Correspondence 0001104659-22-131424 from Liberty Resources Acquisition Corp. (CIK 0001880151)
Liberty Resources Acquisition Corp. (CIK 0001880151)
Date: Dec. 30, 2022 · CIK: 0001880151 · Accession: 0001104659-22-131424
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-40883
Referenced dates: December 8, 2022
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NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH
LLP
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW
Andy Tucker
T: 202.689.2987
Andy.Tucker@nelsonmullins.com
101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Suite 900
Washington D.C., 20001
T: 202.689.2800 F: 202.689.2860
nelsonmullins.com
December 30, 2022
Division of Corporation Finance
U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549
Attention:
Kristi Marrone
William Demarest
RE:
Liberty Resources Acquisition Corp.
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021
Filed March 31, 2022
File No. 001-40883
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of Liberty Resources Acquisition Corp.
(the “Company”), we are hereby responding to the letter dated December 8, 2022 (the “Comment Letter”)
from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”),
regarding the Company’s Annual Report for fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, on Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2022
(the “10-K”). In response to the Comment Letter, the Company is submitting its Amendment No. 1 to the 10-K (the
“Amended 10-K”) with the Commission today. The numbered paragraphs below correspond to the numbered comments in the
Comment Letter, and the Staff’s comments are presented in bold italics.
1.
With a view toward disclosure, please tell us whether your sponsor is, is controlled by, or has substantial ties with a non-U.S. person. If so, please revise your disclosure in future filings to include disclosure that addresses how this fact could impact your ability to complete your initial business combination. For instance, discuss the risk to investors that you may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company should the transaction be subject to review by a U.S. government entity, such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), or ultimately prohibited. Disclose that as a result, the pool of potential targets with which you could complete an initial business combination may be limited. Further, disclose that the time necessary for government review of the transaction or a decision to prohibit the transaction could prevent you from completing an initial business combination and require you to liquidate. Disclose the consequences of liquidation to investors, such as the losses of the investment opportunity in a target company, any price appreciation in the combined company, and the warrants, which would expire worthless. Please include an example of your intended disclosure in your response.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Response:
The Company Respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that the Company’s sponsor, Liberty Fields
LLC, is controlled by and has substantial ties with non-U.S. person(s) in Malaysia. The Company has added the risk factor (provided
below) to Part I of the 10-K/A to disclose that its sponsor is controlled by and has substantial ties with non-U.S. person(s) and
will provide this risk factor in future filings.
We may not be able to complete an initial business
combination with a U.S. target company since such initial business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and
review by a U.S. government entity such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and ultimately prohibited.
Our sponsor, Liberty Fields LLC, is controlled
by a non-U.S. person and has substantial ties with non-U.S. persons in Malaysia. Our sponsor owns approximately 22.4% of our outstanding
shares. Certain companies requiring federal-issued licenses in the United States, such as broadcasters and airlines, may be subject to
rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership. In addition, CFIUS is an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions
involving foreign investment in the United States by foreign persons in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national
security of the United States. Therefore, because we may be considered a “foreign person” under such rules and regulations,
we could be subject to foreign ownership restrictions and/or CFIUS review if our proposed business combination is between us and a U.S.
target company engaged in a regulated industry or which may affect national security. The scope of CFIUS was expanded by the Foreign Investment
Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (“FIRRMA”) to include certain non-passive, non-controlling investments in sensitive
U.S. businesses and certain acquisitions of real estate even with no underlying U.S. business. FIRRMA, and subsequent implementing regulations
that are now in force, also subject certain categories of investments to mandatory filings. Therefore, if our potential initial business
combination with a U.S. target company falls within the scope of foreign ownership restrictions, we may be unable to consummate a business
combination with such target company. In addition, if our potential business combination falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may
be required to make a mandatory filing or determine to submit a voluntary notice to CFIUS, or to proceed with the initial business combination
without notifying CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the initial business combination. CFIUS may decide to block
or delay our initial business combination, impose conditions to mitigate national security concerns with respect to such initial business
combination or order us to divest all or a portion of a U.S. business of the combined company if we had proceeded without first obtaining
CFIUS clearance. The foreign ownership limitations, and the potential impact of CFIUS, may limit the attractiveness of a transaction with
us or prevent us from pursuing certain initial business combination opportunities that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us
and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited
and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign
ownership issues.
Moreover, the process of government review, whether
by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial business combination (12 months,
or up to 18 months, if we extend the time to complete a business combination) our failure to obtain any required approvals within the
requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we liquidate, our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share initially,
and our warrants would expire worthless. This will also cause you to lose any potential investment opportunity in a target company and
the chance of realizing future gains on your investment through any price appreciation in the combined company.
*****
If you have any additional questions regarding
any of our responses or the Amended Registration Statement, please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Tucker at (202) 689-2987.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Andrew Tucker
Andrew Tucker
cc: Dato’ Khalid Ahmad, Chief Financial
Officer, Liberty Resources Acquisition Corp.