CERTAIN TERMS
References to the “Company,” “our Company,” “Black Hawk,” “our,” “us,” or “we” refer to Black Hawk Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company incorporated on September 28, 2023, as a Cayman Islands exempted corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K as our “target business.” References to our “Sponsor” refer to Black Hawk Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, an affiliate of our Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. References to the “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. References to our “initial public offering” or “IPO” refer to our initial public offering, which closed on March 22, 2024 (the “Closing Date”). References to “Public Shares” are to shares of our ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our initial public offering. References to “public shareholders” are to the holders of our Public Shares.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report” or “Annual Report”) may constitute “forward looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and the statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward looking. Forward looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
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The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under “Part I, Item 1A. 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.
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Item 1. Business Overview.
We are a Cayman Islands company incorporated on September 28, 2023, as an exempted company with limited liability. We chose to incorporate in the Cayman Islands due to (i) its tax-neutrality, which allows international transactions to be structured efficiently without an additional layer of tax and (ii) simplicity of establishment and flexibility of administration, including easy migration to another jurisdiction, the existence of statutory procedures for merger or consolidation, and no takeover code or bespoke public company filing requirements.
We were formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as a “target business.” We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location.
We may retain all of our available funds and any future earnings following a business combination to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, we may not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
We believe our management team is well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that our professional contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, family offices, commercial and investment bankers, lawyers and other financial sector service providers and participants, in addition to the geographical reach of our affiliates, will enable us to pursue a broad range of opportunities. Our management believes that its collective ability to identify and implement value creation initiatives has been an essential driver of past performance and will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy.
Initial Public Offering and Private Placement
In October 2023, the Company issued 17,250,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 per share to the Sponsor, the founder shares, for an aggregated consideration of $25,000, or approximately $0.0145 per share. On November 13, 2023, the Company and the Sponsor entered into the First Amendment to the Subscription Agreement, pursuant to which the 17,250,000 shares of common stock were converted to 1,725,000 Class B ordinary shares. On March 20, 2024, the Company and the Sponsor entered into the Second Amendment to the Subscription Agreement, pursuant to which the purchased amount of shares was adjusted to 1,983,750 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0126 par value per ordinary share. In addition, 258,750 of such founder shares were forfeited as the underwriters’ over-allotment option in the Issuer’s initial public offering was not exercised.
On March 20, 2024, the Company consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 6,900,000 units (the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (the “Ordinary Shares”) and one-fifth (1/5) of one right to receive one Ordinary Share upon the consummation of the Company’s initial business combination. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating total gross proceeds of $69,000,000. The Company also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,035,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. On March 18, 2024, the Company elected to convert 1,725,000 Class B ordinary shares into 1,725,000 Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of IPO.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO and the sale of the Units, the Company consummated the private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 235,500 Units (the “Placement Units”), each Placement Unit consisting of one Ordinary Share and one-fifth (1/5) of one right, to the Sponsor at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit, generating total proceeds of $2,355,000. The issuance of the Placement Units was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
A total of $69,345,000 of the net proceeds from the IPO and the Private Placement were placed in a U.S.-based trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders and maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the proceeds of the IPO and the Private Placement that are held out of the Trust Account, although substantially all the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally towards consummating a business combination and working capital.
Since our IPO, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. We presently have no revenue and have had losses since inception from incurring formation and operating costs. We have relied upon the sale of our securities and loans from the Sponsor and other parties to fund our operations.
On May 13, 2024, holders of the Company’s units could elect to separately trade the ordinary shares and rights included in its units. The ordinary shares and rights are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “BKHA” and “BKHAR,” respectively. Units not separated will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “BKHAU.” Holders of units will need to have their brokers contact the Company’s transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Co., in order to separate the holders’ Units into ordinary shares and rights.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
Leadership of an Experienced Management Team and Board of Directors
Our management team is led by our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors, Mr. Kent Louis Kaufman, our Chief Operating Officer and Director, Jonathan Ginsberg and our Independent Directors, Brandon Miller, Daniel M. McCabe, and Terry W. Protto. All of our management team members are United States citizens.
Mr. Kent Louis Kaufman, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chairman, serves as the CEO of the Growth and Leadership Center Inc, a role he has held since 2004. Since March 2020, Mr. Kaufman has been serving as a managing partner at BEEC Capital, a management and consulting company. He has also been a frequently utilized leadership consultant for Korn Ferry International, a recruiting and human resources consulting company, since 2006. Mr. Kaufman has worked with companies and executives at all levels, including CEOs, Boards of Directors, vice presidents, and directors. Throughout his career, he has consulted for companies including NVIDIA, Amazon, Google, Intel, Hewlett Packard, Chevron, Abbot Labs, Medtronic, Network Appliance, Barclays, Black Rock, Bank of New York Mellon, Cisco, Northrop Grumman, and Apple. Mr. Kaufman has over 30 years of experience in executive roles, management consulting, and executive coaching. From 1991 until 1996, Mr. Kaufman was one of the key leaders who took start-up StorMedia public in an IPO, where he served as the Director of Product Development. From 1979 until 1991, Mr. Kaufman began his management career at IBM, where he worked as a Materials Scientist and received the prestigious Outstanding Innovation Award from IBM. Mr. Kaufman received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and his Master of Science from Stanford University.