FTAAU FTAC Athena Acquisition Corporation

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

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SCHEDULE 14A

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Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Check the appropriate box:

FTAC ATHENA ACQUISITION CORP.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

___________________________________________________________

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

Important Information

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business combination contemplated by that certain Business Combination Agreement, dated as of August 3, 2021, by and between FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), and Pico Quantitative Trading Holdings LLC (“Pico”). On January 20, 2022, Mergermarket posted an article concerning Pico, including its recent acquisition of Redline Trading Solutions, which included comments from the founder and co-CEO of Pico, Jarrod Yuster. A copy of the article is attached hereto. The materials are filed herewith pursuant to Rule 14a-12.

Additional Information About the Transactions and Where to Find It

The Company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a preliminary proxy statement in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement (the “Transactions”) and will mail a definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents to its shareholders. The Company’s shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement in connection with the Company’s solicitation of proxies for its extraordinary general meeting to be held to approve the Transactions, as these materials will contain important information about the Company, Pico and the Transactions. The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to shareholders of the Company as of a record date to be established for voting on the Transactions. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement, as well as other filings containing information about the Company, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp., 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104, Attn: Amanda Abrams.

Participants in Solicitation

The Company, Pico and certain of their respective directors and officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of the Company’s shareholders with respect to the approval of the Transactions. Information regarding the Company’s directors and officers and a description of their interests in the Company is contained in the Company’s final prospectus relating to its initial public offering, which was filed with the SEC on February 24, 2021. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation, including Pico’s directors and officers, and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the proxy statement for the Transactions when available. Each of these documents is, or will be, available at the SEC’s website or by directing a request to the Company as described above under “Additional Information About the Transactions and Where to Find It.”

In connection with the Transactions, at any time prior to the extraordinary general meeting to approve the Transactions, certain existing Company shareholders, which may include certain of the Company’s officers, directors and other affiliates, may enter into transactions with shareholders and other persons with respect to the Company’s securities to provide such investors or other persons with incentives in connection with the approval and consummation of the Transactions. While the exact nature of such incentives has not yet been determined, they might include, without limitation, arrangements to purchase shares from or sell shares to such investors and persons at nominal prices or prices other than fair market value. These shareholders will only effect such transactions when they are not then aware of any material nonpublic information regarding the Company, Pico or their respective securities.

Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", “could”, “continue”, "expect", "estimate", “may”, "plan", "outlook", “future” and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable and may also relate to the Company’s or Pico’s future prospects, developments and business strategies. In particular, such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the timing of the Transactions; the business plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of the public company once the transaction is complete, and Pico’s estimated and future results of operations, business strategies, competitive position, industry environment and potential growth opportunities. These statements are based on the Company’s or Pico’s management’s current expectations and beliefs, as applicable, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s or Pico’s control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors include, but are not limited to, (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; (2) the inability to complete the Transactions due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of the Company or other conditions to closing in the Business Combination Agreement; (3) the ability of the public entity to meet Nasdaq’s listing standards following the Transactions; (4) the inability to complete the PIPE investment; (5) the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Pico as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions described herein; (6) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with suppliers and agents and retain its management and key employees; (7) costs related to the proposed business combination; (8) changes in applicable laws or regulations and delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals required to complete the business combination; (9) the possibility that Pico may be adversely affected by other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors; (10) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company, Pico or any of their respective directors or officers, following the announcement of the potential transaction; and (11) the failure to realize anticipated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated shareholder redemptions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering, subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, which are available, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and will also be provided in the Company’s proxy statement when available. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company or Pico to predict these events or how they may affect either party. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and the Company and Pico undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Disclaimer

This communication shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Pico seeking data analytics buys as SPAC merger nears close, co-CEO says

13:04 EST, January 20 2022

Pico, a financial market data and analytics provider that is going public via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, receives regular inbound opportunities and expects to make additional acquisitions this year, said founder and co-CEO Jarrod Yuster.

The number of acquisitions the New York City-based company executes this year will depend on the size of those deals, Yuster said. It sees many opportunities for mid-size targets with revenue between USD 50m-USD 100m in addition to a couple larger deals and smaller tuck-in buys, he explained.

Last August, Pico agreed to merge with blank-check company FTAC Athena Acquisition [NASDAQ:FTAA] at a pro forma enterprise value of USD 1.4bn, which is 5.7x estimated 2022 revenue. That deal is now expected to close in 2Q instead of 1Q, Yuster said.

Meanwhile, it announced the acquisition of Woburn, Massachusetts-based Redline Trading Solutions, a provider of high-performance trading and market data software, on 4 January for an undisclosed sum. That deal marked its second sizable purchase to date and fourth overall acquisition, the co-CEO said.

He declined to comment on potential letters of intent, saying only that the company always has ongoing discussions at various stages.

Pico expects to focus on deals that extend its product, expand clients or add talent, Yuster said. It wants to leverage its infrastructure connectivity and data by adding software, data analytics or trading platforms, he said. The company also sees inbound opportunities on the infrastructure side, he added.

It likely will not acquire for geographic expansion at this point, Yuster said. Pico bought UK-based AlgoSpan in 2016, adding a small team and infrastructure that helped it get up and running in Europe. There are now fewer than 10 market centers left for the company to enter, and “I don’t see an acquisition at the moment that will accelerate” the company’s global expansion, he said.

The company has 52 data centers globally. Pico is almost live in Mexico and Saudi Arabia, and it is working on Southeast Asia, including India and Thailand, Yuster said.

It expected to generate USD 195m in revenue in 2021, according to the investor presentation. About 60% of revenue was expected to come from the Americas, with nearly 25% from EMEA and about 15% from APAC.

Yuster pointed to “some softness” in Europe, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that demand is picking back up, he said. The executive said he expects some shift in revenue from a regional perspective, but it’s difficult to predict and will vary.

Experienced SPAC management team

SPACs began approaching Pico around the end of March and early April last year, Yuster said. That was shortly after the company had been considering raising private capital or debt to help fund an acquisition that it ultimately didn’t pursue, he said.

It hired Jefferies and Citi as financial and capital markets advisors. The company saw several term sheets and had narrowed it to two contenders, the co-CEO said.

Pico chose FTAC Athena because of Chairman Betsy Cohen and her team, which includes Amanda Abrams as CEO, Yuster said. He cited Cohen’s experience – she brought her 10th SPAC to market late last year – and the SPAC’s focus on financial services technologies.

High redemption rates are certainly something to keep an eye on, but Pico is confident in the strength of its SPAC partner, Yuster said. Shares of FTAC Athena closed on 19 January at USD 9.91. The deal, which Yuster said is now expected to close in 2Q instead of 1Q, has a minimum cash condition of USD 250m.

It includes a USD 200m private investment in public equity (PIPE) from various strategic and institutional investors including Golden Gate Capital and Wellington Management.

DLA Piper was Pico’s legal advisor. Cantor Fitzgerald and Cohen & Company Capital Markets were capital markets advisors to FTAC Athena. Ledgewood was its legal advisor.

by Rachel Stone in Charlottesville, Virginia

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