VMGAU VMG Consumer Acquisition Corporation

NOTES TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations, Going Concern Considerations

VMG Consumer Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on March 25, 2021. The Company was 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 (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an "emerging growth company" as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity since March 25, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the preparation of its initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected September 30 as its fiscal year end.

The Company’s sponsor is VMG Consumer Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on November 10, 2021. On November 15, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”), including 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000, and incurring offering costs of $5,041,825 and $8,050,000 in deferred underwriting commissions (Note 5).

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 11,700,000 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $11,700,000 (Note 4).

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $234,600,000 ($10.20 per Unit) of the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were deposited into a trust account (the “Trust Account”) in the United States at First Republic Bank. maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, to be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any money market funds meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), which invest only in direct U.S, government treasury obligations until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, 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 sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. Nasdaq rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance 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 a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) 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 stockholders meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. In connection with an initial Business Combination, the Company may seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which Public Stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against a Business Combination. The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net

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tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

If the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s 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”)), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to 15% or more of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.

The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.20 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Stockholders who redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the representative of the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. These shares of Class A common stock were recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”

If a stockholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, offer such redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.

The Company’s Sponsor agreed (a) to vote its 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; (b) not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the Company’s pre-Business Combination activities prior to the consummation of a Business Combination unless the Company provides dissenting Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment; (c) not to redeem any shares (including the Founder Shares) and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) into the right to receive cash from the Trust Account in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a Business Combination (or to sell any shares in a tender offer in connection with a Business Combination if the Company does not seek stockholder approval in connection therewith) or a vote to amend the provisions of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation relating to stockholders’ rights of pre-Business Combination activity; and (d) that the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants (including underlying securities) shall not participate in any liquidating distributions upon winding up if a Business Combination is not consummated. However, the Sponsor will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or May 15, 2023 (the “Combination Period”), the Company 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, 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 to pay 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, proceed to commence a voluntary liquidation and thereby a formal dissolution of the Company, subject in each case to its obligations to provide for claims of creditors and the requirement of applicable law. The representative of the underwriters agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the 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 assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).

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The Sponsor agreed that it will 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 entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the day of liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply 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”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations. None of the Company’s officers or directors will indemnify the Company for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Risks and Uncertainties

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these unaudited condensed financial statements. The unaudited condensed financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

The credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions due to the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The conflict is expected to have further global economic consequences, including but not limited to the possibility of severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in inflation rates and uncertainty about economic and political stability. In addition, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Russia which increases the risk that Russia, as a retaliatory action, may launch cyberattacks against the United States, its government, infrastructure and businesses. Any of the foregoing consequences, including those we cannot yet predict, may cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of our common stocks to be adversely affected.

Going Concern Consideration and Liquidity

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had $174,281 in its operating bank account, $237,105,963 in 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 deficit of $386,488. Further, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. 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 an initial Business Combination. The liquidation deadline for the Company is also within the next twelve months if an initial Business Combination is not consummated. The Company cannot assure that its plans to consummate an initial Business Combination will be successful.

As a result of the above, in connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the liquidity conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through approximately one year from the date of filing. These unaudited condensed financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

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Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information or footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes necessary for a comprehensive presentation of financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, operating results and cash flows for the periods presented. The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2022 as filed with the SEC on December 22, 2022, as well as the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on November 19, 2021. The interim results for the three months ended December 31, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending September 30, 2023 or for any future periods.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $174,281 and $535,276 in cash and no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, respectively.

Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account

As of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in investments in U.S. treasury securities.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage limit of $250,000. At December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company evaluated its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. There were no derivative financial instruments as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022

Warrants

The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrants specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815. The assessment considers whether the warrants 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 own 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

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classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.

ASC 480-10-S99 addresses concerns raised by the SEC regarding the financial statement classification and measurement of securities subject to mandatory redemption requirements or whose redemption is outside the control of the issuer. If the stock subject to mandatory redemptions provisions represents the only shares in the reporting entity, it must report instruments in the liabilities section of its statement of financial position. The stock subject must then describe them as shares subject to mandatory redemption, so as to distinguish the instruments from other financial statement liabilities. The Company concludes that the Company’s warrants defined in Note 6 do not exhibit any of the above characteristics and, therefore are outside the scope of ASC 480.

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 of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. The 11,500,000 Public Warrants and 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants, including over-allotment, were issued in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant will be recorded as equity. The Company accounts for its outstanding warrants as equity-classified instruments.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying condensed balance sheets.

Fair Value Measurements

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 orderly 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 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 of 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, 2022 and September 30, 2022, our marketable securities, due to their nature, are assessed as a level 1 instrument with a fair value of $237,105,963 and $235,448,246, respectively.

Emerging Growth Company

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”), and it 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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 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.

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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. The Company has 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, the Company, 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 the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of condensed 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 during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Offering Costs

Offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting and other costs incurred through the condensed balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering in November 2021, the offering costs were allocated using the relative fair values of the Company’s common stock and its Warrants. The costs allocated to Warrants were charged against additional paid-in capital and those related to the Company's common stock were charged to temporary equity.

Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Income (loss) per share of common stock is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of shares issued and outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the 11,500,000 Public Warrants and 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering (the “Public Warrants”) and Private Placement to purchase common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events.

At December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted income per share is the same as basic income per share for the periods presented.

The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). Income (loss) is shared pro rata between the two classes of shares on the assumption that the consummation of the initial Business Combination is the most likely outcome. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A common stock is excluded from net income (loss) per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.

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A reconciliation of the net income (loss) share is below:

Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including shares of Class A common stock that features 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) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock represented by Public Shares features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, all Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s condensed balance sheets.

All of the Class A common stock sold as part of the Units in the Public Offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Business Combination. In accordance with SEC and its staff’s guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require Class A common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Therefore, all Class A common stock have been classified outside of permanent equity.

The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable Class A common stock to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable Class A common stock are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.

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At December 31, 2022, 23,000,000 common stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value ($10.26) as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ deficit section of the Company’s condensed balance sheets.

Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable 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 expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities 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.

ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the United States is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022                    

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year. In addition, certain exceptions apply to the excise tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out and prevent the abuse or avoidance of the excise tax. Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year of a Business Combination) and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the

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excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and inhibit the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued a standard (ASU No. 2020-06) to reduce the complexity of accounting for convertible debt and other equity-linked instruments. For certain convertible debt instruments with a cash conversion feature, the changes are a trade-off between simplifications in the accounting model (no separation of an “equity” component to impute a market interest rate, and simpler analysis of embedded equity features) and a potentially adverse impact to diluted EPS by requiring the use of the if-converted method. The new standard will also impact other financial instruments commonly issued by both public and private companies. For example, the separation model for beneficial conversion features is eliminated simplifying the analysis for issuers of convertible debt and convertible preferred stock. Also, certain specific requirements to achieve equity classification and/ or qualify for the derivative scope exception for contracts indexed to an entity’s own equity are removed, enabling more freestanding instruments and embedded features to avoid mark-to-market accounting. The amendments are effective for smaller reporting companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The standard can either be adopted on a modified retrospective or a full retrospective basis. The Company adopted ASU No. 2020-06 upon its incorporation. The impact to the Company’s condensed balance sheets, statements of operations and cash flows was not material.

The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying condensed financial statements.

Note 3 — Initial Public Offering

On November 15, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”), including 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments (the “Over-Allotment Units”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000, and incurring offering costs of $5,041,825 and $8,050,000 in deferred underwriting commissions.

Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (“Warrant”), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock for $11.50 per share.

Note 4 — Related Party Transactions

Class B Founder Shares

In July 2021, the Sponsor acquired 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Class B Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the Class B Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of Class B Founder Shares issued.

In August, September and October 2021, the Sponsor transferred 35,000 Class B Founder Shares to each of our independent directors, Jasmin Allen, John Toth and Lowell J. Singer, and 15,000 Class B Founder Shares to each of our four advisory board members, in each case at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.

The Class B Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of the initial Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Class B Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial Business Combination, excluding (1) any shares of the Company’s Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable or exchangeable for or convertible into shares of the Company’s Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and (2) any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of Public Shares redeemed by Public Stockholders in connection with the initial Business Combination.

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Related Party Promissory Note

On July 1, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for the payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and was due upon the earlier of December 31, 2021, or the date the Company consummates the Initial Public Offering. The Company has repaid the Note from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering not placed in the Trust Account. On July 19, 2021, the Company borrowed $100,000 under the Note with the Sponsor and had no outstanding balance as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022.

Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 11,700,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating proceeds of $11,700,000.

Each warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirement of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.

Administrative Support Agreement

Commencing on the date of the Initial Public Offering, the Company has paid the Sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative support services provided to the members of the Company’s management team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the three months ended December 31, 2022, we incurred and paid $30,000 in administrative support fees for the period.

Note 5 — Commitments & Contingencies

Registration Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans), will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. 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 to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Initial Public Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters fully exercised the option on November 11, 2021.

The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2.0% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $4,600,000 in the aggregate, which was paid upon closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the representative of the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the representative of 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.

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Working Capital 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 that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Note 6 — Stockholders’ Deficit

Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 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 of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding (excluding 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption which are presented as temporary equity).

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022 there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding.

Holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the 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 the Class B common stock shall have the right to vote on the election of the Company's directors prior to the initial Business Combination. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial Business Combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding Founder Shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.

Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on 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 case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances as a result of the Company’s failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Company’s initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, 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 Company’s Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed

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on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy 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 so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the "Newly Issued Price"), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the "Market Value") is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under "Redemption of warrants for Class A common stock" and "Redemption of warrants for cash" will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (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 the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.

Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

• 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 sale price of Class A common stock 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 (the "Reference Value") equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted).

The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.  Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.

In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period or during any Extension Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants.  Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

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Note 7 — Income Taxes

The Company’s taxable income primarily consists of interest income on the Trust Account, less any franchise taxes. The Company’s formation costs are generally considered start-up costs and are not currently deductible.

We recorded an income tax expense of $463,889 for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The tax expense is calculated by applying the federal corporate statutory rate of 21% and California corporate statutory rate of 8.84% on $1,657,717 of earned income from the Trust Account. For the three months ended December 31, 2022, the Company had $0 of U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryovers available to offset future taxable income, respectively.

The Company’s net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits for the three months ended December 31, 2022. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for the three months ended December 31, 2022. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.