternative to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expectedvalue this equity investment without a readily determinable fair value. The Company will continue to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expectedalternative measurement guidance until this investment does not qualify to be recovered or settled.so measured. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilitiescarrying value of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. Deferred tax assets were deemed immaterialinvestment was not material as of December 31, 2019.2023.

Ceuta Holdings Limited

FASB ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition thresholdIn November 2023, the Company entered into an agreement and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurementsold all of tax positions taken or expected to be takenits 8.8% investment in a tax return. For those benefits to beCeuta. The Company recognized a tax position must be more likely than notloss on sale of investment of $4.2 million, as a component of “Loss on divestitures” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income during the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company received $4.3 million of its common stock in exchange for its investment.

ASL Transaction

On November 30, 2023, the Company reduced its equity interest in ASL, its European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There werea minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash (“ASL Transaction”). As part of the ASL Transaction, the Company ceased to have a controlling financial interest in ASL. The Company reassessed the VIE and voting interest models and concluded the Company no unrecognized tax benefitslonger has control. Therefore, in accordance with ASC 810, ASL was deconsolidated and the Company recorded a gain on deconsolidation of $58.9 million that has been included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income. Subsequent to the ASL Transaction, the Company retained significant influence over ASL, and the investment in ASL is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The Company’s equity method investment in ASL was recognized at its fair value totaling $91.9 million.

86


In conjunction with the ASL Transaction, the Company sold its 12.5% interest in SPV in exchange for a non-voting interest in GSH, resulting in an insignificant impact on the consolidated financial statements as a result of this transaction.

As a result of the above transactions, as of December 31, 2019. 2023, the Company’s investments in unconsolidated affiliates accounted for under the equity method consist of GSH (25.4%) and ASL (49.6%).

ATV Investment

The Company recognizes accrued interestalso holds 9.9% of the outstanding common shares of a subsidiary of a Japanese supermarket chain (“ATV”). The Company does not have significant influence over ATV and, penalties relatedas a result, the Company elected the measurement alternative to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued forvalue this equity investment without a readily determinable fair value. The Company will continue to apply the paymentalternative measurement guidance until this investment does not qualify to be so measured. The carrying value of interestthe investment was $5.8 million and penalties$6.3 million as of December 31, 2019. 2023 and 2022, respectively.

11. Stock-Based Compensation and Other Benefit Plans

The Company is currently not aware of any issueshas nonqualified stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and performance restricted stock units (“PSUs”) under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. the Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Award Plan (the “Plan”). The Company’s RSUs and PSUs are expensed based on the fair value at the grant date. The Company isrecognized stock-based compensation expense and equity-based compensation expense associated with the Common Series C Units of Karman Topco L.P. as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Restricted share-based unit awards

 

$

25,261

 

 

$

25,353

 

 

$

22,053

 

Other share-based awards

 

 

13,951

 

 

 

11,580

 

 

 

17,245

 

Total share-based compensation before tax

 

 

39,212

 

 

 

36,933

 

 

 

39,298

 

Tax benefit

 

 

8,812

 

 

 

7,883

 

 

 

6,558

 

Total share-based compensation expense included in
     net (loss) income

 

$

30,400

 

 

$

29,050

 

 

$

32,740

 

Performance Restricted Stock Units

Performance restricted stock units are subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effectthe achievement of certain performance conditions based on the accompanying financial statements.Company’s revenues (“PSU Revenues”) and Adjusted EBITDA (“PSU EBITDA”) targets in the respective measurement period and the recipient’s continued service to the Company. The PSUs are scheduled to vest over a three-year period from the date of grant and may vest from 0% to 150% of the number of shares set forth in the table below. The number of PSUs earned shall be adjusted to be proportional to the partial performance between the Threshold Goals, Target Goals and Maximum Goals as defined in the award agreements. Details for each aforementioned defined term for each grant have been provided in the table below.

During the first quarter of 2024, the Compensation Committee determined that the achievement of the performance objectives applicable to the PSU EBITDA 2023 and PSU Revenues 2023 objectives were 150.0% of Target Goals. The value of these PSU awards above the Target Goals remain subject to additional performance requirements (i.e., the above target performance must be maintained in 2024 and 2025) and service-based vesting conditions. The performance period for those PSU awards up to the Target Goals ended on December 31, 2023, but remain subject to service-based vesting conditions.

Note 3 — Initial Public OfferingDuring the first quarter of 2023, the Compensation Committee determined that the achievement of the performance objective applicable to the PSU EBITDA 2022 objective did not meet the minimum threshold and the achievement of the performance objective applicable to the PSU Revenues 2022 objective was 83.2% of Target Goals. The performance period for those awards ended on December 31, 2022 but remain subject to service-based vesting conditions.

During the first quarter of 2022, the Compensation Committee determined that the achievement of the performance objective applicable to the PSU EBITDA 2021 objective was 64.6% of target and the achievement of the performance objective applicable to the PSU Revenues 2021 objective was 126.2% of target. In the first quarter of 2022, the Compensation Committee determined that the PSU Revenues and PSU EBITDA metrics will be measured separately when determining whether above-target performance has been maintained for future year performance. Such determination is applicable to the PSUs grants made in 2021 and in 2022. As a result, the 26.2% above-target performance on PSU Revenues for 2021 must be maintained in 2022 and 2023 in order for the corresponding above-target PSUs to vest in January 2024. During the first quarter of 2024, the Compensation Committee determined that there was

87


no decline in performance with respect to PSU Revenues in 2022 and 2023 and as a result, an amount equal to approximately 9.2% of the target number of PSUs granted in January 2021 that were still outstanding in 2024 vested in January 2024.

On July 22, 2019,Under the provision of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation, the Company sold 45,000,000 Units, including 5,000,000 Over-Allotment Units, atdetermined that 2021 PSUs granted were modified as of March 11, 2022 related to 205,834 above-target PSU Revenues metrics. The stock-based compensation expense for such modification was accounted for as a cancellation of the original award and the issuance of a new award using the fair value of the award on the date of modification.

The fair value of PSU grants was equal to the closing price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceedsthe Company's stock on the date of $450 million, and incurring offering coststhe applicable grant. The maximum potential expense if the Maximum Goals were met for these awards has been provided in the table below.

Recognition of approximately $25.36 million, inclusiveexpense associated with performance-based stock is not permitted until achievement of approximately $15.75 million in deferred underwriting commissions.the performance targets are probable of occurring.

Measurement Period

 

Number of
Shares
Threshold

 

 

Number of
Shares
Target

 

 

Number of
Shares
Maximum

 

 

Weighted
Average Fair
Value per
Share

 

 

Maximum Remaining Unrecognized Compensation Expense

 

 

Weighted-average remaining requisite service periods

2023

 

 

3,272,133

 

 

 

6,544,266

 

 

 

9,816,399

 

 

$

2.04

 

 

$

12,770,316

 

 

2.4 years

2022

 

 

484,441

 

 

 

484,441

 

 

 

484,441

 

 

$

5.37

 

 

$

731,378

 

 

1.4 years

2021

 

 

183,315

 

 

 

183,315

 

 

 

310,422

 

 

$

10.18

 

 

$

50,417

 

 

0.5 years

The following table summarizes the PSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2023:

 

 

Performance Share Units

 

 

Weighted Average Grant
Date Fair Value

 

Outstanding at January 1, 2023

 

 

6,373,064

 

 

$

7.05

 

Granted

 

 

7,031,565

 

 

$

2.03

 

Distributed

 

 

(1,420,066

)

 

$

9.54

 

Forfeited

 

 

(1,476,009

)

 

$

5.44

 

PSU performance adjustment

 

 

(3,169,425

)

 

$

5.40

 

Outstanding at December 31, 2023

 

 

7,339,129

 

 

$

2.60

 

Restricted Stock Units

Each Unit consists of one share of Class A commonRestricted stock and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share,units are subject to adjustment (see Note 6).the recipient’s continued service to the Company. The RSUs are generally scheduled to vest over three years and are subject to the provisions of the agreement under the Plan.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the following activities involving RSUs occurred under the Plan:

 

 

Number of RSUs

 

 

Weighted Average Grant
Date Fair Value

 

Outstanding at January 1, 2023

 

 

9,576,760

 

 

$

5.91

 

Granted

 

 

16,186,632

 

 

$

2.02

 

Distributed

 

 

(4,799,010

)

 

$

5.56

 

Forfeited

 

 

(2,725,759

)

 

$

3.49

 

Outstanding at December 31, 2023

 

 

18,238,623

 

 

$

2.92

 

As of December 31, 2023, the total remaining unrecognized compensation cost related to RSUs amounted to $39.4 million, which will be amortized over the weighted-average remaining requisite service periods of 2.2 years.

Common Series C Units and C-2 Units

Note 4 — Related Party TransactionsThe Limited Partnership Agreement allows profits interests in Topco to be granted to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of Topco and its subsidiaries. The performance-based profits interests (“Common Series C Units”) are subject to certain vesting requirements, as described below.

88


Founder Shares

Common Series C Units were granted at no cost to employees of the Company. As the result of an amendment and restatement of the Limited Partnership Agreement, on March 15, 2018, 75% of all Common Series C Units awards are subject to vesting over four fiscal years from their respective issuance date. The remaining 25% of the units were forfeited. To the extent the Common Series C Units vest, such units may still be forfeited as a result of termination of the employment of the applicable holders or upon a non-qualifying exit event. Certain awards vest over the remaining initial four-year term, subject to the employee’s continued employment. In May 2019,addition, Topco issued certain Common Series C Units in connection with the Sponsor paid $25,0002017 acquisition of Daymon Worldwide Inc. (“Daymon”) to cover certain offering costsDaymon employees, certain of which were deemed to have vested upon issuance, and certain of which vested in four annual installments, subject to such employee’s continued employment with the Company. The Limited Partnership Agreement also authorizes Topco to issue 35,000 Common Series C-2 Units to employees of the Company, which are deemed to be vested upon issuance and subject to substantially similar forfeiture provisions as the Common Series C Units, including forfeiture upon certain terminations of employment with the Company of the applicable holders or a non-qualifying exit event. Topco has the option to repurchase Common Series C Units for cash.

The following table summarizes the activity in considerationthe Common Series C Units and Common Series C-2 Units for the year ended December 31, 2023:

 

 

Common Series C

 

 

Common Series C-2

 

Outstanding at January 1, 2023

 

 

132,890

 

 

 

25,095

 

Forfeited

 

 

(20

)

 

 

(6,700

)

Outstanding at December 31, 2023

 

 

132,870

 

 

 

18,395

 

Common Series D Units

In 2014, Topco issued the Company 30,000 time-vested profit interests (“Common Series D Units”), which vested on a monthly basis over a five-year vesting period, to entities affiliated with one equity sponsor of 11,500,000 sharesTopco. The Company measured the fair value of Class B common stock, parthe Common Series D Units quarterly throughout the five-year vesting period and recognized this cost ratably over the vesting period. There were no grants during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. The OPM was used to estimate the Common Series D Units fair value $0.0001, (the “Founder Shares”). In June 2019,of $300 as of the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Sharesgrant date. The expected share price volatility is based on the average of the historical volatility of comparable public companies. The risk-free rate is based on U.S. Treasury yields in effect at the time of grant over the expected term. The Company did not use a dividend yield as it has not historically paid distributions. The fair value of these units at the end of each measurement period were $46, $5, and $143 per unit as of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. Since the Common Series D Units that were issued under the Limited Partnership Agreement were for interests in Topco, which is outside of the consolidated group, the value of the profit interests were marked to market at each of the Company’s independent directors. reporting periods.

The initial stockholders have agreedfollowing assumptions were used in determining the fair value of Common Series D Units for the year ended December 31, 2023:

Grant date fair value

 

$

300.00

 

Dividend yield

 

 

0.0

%

Expected volatility

 

 

67.0

%

Risk-free interest rate

 

 

4.5

%

Lack of marketability discount

 

 

31.0

%

Expected term

 

1.4 years

 

On December 31, 2023, there were 30,000 Common Series D Units outstanding. During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company recorded equity-based compensation expense of $1.1 million, gain of $4.1 million, and gain of $15.0 million, respectively, included in “Selling, general, and administrative expenses” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive (Loss) Income.

Stock Options

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the following activities involving stock options occurred under the Plan:

89


 

 

Stock Options

 

 

Weighted Average Exercise Price

 

Outstanding at January 1, 2023

 

 

2,115,664

 

 

$

3.92

 

Granted

 

 

17,375,000

 

 

$

6.00

 

Exercised

 

 

(390,000

)

 

$

2.24

 

Forfeited

 

 

(1,410,443

)

 

$

3.92

 

Cancelled/Expired

 

 

(315,221

)

 

$

5.99

 

Outstanding at December 31, 2023

 

 

17,375,000

 

 

$

6.00

 

Stock-based compensation costs related to forfeit upstock options granted to 1,500,000 Founder Sharesemployees are measured at the date of grant based on the estimated fair value of the award, net of estimated forfeitures. The Company estimates the grant date fair value, and the resulting stock-based compensation expense, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Company recognizes compensation costs for awards with service vesting conditions on an accelerated method under the graded vesting method over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally the vesting term of three years.

The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the use of highly subjective assumptions which determine the fair value of stock-based awards. The assumptions used in the Company's option-pricing model represent management’s best estimates. These estimates are complex, involve a number of variables, uncertainties and assumptions and the application of management’s judgment, so that they are inherently subjective. If factors change and different assumptions are used, the Company's stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future. These assumptions are estimated as follows:

Fair Value of Common Stock. Represents the publicly quoted price as the fair value of ADV common stock.

Risk-Free Interest Rate. The Company based the risk-free interest rate used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with an equivalent remaining term of the options for each option group.

Expected Term. The expected term represents the period that the stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. Because of the limitations on the sale or transfer or the Company's common stock as a previously privately held company, the Company does not believe its historical exercise pattern for similar awards is indicative of the pattern the Company will experience as a publicly traded company. The Company has consequently used the Staff Accounting Bulletin, or SAB 110, Simplified Method to calculate the expected term, which is the mid-point between the vesting period and the contractual term for each vesting-tranche. The Company plans to continue to use the SAB 110 Simplified Method until the Company has sufficient trading history as a publicly traded company.

Volatility. Management determined the price volatility factor based on the historical volatilities of a relevant peer group as the Company did not have a sufficient trading history of common stock. Industry peers consist of several public companies that provide similar services with comparable characteristics including enterprise value, risk profiles and position within the industry. The Company intends to continue to consistently apply this process using the same or similar public companies until a sufficient amount of historical information regarding the volatility of the Company's own common stock share price becomes available, or unless circumstances change such that the identified companies are no longer similar, in which case, more suitable companies whose share prices are publicly available would be utilized in the calculation.

Dividend Yield. The expected dividend assumption is based on expectations about the Company's anticipated dividend policy. The Company currently does not expect to issue any dividends.

In addition to assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, the Company must also estimate a forfeiture rate to calculate the stock-based compensation for the Company's awards. The Company will continue to use judgment in evaluating the assumptions related to the extent thatCompany's stock-based compensation on a prospective basis. As the over-allotment option is not exercised in full byCompany continues to accumulate additional data, the underwriters. The forfeiture will be adjustedCompany may have refinements to the extent thatCompany's estimates, which could materially impact the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters so that the Founder Shares will represent 20%Company's future stock-based compensation expense.

90


The fair value of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares afteremployee stock options was estimated using the Initial Public Offering. The underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in part on July 22, 2019. On September 3, 2019,following assumptions for the remainder of the underwriters’ over-allotment option expired and the Sponsor forfeited 250,000 Founder Shares. year ended December 31, 2023:

Share Price

 

$

2.13

 

Dividend yield

 

 

0.0

%

Expected volatility

 

 

40.0

%

Risk-free interest rate

 

 

3.5

%

Expected term

 

 

6.4 years

 

As of December 31, 2019,2023, the Company had approximately $6.2 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options, net of related forfeiture estimates, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately 3.6 years. The weighted average remaining contractual term of all options outstanding as of December 31, 2023 was 9.1 years. The intrinsic value of all outstanding options as of December 31, 2023 was $6.9 million based on the market price of the Company's common stock of $3.62 per share. The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2023 was $0.1 million. As of December 31, 2023, there were 11,250,000no stock options that were exercisable.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

The Company provides compensation benefits to employees under the amended 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, (the “ESPP”). Employees, may have to satisfy one or more of the following service requirements before participating in the ESPP, as determined by the administrator: (a) customary employment with the Company for more than 20 hours per week and more than five months per calendar year, or (b) continuous employment with the Company for a minimum period of time, not to exceed two years, prior to the first date of an offering. An employee may not be granted rights to purchase stock under the ESPP if such employee (x) immediately after the grant would own stock possessing five percent or more of the total combined voting power or value of the common stock, or (y) would purchase in excess of $25,000 of fair market value of such stock in an offering period. Additionally, “highly compensated employees” may not be granted rights to purchase stock under the ESPP. This includes individuals with compensation above a specified level, who is an officer and/or is subject to the disclosure requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act.

The administrator may approve offerings with a duration of not more than 27 months, and may specify one or more shorter purchase periods within each offering (“Offering Period”). Each offering will have one or more purchase dates on which shares of Class Bthe common stock outstanding.will be purchased for the employees who are participating in the offering. The administrator, in its discretion, will determine the terms of offerings under the ESPP.

The initial stockholders have agreed, subjectESPP permits participants to limited exceptions, notpurchase shares of the common stock through payroll deductions with up to transfer, assign or sell any15% of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the last saleearnings. The purchase price of the shares will not be less than 85% of Class Athe lower of the fair market value of the common stock equalson the first day of an offering or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations andon the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencingdate of purchase. Payroll deductions shall be equal to at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in allone percent (1%) of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their sharesparticipant’s compensation as of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property.


Private Placement Warrants

Concurrently with the closingeach payday of the Initial Public Offering on July 22, 2019Period following the Company sold 7,333,333 Private Placement Warrants at a priceEnrollment Date, but not more than the lesser of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of approximately $11.0 million. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Certainfifteen percent (15%) of the proceeds from the saleparticipant’s compensation as of each payday of the Private Placement Warrants were added toOffering Period following the net proceeds fromEnrollment Date or $25,000 per offering period.

A participant may not transfer purchase rights under the Initial Public OfferingESPP other than by will, the laws of descent and are held indistribution or as otherwise provided under the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants are non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.ESPP.

The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

Related Party Loans

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event thatof a Business Combination isspecified corporate transaction, such as a merger or change in control, a successor corporation may assume, continue or substitute each outstanding purchase right. If the successor corporation does not consummated within the Combination Period, the Company may use a portion of the 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. Exceptassume, continue or substitute for the foregoing,outstanding purchase rights, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determinedoffering in progress will be shortened and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.a new exercise date will be set. The Working Capital Loans would eitherparticipants’ purchase rights will be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. To date, the Company had no borrowings under any Working Capital Loan.

Promissory Note

Prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, 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 payableexercised on the earlier of December 31, 2019 ornew exercise date and such purchase rights will terminate immediately thereafter.

The ESPP will remain in effect until terminated by the completion of the Initial Public Offering. On July 22, 2019, the total balance of $141,636 of the Note was repaid to the Sponsor.

Administrative Support Agreement

Commencing on the date the securities of the Company are first listed on the NASDAQ, the Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of an initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. The Company incurred approximately $60,000administrator in expenses in connectionaccordance with such services during the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, which are included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying statement of operations.

Accounts Payable - Related Party

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had a balance of $127,912 payable to related parties for expenses paid on behalf of the Company in the amount of $67,912 and $60,000 payable under the administrative support agreement. These borrowings are non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand.


Note 5 — Commitments and Contingencies

Registration and Stockholder Rights

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

Underwriting Agreement

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 6,000,000 Over-Allotment Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Initial Public Offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions. On July 22, 2019, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option for 5,000,000 Over-Allotment Units.

Based on the partial exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, the underwriters were entitled to underwriting discounts of $0.20 per unit, or $9.0 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or approximately $15.75 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.ESPP. The board of directors has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate the ESPP, at any time and for any reason.

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company sponsors 401(k) plans for certain employees who meet specified age and length of service requirements. The 401(k) plans include a deferral feature under which employees may elect to defer a portion of their salary, subject to Internal Revenue Service limitations. The Company provides a matching contribution based on a percentage of participating employees’ salaries and contributions made. Total contributions to the plan for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were $13.7 million, $13.3 million, and $12.5 million, respectively.

91


12. Equity

Note 6 — Stockholders’ Equity

Class A Common Stock—The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,0003,290,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001$0.0001 per share. AsHolders of the Company’s Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share on each matter on which they are entitled to vote. At December 31, 2019,2023, there were 45,000,000322,235,261 shares of Class A common stock legally issued and outstanding, including 43,313,166outstanding. At December 31, 2022, there were 319,690,300 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2019, there were 11,250,000 shares of Class B common stock outstanding.

Holders of shares of Class A common stock and holders of shares of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of shares of Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.

The Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination at a ratio such 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 sum of (i) the total number of shares of Class A common stocklegally issued and outstanding upon completion of the Initial Public Offering, plus (ii) the total number of shares of Class A commonoutstanding.

Preferred stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor upon conversion of Working Capital Loans.

Preferred Stock—The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,00010,000,000 shares of preferred stock with ano par value of $0.0001 per share, and with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As ofshare. At December 31, 2019,2023 and 2022, there were is no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.


WarrantsCommon stock held in treasury, at costPublicOn November 9, 2021, the Company announced that the board of directors authorized a new share repurchase program (the “2021 Share Repurchase Program”) pursuant to which the Company may repurchase up to $100 million of the Company’s Class A common stock.

The 2021 Share Repurchase Program does not have an expiration date, but provides for suspension or discontinuation at any time. The 2021 Share Repurchase Program permits the repurchase of the Company’s Class A common stock on the open market and in other means from time to time. The timing and amount of any share repurchase is subject to prevailing market conditions, relevant securities laws and other considerations, and the Company is under no obligation to repurchase any specific number of shares.

During the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2021, the Company executed open market purchases of $6.4 million and $12.6 million of the Company’s Class A common stock under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program. The Company did not make any repurchases during the year ended December 31, 2022. As a result of repurchases during the year ended December 31, 2023, there remains $81.1 million of share repurchase availability under the 2021 Share Repurchase Program as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

In December 2023, the Company entered into a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act authorizing the repurchase of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. No stock repurchases were made pursuant to this plan for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Warrants—As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 11,244,988 public warrants were outstanding. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one whole share of the Company’s Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares.shares of Class A common stock. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will becomewarrants became exercisable on November 27, 2020 and will expire on October 28, 2025, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, 7,333,333 private placement warrants were outstanding. The private placement warrants are identical to the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each casepublic warrants, except that the Company has an effective registration statement underprivate placement warrants and the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use commercially reasonable 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 Public Warrants. If the shares issuable upon exercise of theprivate placement warrants issued in our initial public offering arewere not registered under the Securities Act, the Company 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 the Company 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 above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but the Company will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants included in the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination,November 27, 2020, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants areprivate placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or such purchasers’ permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrantsprivate placement warrants are held by someone other than the initial stockholders or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrantsprivate placement warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.public warrants.

The Company may call the warrants for redemption:

Commencing 90For cash:

in whole and not in part;
at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and
if, and only if, the last reported closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days afterwithin a 30-trading day period ending on the Public Warrants become exercisable,third trading day prior to the date on which the Company may redeemsends the Public Warrants:notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

For cash or Class A common stock:

in whole and not in part;

92

in whole and not in part;
at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum

at a price of $0.10 per warrant, provided that the warrant holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Class A common stock (the “fair market value” of the Class A common stock shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock to be determined by reference to a table included in the warrant agreement, based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A common stock;
upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption;
if, and only if, the last reported closing price of the common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants);
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted per share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, reclassifications, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants (or such other security as the warrants may be exercisable for at the time of redemption) and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given, or an exemption from registration is available.

In addition, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants for cash (except with respectsends notice of redemption to the Private Placement Warrants):

warrant holders; and
if, and only if, an effective registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto is available throughout the 30-day period after which written notice of redemption is given, or the Company has elected to require the exercise of the warrants on a “cashless” basis.

in whole and not in part;
at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and
if, and only if, the last reported closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $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 sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.

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

The exercise price and number 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. Additionally, in the event of a recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any Warrants. Ifthe warrants shares.

Noncontrolling interests

Deconsolidation of ASL— On November 30, 2023 the Company is unablereduced its equity interest in ASL, its European joint venture, from a majority interest of under 60% to completea minority interest of 49.6% in exchange for $1.0 million in cash. The Company also removed certain participating rights with ASL related to capital allocation and certain of the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds heldCompany’s decision making rights, resulting in the Trust Account, holdersa loss of warrants will not receive any of such fundscontrol. Therefore, in accordance with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distributionASC 810, ASL was deconsolidated from the Company’s assets held outsideconsolidated financial statements. As part of the Trust Account withdeconsolidation, the respect to such warrants. Accordingly,$108.9 million noncontrolling interest was derecognized as reflected in the warrants may expire worthless.Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity.


Note 7 — Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis asPurchase of December 31, 2019 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques that the Company utilized to determine such fair value.

  Quoted
Prices
  Significant Other  Significant Other 
  in Active Markets  Observable Inputs  Unobservable Inputs 
  (Level 1)  (Level 2)  (Level 3) 
          
Marketable securities held in Trust Account $452,816,525  $  $ 
Total $452,816,525  $  $ 

Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. There were no transfers between levels forInterests—During the year ended December 31, 2019.

Level 1 instruments include investments2022, the Company acquired a majority stake in money market fundsan acquisition and U.S. Treasury securities.received contributions from noncontrolling interest of $5.2 million. The Company uses inputs such as actual trade data, benchmark yields, quoted market prices from dealers or brokers, and other similar sources to determine the fair value of its investments.the noncontrolling interest of the acquisition was $1.0 million. The Company did not purchase any additional minority interests held in a subsidiary during the year ended December 31, 2022.

Dividend to noncontrolling interest—Certain of the Company’s subsidiaries may, from time to time, declare dividends. There were no dividends related to the Company’s minority interests during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

13. Earnings Per Share

The Company calculates earnings per share using a dual presentation of basic and diluted earnings per share. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding without the consideration for potential dilutive shares of common stock. Diluted earnings per share represents basic earnings per share adjusted to include the potentially dilutive effect of outstanding performance stock units, restricted stock units, public and private placement warrants, the employee stock purchase plan and stock options.

Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing the net income by the weighted-average number of common share equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury stock method and if-converted method, as applicable.

93


The following is a reconciliation of basic and diluted net (loss) income per common share:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

(in thousands, except share and earnings per share data)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

 

Basic earnings per share computation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income attributable to stockholders of
     Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

$

(63,258

)

 

$

(1,380,502

)

 

$

54,494

 

 

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares - basic

 

 

323,677,515

 

 

 

318,682,548

 

 

 

318,198,860

 

 

Basic (loss) earnings per common share

 

$

(0.20

)

 

 

(4.33

)

 

 

0.17

 

 

Diluted earnings per share computation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (loss) income attributable to stockholders of
     Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

$

(63,258

)

 

$

(1,380,502

)

 

$

54,494

 

 

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding

 

 

323,677,515

 

 

 

318,682,548

 

 

 

318,198,860

 

 

Performance Stock Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,998,848

 

 

Restricted Stock Units

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

559,649

 

 

Warrants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,468

 

 

Employee stock purchase plan and stock options

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

242,931

 

 

Weighted average common shares - diluted

 

 

323,677,515

 

 

 

318,682,548

 

 

 

321,004,756

 

 

Diluted (loss) earnings per common share

 

$

(0.20

)

 

$

(4.33

)

 

$

0.17

 

 

During periods of net loss, diluted loss per share is equal to basic loss per share because the antidilutive effect of potential common shares is disregarded.

The Company had 11,244,988 of public warrants and 7,333,333 of private placement warrants held by the CP Sponsor (as defined below), to purchase Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, which remain outstanding at December 31, 2023 and 2022.

See Note 812Equity for additional information regarding the terms of public and private placement warrants.

In accordance with the treasury method the weighted average shares outstanding assuming dilution include the incremental effect of stock-based awards, except when such effect would be antidilutive. Stock-based awards in accordance with the treasury stock method were 6.9 million shares during the year ended December 31, 2023, but were not included in the computation of diluted loss per common share, because the net loss position of the Company made them antidilutive. Stock-based awards in accordance with the treasury stock method were 0.8 million shares during the year ended December 31, 2022, but were not included in the computation of diluted loss per common share, because the net loss position of the Company made them antidilutive.

14. Related Parties

Conyers Park

During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had outstanding private placement warrants that allowed holders to purchase 7,333,333 shares of the Company’s common stock. Such private placement warrants were held by Conyers Park II Sponsor, LLC (“CP Sponsor”), a related party. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.

Investment in Unconsolidated Affiliates

Following the deconsolidation of ASL, the Company recorded the continuing investment in ASL at fair value of $91.9 million at the date of deconsolidation, within “Investments in unconsolidated affiliates.” For further details, see Note 2. Acquisitions, Divestitures and Deconsolidation. Transactions between the Company and ASL are considered to be related-party transactions from the date of deconsolidation. Subsequent to the deconsolidation of ASL, the Company recognized immaterial revenues, from ASL and as of December 31, 2023, Accounts receivables from ASL were immaterial.

During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company recognized revenues of $22.2 million, $14.3 million, and $18.1 million, respectively, from the parent company of an investment in unconsolidated affiliates. Accounts receivable from this client were $3.7 million and $1.7 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

94


Loans to Karman Topco L.P.

Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into loan agreements with Topco, pursuant to which Topco has borrowed various amounts totaling $6.0 million from Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. to facilitate the payment to certain former associates for their equity interests in Topco. On September 1, 2020, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc. entered into a loan agreement with Topco consolidating all outstanding amounts under the prior agreements. Pursuant to such loan agreement Topco borrowed $6.0 million at an interest rate of 0.39% per annum. This loan matured on December 31, 2023 and was pre-payable at any time without penalty. During the first quarter of 2024, the parties entered into a new loan agreement for $6.3 million to refinance the matured loan. The loan bears interest at a rate of 10.09% per annum and matures on December 31, 2026. The loan is pre-payable at any time without penalty.

Other related parties

Beginning February 2023, an officer of the Company has served as a member of the board of directors of a client of the Company. The Company recognized revenues from such client of $4.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2023. Accounts receivable from this client were $0.6 million as of December 31, 2023.

Beginning July 2023, a member of the board of directors of the Company has served as an officer of a client of the Company. The Company recognized $3.3 million of revenues from such client during the year ended December 31, 2023. Accounts receivable from this client were $0.5 million as of December 31, 2023.

15. Income Tax Taxes

The Company’s(benefit from) provision for income tax consiststaxes is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current tax expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

$

27,317

 

 

$

23,351

 

 

$

22,085

 

State

 

 

10,635

 

 

 

8,148

 

 

 

7,667

 

Foreign

 

 

13,456

 

 

 

13,918

 

 

 

13,877

 

Total current tax expense

 

 

51,408

 

 

 

45,417

 

 

 

43,629

 

Deferred tax (benefit) expense

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Federal

 

 

(61,431

)

 

 

(129,055

)

 

 

(16,007

)

State

 

 

(15,917

)

 

 

(59,512

)

 

 

5,827

 

Foreign

 

 

(3,068

)

 

 

(2,187

)

 

 

168

 

Total deferred tax benefit

 

 

(80,416

)

 

 

(190,754

)

 

 

(10,012

)

Total (benefit from) provision for income taxes

 

$

(29,008

)

 

$

(145,337

)

 

$

33,617

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95


A reconciliation of the following:Company's effective income tax rate as compared to the federal statutory income tax rate is as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2023

 

2022

 

2021

Statutory U.S. rate

 

21.0%

 

21.0%

 

21.0%

State income taxes, net of federal tax benefit

 

4.7%

 

2.7%

 

11.7%

Foreign tax, net of federal tax benefit

 

(3.3%)

 

(0.2%)

 

5.3%

Deconsolidation of ASL

 

18.6%

 

— %

 

— %

Goodwill impairment

 

— %

 

(14.0%)

 

— %

Equity-based compensation

 

(3.6%)

 

— %

 

(2.4%)

Work opportunity tax credit

 

3.2%

 

0.2%

 

(2.5%)

Disallowed executive compensation

 

(2.3%)

 

(0.1%)

 

2.3%

Meals and entertainment

 

(2.8%)

 

(0.1%)

 

1.6%

Contingent consideration fair value adjustment

 

(0.5%)

 

— %

 

(1.8%)

Fair value of warrant liability

 

0.1%

 

0.3%

 

0.2%

Other

 

(2.6%)

 

(0.2%)

 

1.5%

Effective tax rate

 

32.5%

 

9.6%

 

36.9%

The geographic components of (loss) income before income taxes are as follows:

  For the Period From 
  May 2, 2019 
  (inception) through 
  December 31, 2019 
Current:   
Federal $730,672 
State   
Deferred:    
Federal  58,712 
State   
Change in valuation allowance  (58,712)
Income tax expense $730,672 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

(in thousands)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. sources

 

$

(188,064

)

 

$

(1,544,387

)

 

$

65,202

 

Non-U.S. sources

 

 

98,738

 

 

 

21,758

 

 

 

25,964

 

(Loss) income before income taxes

 

$

(89,326

)

 

$

(1,522,629

)

 

$

91,166

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

96


Net deferred tax liabilities consist of the following:

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Deferred tax assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accrued liabilities

 

$

82,600

 

 

$

68,016

 

Interest expense

 

 

71,478

 

 

 

53,320

 

Right-of-use liabilities

 

 

12,748

 

 

 

14,356

 

Net operating losses

 

 

5,471

 

 

 

7,904

 

Transaction expenses

 

 

6,511

 

 

 

7,649

 

Capitalized research and development costs

 

 

4,849

 

 

 

3,911

 

Contingent liabilities

 

 

1,662

 

 

 

3,903

 

Insurance reserves

 

 

2,204

 

 

 

2,522

 

Acquired intangible assets, including goodwill

 

 

1,302

 

 

 

1,487

 

Other

 

 

6,274

 

 

 

4,382

 

Total deferred tax assets

 

 

195,099

 

 

 

167,450

 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquired intangible assets, including goodwill

 

 

357,657

 

 

 

413,728

 

Interest rate caps

 

 

6,799

 

 

 

12,079

 

Right-of-use assets

 

 

8,955

 

 

 

10,044

 

Debt issuance costs

 

 

7,242

 

 

 

7,532

 

Restructuring expenses

 

 

3,276

 

 

 

3,427

 

Depreciation

 

 

1,571

 

 

 

2,397

 

Other

 

 

8,105

 

 

 

8,545

 

Total deferred tax liabilities

 

 

393,605

 

 

 

457,752

 

Less: deferred income tax asset valuation allowances

 

 

(3,491

)

 

 

(5,360

)

Net deferred tax liabilities

 

$

201,997

 

 

$

295,662

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Reported as:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncurrent deferred tax asset

 

$

2,254

 

 

$

2,212

 

Noncurrent deferred tax liabilities

 

 

204,251

 

 

 

297,874

 

Net deferred tax liabilities

 

$

201,997

 

 

$

295,662

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CARES Act allows employers to defer payment of a portion of payroll taxes otherwise due on wages paid between the enactment date and December 31, 2020 and remit the deferred payroll taxes in equal amounts on December 31, 2022 and 2021. Under this provision of the CARES Act, the Company has recorded the tax impact of $6.4 million as a deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2021 and no remaining balance as of December 31, 2022.

On August 16, 2022, the U.S. government enacted the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”), which, among other things, imposes a new corporate alternative minimum tax and an excise tax on stock buybacks. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has determined that the Act had no tax impacts on its consolidated financial statements.

The Company held cash and cash equivalents in foreign subsidiaries of $43.8 million and $81.8 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the undistributed earnings of the Company’s netforeign subsidiaries was $125.7 million and $196.4 million, respectively.

The Company has not recorded a deferred tax liability related to undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries as of December 31, 2023, except for a $0.4 million of deferred tax liability recorded as of December 31, 2023 for unremitted earnings in Canada with respect to which the Company no longer has an indefinite reinvestment assertion. Taxes have not been provided on the remaining $114.9 million of undistributed foreign earnings. The incremental tax liability associated with these earnings is expected to be immaterial.

97


The Company evaluates its deferred tax assets, including a determination of whether a valuation allowance is necessary, based upon its ability to utilize the assets using a more likely than not analysis. Deferred tax assets are as follows:

  December 31, 2019 
Deferred tax asset:    
Startup / organizational costs $58,712 
Total deferred tax assets  58,712 
Valuation allowance  (58,712)
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance $ 

In assessingonly recorded to the realizationextent that they are realizable based upon past and future income. As a result of the evaluation, the Company established a valuation allowance of $3.5 million, $5.4 million and $6.9 million on its deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company considers whetherhad $4.3 million of United States Federal Net Operating Losses (“NOL”), $26.9 million state NOL, and $12.4 million foreign NOL. The change of ownership provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 may limit utilization of a portion of the Company’s domestic NOL to future periods. The United States Federal NOL expires in tax year 2037, $18.2 million of the state NOL expires between tax years 2023 and 2042 and the remaining $8.7 million of the state NOL carry forward indefinitely. Foreign NOL of $6.3 million expires between tax years 2024 and 2032 and the remaining $6.1 million of the foreign NOL carry forward indefinitely.

Uncertain Tax Positions

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assetsposition will not be realized. The ultimate realizationsustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of deferredthe position. As of December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, the Company’s unrecognized 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.benefits were $2.9 million, $0.6 million and $0.6 million, respectively. The Company considersrecorded uncertain tax positions related to capitalizing interest to inventory and California research and development credits for the scheduled reversal of deferred tax assets, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment.

A reconciliationyear ended December 31, 2023. $2.2 million out of the federal income$2.9 million of the unrecognized tax rate tobenefits as of December 31, 2023 would be included in the Company’s effective tax rate for the period from May 2, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019 is as follows:if recognized in future periods.

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Beginning unrecognized tax benefits

 

$

560

 

 

$

563

 

 

$

698

 

Increases for tax positions related to prior years

 

 

2,350

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Decreases due to lapsed statutes of limitations

 

 

(23

)

 

 

(3

)

 

 

(135

)

Ending unrecognized tax benefits

 

$

2,887

 

 

$

560

 

 

$

563

 

Statutory federal income tax rate21.0%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit0.0%
Change in valuation allowance1.8%
Effective income tax rate22.8%

Note 9—Subsequent Events

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Management is currently evaluating the impactunaware of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that whileany positions for which it is reasonably possible that the virus couldtotal amount of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase within the next twelve months. The Company files tax returns in the United States, various states and foreign jurisdictions. With few exceptions, as of December 31, 2023, the Company is no longer subject to federal, state, or non-U.S. income tax examinations by tax authorities for years prior to 2019. The Company does not have any material ongoing income tax audits.

The Company has elected to classify interest and penalties as components of tax expense. These amounts were $0.9 million, $0.2 million and $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

16. Segments and Geographic Information

The Company’s operations are organized into two reportable segments: sales and marketing. The operating segments reported below are the segments of the Company for which separate financial information is available and for which segment results are evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker (the chief executive officer) in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. Through the Company’s sales segment, the Company serves as a negativestrategic intermediary between consumer goods manufacturers and retailer partners and performs critical merchandising services on behalf of both consumer goods manufacturers and retail partners. Through the Company’s marketing segment, the Company develops and executes marketing programs for manufacturers and retailers. These reportable segments are organized by the types of services provided, similar economic characteristics, and how the Company manages its business. The assets and liabilities of the Company are managed centrally and are reported internally in the same manner as the consolidated financial statements; therefore, no additional information is produced or included herein. The Company and its chief operating decision maker evaluate performance based on revenues and operating (loss) income.

98


(in thousands)

 

Sales

 

 

Marketing

 

 

Total

 

Year Ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

$

2,445,015

 

 

$

1,779,831

 

 

$

4,224,846

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

154,891

 

 

$

69,806

 

 

$

224,697

 

Income from unconsolidated investments

 

$

5,273

 

 

$

 

 

$

5,273

 

Operating income

 

$

38,443

 

 

$

37,747

 

 

$

76,190

 

Year Ended December 31, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

$

2,507,017

 

 

$

1,542,725

 

 

$

4,049,742

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

161,385

 

 

$

71,690

 

 

$

233,075

 

Operating loss

 

$

(1,323,192

)

 

$

(116,214

)

 

$

(1,439,406

)

Year Ended December 31, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

 

$

2,323,884

 

 

$

1,278,414

 

 

$

3,602,298

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

170,076

 

 

$

69,965

 

 

$

240,041

 

Operating income

 

$

182,529

 

 

$

47,519

 

 

$

230,048

 

Revenues and long-lived assets by services provided in geographic region are as follows:

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

$

3,694,470

 

 

$

3,562,168

 

 

$

3,153,768

 

International

 

 

530,376

 

 

 

487,574

 

 

 

448,530

 

Total revenues

 

$

4,224,846

 

 

$

4,049,742

 

 

$

3,602,298

 

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

Long-Lived Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

North America

 

$

73,371

 

 

$

60,071

 

International

 

 

539

 

 

 

10,827

 

Total long-lived assets

 

$

73,910

 

 

$

70,898

 

North American revenues were primarily services provided in the U.S. representing revenues of $3.5 billion, $3.6 billion, and $3.0 billion during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively. North American long-lived assets were primarily in the U.S. representing long-lived assets of $73.1 million and $60.0 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The classification “International” primarily includes the Company’s operations in the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.

17. Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

The Company was an indirect party to a put and call option agreement with respect to the common securities that represent the remaining noncontrolling interest from a then majority-owned subsidiary, which was established through a then majority-owned international joint venture during the year ended December 31, 2021. The put and call option agreement representing 20% of the total outstanding noncontrolling equity interest of that subsidiary may be exercised at the discretion of the noncontrolling interest holder by providing written notice to the Company beginning in 2026 and expiring in 2028. The redemption value of the put and call option agreement is based on a multiple of the majority-owned subsidiary’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization subject to certain adjustments. The noncontrolling interest is subject to a put option that is outside of the Company’s control and is presented as redeemable noncontrolling interest in the temporary equity section of the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recorded its redeemable noncontrolling interest at fair value on the date of the related business combination transaction and recognizes changes in the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. As part of the ASL Transaction, the Company no longer has a carrying value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest as of December 31, 2023.

Changes in redeemable noncontrolling interest for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, are as follows:

99


(in thousands)

 

 

 

Balance at January 1, 2022

 

$

1,893

 

Fair value at acquisition

 

 

1,987

 

Net income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests

 

 

215

 

Dividend distribution

 

 

(223

)

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

(126

)

Balance at December 31, 2022

 

 

3,746

 

Net income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests

 

 

301

 

Dividend distribution

 

 

(154

)

Deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

(3,912

)

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

 

19

 

Balance at December 31, 2023

 

$

 

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company, through its then majority owned international joint venture, acquired one sales business which included a put option exercisable by the 20% shareholder that allowed such shareholder to sell its 20% noncontrolling interest to the Company for a multiple of the acquired subsidiary’s adjusted earnings. As the put option was outside of the Company’s control, the estimated value of the 20% noncontrolling interest was presented as a redeemable noncontrolling interest outside of permanent equity on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The fair value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest and put option at the acquisition date was valued based on a mix of the income approach for determining the value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest and market approach for determining the most advantageous redemption point for the put option using a Monte Carlo simulation method. The fair value assigned to this interest was estimated using Level 3 inputs based on unobservable inputs. As part of the ASL Transaction, the Company no longer has a carrying value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest as of December 31, 2023.

18. Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

The Company is involved in various legal matters that arise in the ordinary course of its business. Some of these legal matters purport or may be determined to be class and/or representative actions, or seek substantial damages, or penalties. The Company has accrued amounts in connection with certain legal matters, including with respect to certain of the matters described below. There can be no assurance, however, that these accruals will be sufficient to cover such matters or other legal matters or that such matters or other legal matters will not materially or adversely affect the Company’s financial position, liquidity, or results of operations.

Employment Matters

The Company has also been involved in various litigation, including purported class or representative actions with respect to matters arising under the California Labor Code and Private Attorneys General Act. The Company has retained outside counsel to represent it in these matters and is vigorously defending its interests.

Commercial Matters

The Company has also been involved in various litigation matters and arbitrations with respect to commercial matters arising with clients, vendors and third-party sellers of businesses. The Company has retained outside counsel to represent it in these matters and is vigorously defending its interests.

Legal Matters Related to Take 5

The Company voluntarily disclosed to the United States Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation certain misconduct occurring at Take 5, a line of business that the Company closed in July 2019. The Company intends to cooperate in this and any other governmental investigations that may arise in connection with the Take 5 Matter. At this time, the Company cannot predict the ultimate outcome of any investigation related to the Take 5 Matter and is unable to estimate the potential impact such an investigation may have on the Company. In August 2019, as a result of the Take 5 Matter, the Company provided a written indemnification claim notice to the sellers of Take 5 (the “Take 5 Sellers”) seeking monetary damages (including interest, fees and costs) based on allegations of breach of the asset purchase agreement (the “Take 5 APA”), as well as fraud. The Company and the Take 5 Sellers engaged in arbitration proceedings. In October 2022, the arbitrator made a final award in the Company’s favor. The Company is actively pursuing the collection of this award in state court in Florida. The Company is currently unable to estimate if or when it will be able to collect any amounts associated with this arbitration. The Take 5 Matter may result in additional litigation against the Company, including lawsuits from clients, or governmental investigations, which may expose the Company to potential

100


liability in excess of the amounts being offered by the Company as refunds to Take 5 clients. The Company is currently unable to determine the amount of any potential liability, costs or expenses (above the amounts already being offered as refunds) that may result from any lawsuits or investigations associated with the Take 5 Matter or determine whether any such issues will have any future material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, liquidity, or results of operations. Although the Company has insurance covering certain liabilities, the Company cannot assure that the insurance will be sufficient to cover any potential liability or expenses associated with the Take 5 Matter.

Surety Bonds

In the ordinary course of business, the Company is required to provide financial commitments in the form of surety bonds to third parties as a guarantee of its operations and/performance on and its compliance with certain obligations. If the Company were to fail to perform or searchcomply with these obligations, any draws upon surety bonds issued on its behalf would then trigger the Company’s payment obligation to the surety bond issuer. The Company has outstanding surety bonds issued for a target company,its benefit of $16.0 million as of December 31, 2023, and 2022.

19. Subsequent Events

In January 2024, the specific impactCompany entered into an agreement and sold its collection of foodservice businesses, most notably Waypoint. The Company received approximately $91.0 million in cash proceeds, less estimated working capital adjustments and an ongoing 7.5% stake in the entity with which the foodservice businesses were combined. The Company is not readily determinablecurrently in the process of finalizing the accounting for this transaction and has determined that the gain or loss related to this sale is impractical to report as of the date of thesethis filing.

In December 2023, the Company entered into a trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act authorizing the repurchase of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. From January 2, 2024 to February 29, 2024, the Company purchased 3.0 million shares of Class A common stock. No stock repurchases were made pursuant to this plan for the year ended December 31, 2023.

101


SCHEDULE I

ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

CONDENSED REGISTRANT ONLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

 

 

December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment in subsidiaries

 

$

1,106,029

 

 

$

1,124,933

 

Total assets

 

$

1,106,029

 

 

$

1,124,933

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warrant liability

 

$

667

 

 

$

953

 

Total liability

 

 

667

 

 

 

953

 

Equity attributable to stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock $0.0001 par value, 3,290,000,000 shares authorized;
   
322,235,261 and 319,690,300 shares issued and outstanding as of
   December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

32

 

 

 

32

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

 

3,449,261

 

 

 

3,408,836

 

Accumulated deficit

 

 

(2,314,650

)

 

 

(2,247,109

)

Loans to Karman Topco L.P.

 

 

(6,387

)

 

 

(6,363

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

 

(3,945

)

 

 

(18,849

)

Common stock in treasury, at cost; 3,600,075 and 1,610,014 shares as of
   December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively

 

 

(18,949

)

 

 

(12,567

)

Total equity attributable to stockholders of Advantage Solutions Inc.

 

 

1,105,362

 

 

 

1,123,980

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

 

$

1,106,029

 

 

$

1,124,933

 

See Notes to Condensed Registrant Only Financial Statements

102


SCHEDULE I

ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

CONDENSED REGISTRANT ONLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(in thousands)

 

2023

 

 

2022

 

 

2021

 

Revenues

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Cost of revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general, and administrative expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gain on deconsolidation of subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on divestitures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income from unconsolidated investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other (income) expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Change in fair value of warrant liability

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Interest expense, net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total other (income) expenses

 

 

(286

)

 

 

(21,236

)

 

 

955

 

Income (loss) before income taxes and equity in net income of subsidiaries

 

 

286

 

 

 

21,236

 

 

 

(955

)

Provision for income taxes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) before equity in net income of subsidiaries

 

 

286

 

 

 

21,236

 

 

 

(955

)

Equity in net (loss) income of subsidiaries

 

 

(63,544

)

 

 

(1,401,738

)

 

 

55,449

 

Net (loss) income attributable to subsidiaries

 

 

(63,258

)

 

 

(1,380,502

)

 

 

54,494

 

Other comprehensive (loss) income, net of tax equity in
   comprehensive (loss) income of subsidiaries

 

 

5,817

 

 

 

(14,370

)

 

 

(5,152

)

Total comprehensive (loss) income

 

$

(57,441

)

 

$

(1,394,872

)

 

$

49,342

 

See Notes to Condensed Registrant Only Financial Statements

103


ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

CONDENSED REGISTRANT ONLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED REGISTRANT ONLY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1. Basis of Presentation

In the registrant company only financial statements, Advantage Solutions Inc.’s (the “Registrant”) investment in subsidiaries is stated at cost plus equity in undistributed earnings of the subsidiaries during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. The accompanying condensed registrant company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Rule 12-04, Schedule 1 of Regulation S-X. A condensed statement of cash flows was not presented because Registrant’s operating activities have no cash impact and there were no investing or financing cash flow activities during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021. This information should be read in conjunction with the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

2. Debt Restrictions

Pursuant to the terms of the Senior Secured Credit Facilities and the Notes discussed in Note 7, Debt, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Registrant’s subsidiaries have restrictions on their ability to pay dividends or make intercompany loans and advances to the Registrant. Since the restricted net assets of the Registrant’s subsidiaries exceed 25% of the consolidated net assets of the Registrant and its subsidiaries, the accompanying condensed registrant company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Rule 12-04, Schedule 1 of Regulation S-X.

Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Borrower”) has obligations under the Term Loan Facility that are guaranteed by Karman Intermediate Corp. (“Holdings”) and all of the Borrower’s direct and indirect wholly owned material U.S. subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions) and Canadian subsidiaries (subject to certain permitted exceptions, including exceptions based on immateriality thresholds of aggregate assets and revenues of Canadian subsidiaries) (the “Guarantors”). The Term Loan Facility is secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’, the Borrower’s and the Guarantors’ assets (subject to certain permitted exceptions). The Term Loan Facility has a first- priority lien on the fixed asset collateral (equal in priority with the liens securing the Notes) and a second-priority lien on the current asset collateral (second in priority to the liens securing the Revolving Credit Facility), in each case, subject to other permitted liens.

The Borrower will be required to prepay the Term Loan Facility with 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain asset sales (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios) and subject to certain reinvestment rights, 100% of the net cash proceeds of certain debt issuances and 50% of excess cash flow (such percentage subject to reduction based on the achievement of specific first lien net leverage ratios).

The Term Loan Facility contains certain customary negative covenants, including, but not limited to, restrictions on the ability of Holdings and that of its restricted subsidiaries to merge and consolidate with other companies, incur indebtedness, grant liens or security interests on assets, pay dividends or make other restricted payments, sell or otherwise transfer assets or enter into transactions with affiliates.

The Term Loan Facility provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events of default, the Company’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated. Such events of default will include payment defaults to the lenders thereunder, material inaccuracies of representations and warranties, covenant defaults, cross-defaults to other material indebtedness, voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy, insolvency, corporate arrangement, winding-up, liquidation or similar proceedings, material money judgments, change of control and other customary events of default.

104


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

None

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Limitations on Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We have established disclosure controls and procedures to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based on the evaluation as of December 31, 2023, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are effective at the reasonable assurance level.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements prepared for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

We rely extensively on information systems and technology to manage our business and summarize operating results. We are in the process of a multi-year implementation of a new global enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system, which will replace our existing operating and financial systems. The ERP system is designed to accurately maintain the Company’s financial records, enhance operational functionality and provide timely information to the Company’s management team related to the operation of the business. The implementation is expected to occur in phases over the next several years. As the next phases are rolled out in connection with the ERP implementation, we will give appropriate consideration to whether these process changes necessitate changes in the design of and testing for effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting.

Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2023.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is included herein.

105


Item 9B. Other Information.

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, none of our directors and executive officers adopted or terminated a “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement” or “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as each term is defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K.

Item 9.C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

None.

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

The Company has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics applicable to our principal executive, financial and accounting officers and all persons performing similar functions. A copy of that code is available on our principal corporate website at www.advantagesolutions.net.

Item 11. Executive Compensation.

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

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

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required by this item is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

106


PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.

(a)(1) Financial Statements.

See Index to Financial Statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedule.

Schedule ICondensed Registrant Only Financial Information. See Index to Financial Statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

All other financial statement schedules have been omitted as the information is not required under the related instructions or is not applicable or because the information required is already included in the financial statements door the notes to those financial statements.

(a)(3) Exhibits.

Exhibit
No.

Incorporated by Reference

 

Description

Form

File No.

Exhibit

Filing Date

2.1

Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 7, 2020, by and among Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp., CP II Merger Sub, Inc., Advantage Solutions Inc., and Karman Topco L.P.

8-K

001-38990

2.1

September 8, 2020

3.1

Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Advantage Solutions Inc.

8-K

001-38990

3.1

May 28, 2021

3.2

Third Amended and Restated Bylaws of Advantage Solutions Inc.

8-K

001-38990

3.1

April 13, 2021

4.1

Specimen Common Stock Certificate

8-K

001-38990

4.1

November 3, 2020

4.2

Warrant Agreement, dated July 22, 2019, between Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

8-K

001-38990

4.1

July 22, 2019

 

4.3

Specimen Warrant Certificate (included in Exhibit 4.2)

8-K

001-38990

4.1

July 22, 2019

4.4

Indenture, dated as of October 28, 2020, among Advantage Solutions FinCo LLC, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., the guarantors party thereto and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee and collateral agent

8-K

001-38990

4.4

November 3, 2020

4.5

Form of 6.50% Senior Secured Notes due 2028 (included in Exhibit 4.4)

8-K

001-38990

4.4

November 3, 2020

10.1

Amended and Restated Stockholders Agreement, dated as of October 27, 2020, by and among Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp., Karman Topco L.P., CVC ASM Holdco, L.P., the entities identified on the signature pages thereto under the heading “LGP Stockholders”, BC Eagle Holdings, L.P., and Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC

8-K

001-38990

10.2

November 3, 2020

10.2

Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of September 7, 2020 by and between Karman Topco L.P., Karman II Coinvest LP, Green Equity Investors VI, L.P., Green Equity Investors Side VI, L.P., LGP Associates VI-A LLC, LGP Associates

8-K

001-38990

10.3

November 3, 2020

107


 

VI-B LLC, CVC ASM Holdco, LP, JCP ASM Holdco, L.P., Karman Coinvest L.P., Centerview Capital, L.P., Centerview Employees, L.P., BC Eagle Holdings, L.P. and Yonghui Investment Limited, Conyers Park II Sponsor LLC and the other holders of Common Series B Units, Vested Common Series C Units and Vested Common Series C-2 Units of Holdings listed on the schedule thereto as Contributing Investors.

 

 

 

 

10.3

Form of Investor Subscription Agreement

8-K

001-38990

10.4

September 8, 2020

10.4

Form of Sponsor Subscription Agreement

8-K

001-38990

10.5

September 8, 2020

10.5#

Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Plan

8-K

001-38990

10.6#

November 3, 2020

10.5(a)#

Form of Stock Option Award Grant Notice and Agreement under the Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Plan

10-K

001-38990

10.6(a)#

March 16, 2021

10.5(b)#

Form of Restricted Stock Award Grant Notice and Agreement under the Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Plan

10-K

001-38990

10.6(b)#

March 16, 2021

10.5(c)#

Form of Performance Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Agreement under the Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Award Plan

10-K

001-38990

10.6(c)#

March 16, 2021

10.5(d)#*

Advantage Solutions Inc. Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy

 

 

 

 

10.5(e)#

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (Non-Employee Directors) under the Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Incentive Award Plan

8-K

001-38990

99.4

January 6, 2021

10.6#

Advantage Solutions Inc. 2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

8-K

001-38990

10.7#

November 3, 2020

10.7#

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated as of March 1, 2022, by and between Advantage Solutions Inc. and Tanya Domier

8-K

001-38990

10.2#

March 1, 2022

10.8#

Third Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated September 30, 2022, by and between Brian Stevens and Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC

8-K

001-38990

10.1#

October 4, 2022

10.9#

Transition Agreement dated March 13, 2023, by and between Brian Stevens and Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC

8-K

001-38990

10.1#

March 14, 2023

10.10#

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement, dated March 1, 2022, by and between Advantage Solutions Inc. and Jill Griffin

8-K

001-38990

10.1#

March 1, 2022

10.11#

Separation Agreement and General Release executed January 16, 2023, by and between Advantage Solutions Inc. and Jill Griffin

8-K

001-38990

10.1#

May 10, 2023

10.12#*

Employment Agreement dated March 28, 2024, by and between Advantage Solutions Inc. and Jack Pestello

 

 

 

 

10.13#

Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated March 31, 2023, by and between Advantage Solutions Inc. and Christopher Growe

10-Q

001-38990

10.1#

April 3, 2023

108


10.14#*

Executive Employment Agreement dated October 18, 2017, by and between Daymon Worldwide Inc. and Michael Taylor

 

 

 

 

10.15#

Form of Indemnification Agreement

8-K

001-38990

10.11#

November 3, 2020

10.16

Eighth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership for Karman Topco L.P., dated as of September 7, 2020

8-K

001-38990

10.14

November 3, 2020

10.17

First Amendment to Eighth Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of Karman Topco L.P.

10-K

001-38990

10.19

March 1, 2023

10.18

ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, dated October 28, 2020, by and among Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., as Borrower, Karman Intermediate Corp., Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent, and the lender parties thereto.

8-K

001-38990

10.15

November 3, 2020

10.19

First Lien Credit Agreement, dated October 28, 2020, by and among Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., as Borrower, Karman Intermediate Corp., Bank of America, N.A., as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent, and the lender parties thereto.

8-K

001-38990

10.16

November 3, 2020

10.20

Amendment No. 1 to First Lien Credit Agreement, dated as of October 28, 2021, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the other guarantors parties thereto, each lender party thereto, and Bank of America, as administrative agent.

8-K

001-38990

10.1

October 29, 2021

10.21

First Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 28, 2021, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent.

8-K

001-38990

10.2

October 29, 2021

10.22

Second Amendment to ABL Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of December 2, 2022, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the lenders party thereto and Bank of America, as administrative agent.

8-K

001-38990

10.1

December 6, 2022

10.23

Amendment No. 2 to First Lien Credit Agreement, dated as of May 24, 2023, by and among the Borrower, Holdings, the other guarantors parties thereto, each lender party thereto, and Bank of America, as administrative agent

10-Q

001-38990

10.1

August 4, 2023

14.1

Code of Ethics

10-K

001-38990

14.1

March 1, 2023

21.1*

List of Subsidiaries

 

 

 

 

23.1*

Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

31.1*

Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Chief Executive Officer

31.2*

Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification of Chief Financial Officer

32.1**

Section 1350 Certification of Chief Executive Officer

109


32.2**

Section 1350 Certification of Chief Financial Officer

97.1

Policy Relating to Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation

101.INS

Inline XBRL Instance Document – the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document

101.SCH

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

101.CAL

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document

101.DEF

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

101.LAB

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document

101.PRE

Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

104

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

* Filed herewith.

** The certifications attached as Exhibit 32.1 and Exhibit 32.2 that accompany this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not includedeemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are not to be incorporated by reference into any adjustments that might result fromfiling of the outcomeRegistrant under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, whether made before or after the date of this uncertainty.Annual Report on Form 10-K, irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.

# Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.

None.

***


110


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Reportreport to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

CONYERS PARK II ACQUISITION CORP.

ADVANTAGE SOLUTIONS INC.

March 30, 2020

By:

By:

/s/ David J. WestPeacock

Name:

David J. WestPeacock

Title:

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Date:

(Principal Executive Officer)

 March 1, 2024

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Reportreport has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrantRegistrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

NameSIGNATURE

TITLE

PositionDATE

Date

/s/ David Peacock

David Peacock

Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) and Director

March 1, 2024

/s/ Christopher Growe

Christopher Growe

Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)

March 1, 2024

/s/ Bevin Conley

Bevin Conley

Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer)

March 1, 2024

/s/ Chris Baldwin

Director

March 1, 2024

Chris Baldwin

/s/ Cameron Breitner

Director

March 1, 2024

Cameron Breitner

/s/ Virginie Costa

Director

March 1, 2024

Virginie Costa

/s/ Timothy J. Flynn

Director

March 1, 2024

Timothy J. Flynn

/s/ Tiffany Han

Director

March 1, 2024

Tiffany Han

/s/ James M. Kilts

Chairman and Director

March 1, 2024

James M. Kilts

/s/ Adam Levyn

Director

March 1, 2024

Adam Levyn

/s/ Jody Macedonio

Director

March 1, 2024

Jody Macedonio

/s/ Robin Manherz

Director

March 1, 2024

Robin Manherz


SIGNATURE

TITLE

DATE

/s/ Adam Nebesar

Director

March 1, 2024

Adam Nebesar

/s/ Deborah Poole

Director

March 1, 2024

Deborah Poole

/s/ Brian K. Ratzan

Director

March 1, 2024

Brian K. Ratzan

/s/ David J. West

Director

Chief Executive Officer and Director

March 30, 20201, 2024

David J. West

(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Brian K. Ratzan

Chief Financial Officer and DirectorMarch 30, 2020
Brian K. Ratzan(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ James M. Kilts

Executive Chairman of the Board of DirectorsMarch 30, 2020
James M. Kilts

/s/ Ronald E. Blaylock

DirectorMarch 30, 2020
Ronald E. Blaylock

/s/ Peter Klein

DirectorMarch 30, 2020
Peter Klein

/s/ Irene Rosenfeld

DirectorMarch 30, 2020
Irene Rosenfeld

/s/ Joseph Schena

DirectorMarch 30, 2020
Joseph Schena

67