References in this Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Centurion Acquisition Corp. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on January 18, 2024 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We have 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering (“IPO” or “Initial Public Offering”), or until such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”) to complete our initial Business Combination.
We have reviewed, and continue to review, a number of opportunities to enter into a Business Combination, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will complete a Business Combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. We may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry, sector or geographic location. We also have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on June 10, 2024. On June 12, 2024, we consummated the IPO of 28,750,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares” or “Class A Ordinary Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,750,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $287,500,000. Each Unit consists of one Class A Ordinary Share and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (the “Public Warrants”), with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at $11.50 per share.
Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the sale of an aggregate of 7,000,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement to the Company’s Sponsor, Centurion Sponsor LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the “Sponsor”), and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) and Odeon Capital Group, LLC (“Odeon”), the representatives of the underwriters of the IPO, generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000. Of those 7,000,000 Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 4,500,000 Private Placement Warrants, Cantor purchased 1,750,000 Private Placement Warrants and Odeon purchased 750,000 Private Placement Warrants.
Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on January 23, 2024, our Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for issuance of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). On April 29, 2024, the Company affected a share capitalization of 1,437,500 Founder Shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding 7,187,500 Founder Shares. The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO.
Following the closing of the IPO, on June 12, 2024, an amount of $287,500,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in the Trust Account (the “Trust Account”) and will be held as cash or invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial Business Combination if the Company determines it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or by such earlier liquidation date as the Company’s board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s Public Shareholders. To mitigate the risk that might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk increases the longer that the Company holds investments in the Trust Account, the Company may, at any time in its own discretion, instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing bank demand deposit account.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
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 held in the Trust Account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial Business Combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial Business Combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our Trust Account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of the Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial Business Combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Business Strategy
The digital technology industry is highly fragmented with hundreds of companies developing innovate and potentially disruptive technologies and services. Continued tailwinds should fuel this growth. We anticipate cybersecurity concerns, the rise of, and growing use case for, artificial intelligence (“AI”), the development of deep learning, and the launch of innovative new technology businesses and other emerging technologies, to foster the continued growth of numerous new companies, many of which are privately owned. As such, we believe that this universe of companies presents a vast array of potential compelling business combination opportunities for us.
We plan to seek to leverage our team’s skills and extensive industry experience to add significant value to the target company through our operating expertise and focus on organic growth initiatives, as well as potential add-on acquisitions.
Some of the core “pillars” of our strategy, which are based in large part on our team’s extensive prior experience, include:
We plan to engage with our extensive network of industry relationships, which includes numerous private companies and entrepreneurs, private equity firms, venture capitalists and private investors, to articulate the parameters of our search for a target company and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial Business Combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial Business Combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial Business Combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial Business Combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board of directors determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. As any such opinion, if obtained, would only state that the fair market value meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of the target or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required by Schedule 14A of the Exchange Act, any proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we will file with the SEC in connection with our initial Business Combination will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial Business Combination so that the post transaction company in which our Public Shareholders 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 shareholders or for other reasons, 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 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 shareholders 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. 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, shares or other equity interests 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 shareholders immediately prior to our initial Business Combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial Business Combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. 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.
We expect to seek to identify companies that have compelling growth potential and a combination of the following characteristics. We expect to 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 or assets that we believe have the following attributes:
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 shareholder communications related to our initial Business Combination, which would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
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 and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We also plan to utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial Business Combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial Business Combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial Business Combination with a 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 that is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm that such an 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 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. The low price that our Sponsor, executive officers and directors (directly or indirectly) paid for the Founder Shares creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for Public Shareholders. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants may expire worthless, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account, which could create an incentive for our Sponsor, executive officers and directors to complete a transaction even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for Public Shareholders. 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.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. 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 business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us, and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may Sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial Business Combination. However, we do not believe that such duties or obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion 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 either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. Each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the initial Business Combination, or whether they do not vote or abstain from voting on the initial Business Combination, or whether they were a shareholder on the record date for the shareholder meeting held to approve the initial Business Combination. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares by one of the two methods listed above are contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by a special resolution, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
If we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in connection with a general meeting, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: