Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we are authorized to issue 266,666,666 ordinary shares, $0.000075 par value each, and 2,666,666 preference shares, $0.000075 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Ordinary Shares
| 8,427,500 ordinary shares are outstanding, consisting of: | ||
| ● | 6,000,000 ordinary shares underlying the public units; | |
| ● | 252,500 ordinary shares underlying the private units; | |
| ● | 2,000,000 ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders; and | |
| ● | 175,000 ordinary shares held by EBC and its designees. | |
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions, will require a special resolutions under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors. After completion of our initial business combination, the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 266,666,666 ordinary shares, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are required to hold an annual meeting no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual general meetings or general meetings to elect directors. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares 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 our initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), 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. Our initial shareholders 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, private shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares 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 outstanding share of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Due to the initial shareholders’ ownership of the founder shares and private shares, our initial business combination may be approved even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Pursuant to SEC rules, we intend to provide an information statement to shareholders a minimum of 20 calendar days prior to 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 shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder 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 memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. As a result, such shareholders will continue to hold their Excess Shares and, in order to dispose such shares, would be required to sell their share in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares in favor of our initial business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether it votes for or against, or abstains from voting or otherwise does not vote on, the proposed transaction (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination by April 23, 2027 (or such later date as may be approved by our shareholders), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes paid and payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (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 shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by April 23, 2027.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within such time period, we will, as promptly as possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of our outstanding public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account, including a pro rata portion of any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate. However, we may not be able to distribute such amounts as a result of claims of creditors which may take priority over the claims of our public shareholders. In the event of our dissolution and liquidation, the private units (and their underlying securities) will expire and be worthless.
If our initial shareholders acquire public shares, 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 within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of share, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no pre-emptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares, EBC Founder Shares and Private Units
The founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares underlying the private units are identical to the ordinary shares included in the public units, and holders of founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) our initial shareholders and EBC have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (a) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by April 23, 2027 or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by April 23, 2027; and (iii) the founder shares, EBC founder shares and private shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any founder shares, private shares and any public shares purchased by them in favor of our initial business combination.
The founder shares have been placed into an escrow account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as escrow agent. The founder shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination, or earlier, if, subsequent to our initial business combination, we consummate a subsequent liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, except in each case (a) to our sponsors, officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our sponsors, officers or directors, any members of our initial shareholders, or any affiliate of our initial shareholders; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made at or prior to the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or the memorandum and articles of association of our sponsors upon dissolution of our sponsors; or (g) to us for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements unless we otherwise consent to a transfer without a continuation of such restrictions.
The private units (including the underlying securities) are identical to the units (including the underlying securities) sold in the initial public offering, subject to limited exceptions. Our sponsors and EBC have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private units or underlying securities (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the completion of our initial business combination.
We issued to EBC 100,000 EBC founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $1,450 on April 2, 2024. As a result of the forward stock split that was effected in June 2025, such shares became an aggregate of 133,333 EBC founder shares. We subsequently issued an additional 41,667 EBC founder shares to EBC in June 2025 for an aggregate purchase price of $454, resulting in an aggregate of 175,000 EBC founder shares. The EBC founder shares will not be transferred, assigned or sold (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described herein) until the consummation of an initial business combination.
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
| ● | the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member (which shall distinguish each share by its number (so long as the share has a number); confirm the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, confirm the number and category of each member and the voting rights of such shares (and whether such voting rights are conditional); | |
| ● | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and | |
| ● | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. The shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations, and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are outstanding.
Rights
Public Rights
Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of a public right converted all ordinary shares held by him, her or it in connection with the initial business combination or an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association with respect to our pre-initial business combination activities. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights in order to receive the one-tenth (1/10) of one ordinary share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive his, her or its additional ordinary shares upon consummation of an initial business combination. The ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the rights will be freely tradable (except to the extent held by affiliates of ours). If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same consideration per ordinary share into which the rights may be converted as the holders of the ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into ordinary shares basis.
We will not issue fractional ordinary shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of ten in order to receive ordinary shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights. Further, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination. Additionally, in no event will we be required to net cash settle the rights. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.
Our rights will be issued in registered form under a rights agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as rights agent, and us. The rights agreement provides that the terms of the rights may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision. The rights agreement requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding rights in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the holders of the rights.
Private Rights
The private rights have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the rights being sold as part of the units in the initial public offering.
The private rights (including the ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the rights) will not be transferable, assignable, or salable until the completion of our initial business combination (except as described herein).
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands Law. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Rights Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and rights agent for our rights is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and rights agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modelled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction) so as to form a single surviving company.
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of two-thirds of the votes of shareholders, who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the votes at a general meeting of a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation. Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted. Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived, (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company, and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides certain limited appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company must (and any dissenting shareholder may) file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by seventy-five percent (75%) in value of the shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| ● | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; | |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; | |
| ● | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and | |
| ● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offer or may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion, or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company and as a general rule, a derivative action may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based on English law authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a non-controlling shareholder may be permitted to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge:
| ● | an act which is illegal or ultra vires with respect to the company and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders; | |
| ● | an act which, although not ultra vires, requires authorization by a qualified (or special) majority (that is, more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained; and | |
| ● | an act which constitutes a “fraud on the minority” where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company. |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Ogier, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would (i) recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, and (ii) entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdictions against us or our directors and officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States.
There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize such foreign money judgment and treat it as a cause of action in itself which may be sued upon as a debt at common law so that no retrial of the issues would be necessary provided that (i) the court issuing the judgment is of competent jurisdiction; (ii) the judgment is final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, (iii) the judgment given was not in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty or similar fiscal or revenue obligation of the company; (iv) in obtaining the judgment there was no fraud on part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on part of the court; (v) recognition or enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to public policy in the Cayman Islands; and (vi) the proceeding pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the Company, for liabilities of the Company over and above the amount paid for their shares) under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| ● | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; | |
| ● | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; | |
| ● | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; | |
| ● | an exempted company may not issue negotiable or bearer shares, but may issue shares with no par value; | |
| ● | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); | |
| ● | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; | |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and | |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
“Limited Liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).