Correspondence 0001104659-24-038443 from Monterey Capital Acquisition Corp (CNTM) (CIK 0001895249) (CNTM)
Monterey Capital Acquisition Corp (CNTM) (CIK 0001895249)
Date: March 25, 2024 · CIK: 0001895249 · Accession: 0001104659-24-038443
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-276182
Referenced dates: February 28, 2024
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Monterey Capital Acquisition Corporation
419 Webster Street
Monterey, CA 93940
March 25, 2024
VIA EDGAR
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Real Estate & Construction
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention: Jeffrey
Lewis
Isaac Esquivel
Ronald E. Alper
Pam Howell
Re: Monterey Capital Acquisition Corporation
Registration Statement on Form S-4
Filed February 12, 2024
File No. 333-276182
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter sets forth the
response of Monterey Capital Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) to the comments of the staff of the Division
of Corporate Finance (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
set forth in your letter dated February 28, 2024, with respect to the above reference Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the
“Registration Statement”).
Concurrently with the submission
of this letter, the Company is filing Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Amended Registration
Statement”). Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in the Amended
Registration Statement.
Set forth below is the Company’s
response to the Staff’s comments. For the Staff’s convenience, we have incorporated your comments into this response letter
in italics.
Amendment No. 1 to Registration Statement on Form S-4
filed February 12, 2024
Cover Page
1. We partially reissue prior comment 1. Please revise the registration
statement fee table to reflect the additional amount that may be issued to the extent MCAC’s
transaction expenses exceed $8,000,000 and clearly disclose on the cover page the maximum
additional amount.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on the cover page of the Amended
Registration Statement. As described in the updated disclosure on the cover page of the Amended Registration Statement, the Merger
Agreement does not limit or otherwise provide for a maximum number of additional shares that may be issued as a result of the
adjustment that would occur if the Company's transaction expenses exceed $8,000,000. However, the Company does not presently expect
its transaction expenses to exceed $8,000,000 and, in the event its transaction expenses do exceed $8,000,000, the Company intends
to register the resulting additional shares by filing a registration statement pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act or a
post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement.
What voting power will current MCAC stockholders ....?, page 8
2. We partially reissue prior comment 4. Please revise the table
on page 8 to reflect interim levels of redemptions. Please also revise to reflect the
common stock to be issued upon completion of the business combination by the rights holders.
In addition, please revise to disclose the sponsor and its affiliates' total potential ownership
interest in the combined company, assuming exercise and conversion of all securities. Such
information may be included in a separate table.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 8 through 12 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
3. We reissue prior comment 6. Please disclose all possible sources
and extent of dilution that shareholders who elect not to redeem their shares may experience
in connection with the business combination. Provide disclosure of the impact of each significant
source of dilution, including the amount of equity held by founders, convertible securities,
including warrants retained by redeeming shareholders, at each of the redemption levels detailed
in your sensitivity analysis, including any needed assumptions.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 8 through 12 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
4. We partially reissue prior comment 8. Please include the effective
underwriting fee on a percentage basis for shares at each redemption level presented in your
sensitivity analysis related to dilution. In addition, please clearly disclose the deferred
underwriting fee. Please remove from the Class A common stock not redeemed the shares
to be issued relating to the rights and the shares to be issued to Meteora. Lastly, the Total
Sponsor Ownership Percentage in the table on page 9 does not appear consistent with
the table on page 8 as it relates to no or minimal redemptions.
Response: The Company respectfully acknowledges the
Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 9 and 12 of the Amended Registration Statement.
5. We reissue prior comment 10. Revise your disclosure to show the
potential impact of redemptions on the per share value post business combination of the shares
owned by non-redeeming shareholders by including a sensitivity analysis showing a range of
redemption scenarios, including minimum, maximum and interim redemption levels.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 10 through 12 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
Summary of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, page 18
6. We partially reissue prior comment 14. Please revise the summary
disclosure concerning ConnectM to highlight the net losses, negative cash flow from operations,
and going concern.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff's comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 31, 32, 50 and 182 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
Treatment of ConnectM Securities, page 19
7. Please explain the statement on page 19 that "MCAC
stockholders who decide not to redeem prior to the completion of the Business Combination
will receive shares of New ConnectM common stock."
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and removed the aforementioned disclosure in the Amended Registration
Statement.
Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, page 22
8. We partially reissue prior comment 15. Highlight that certain
investors may have an incentive to sell even if the trading price at that time is below the
IPO price. Discuss the negative pressure potential sales of such securities could have on
the trading price of the combined company.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 24 and 105 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
Forward Purchase Agreement, page 22
9. We note your response to comment 16, including the belief that
Meteora still owns the MCAC units and founders shares purchased in connection with the IPO.
Please advise why Meteora is not included in the security ownership table and discuss how
the current ownership of Meteora and the 9.9% limitation on Meteora’s ownership impacts
the ability of Meteora to purchase shares in the market pursuant to this agreement. Revise
this section to discuss the risks that this agreement may pose to the company and other stockholders.
For example, discuss how the purchases would impact the cash you have available for other
purposes and to execute your business strategy. Clearly disclose the maximum total amount
the company could be required to pay to Meteora under the Forward Purchase Agreement as compared
to the total amount that Meteora could spend acquiring such shares. Please also clearly disclose,
if true, here and elsewhere when discussing the forward purchase that the impact of this
agreement could result in less cash available to the company that if such shares had been
redeemed.
Response:
Based on a direct inquiry to Meteora, Meteora no longer owns the units sold in the Company’s IPO but continues to hold the Founder
Shares. The Company has updated its disclosure on pages 26 and 104 of the Amended Registration Statement.
Because Meteora holds less than 5% of the Company’s
outstanding shares of common stock, its holdings have not been included in the Company’s beneficial ownership table. Meteora’s
beneficial ownership of the Founder Shares will reduce the amount of shares of Class A common stock that Meteora is able to purchase
pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement due to the 9.9% ownership limitation.
We
had previously added a disclosure discussing the risks that the Forward Purchase Agreement poses to the Company and the stockholders
on page 45 of the Amended Registration Statement, which we have further revised in response to the Staff’s comment.
We have added disclosure of the maximum approximate total amount that the Company could be
required to pay to Meteora under the Forward Purchase Agreement under the various Forward Purchase scenarios presented as compared
to the total amount that Meteora could spend to acquire such shares. We have further disclosed on page 26 of the
Amended Registration Statement that any purchases of shares by Meteora pursuant to the Forward Purchase Agreement could result in
less cash available to the Combined Company than if such shares had been redeemed by the Company.
Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination, page 26
10. We partially reissue prior comment
17. Please quantify the aggregate dollar amount that the sponsor and its affiliates have
at risk that depends on completion of a business combination. Please also separately quantify
the working capital loans, out of pocket expenses and advances. Also, clearly disclose any
compensation arrangements or agreements with the three individuals who will remain directors
post business combination.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 29 and 125 of the Amended
Registration Statement. There are no compensation arrangement or agreements with the three individuals who will remain directors post business combination.
Risk Factors, page 35
11. We note the disclosure in the risk factor on page 42 regarding
the excise tax that "the proceeds deposited in the Trust Account and the interest earned
thereon will not be used to pay for any Excise Tax due under the IRA in connection with any
redemptions of the public shares prior to or in connection with the Business Combination."
Based upon the trust agreement, it is unclear how you determined the interest would not be
used to pay for any excise tax due. In addition, upon consummation of the business combination,
such funds would be released from trust and may then be used to pay such taxes. Please revise.
Also, clearly disclose the contexts in which proceeds from the trust account could be used
to pay any excise tax, such as a court order or bankruptcy proceeding. Lastly, please add
disclosure regarding the recent redemptions in connection with the extension and whether
the excise tax would apply to those redemptions.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on pages 44 and 45 of the Amended
Registration Statement.
The Business Combination Proposal
Background of the Business Combination, page 102
12. We note that your response to prior comment 22. Please clarify
whether the companies listed at the bottom of page 104 and top of 105 comprised EF Hutton’s
comparable company analysis.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and has updated its disclosure on page 108 of the Amended
Registration Statement to clarify how and when EF Hutton’s comparable company analysis was presented to tee Company.
Summary of ConnectM Financial Analysis, page 108
13. Please provide all material projections used by the board in
its evaluation of the transaction, not just a summary of the projections. Also, as previously
requested in prior comment 26, please disclose the material estimates and specific assumptions
that supported the projections.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and confirms that all material projections used by the board in its
evaluation of the transaction were included in the Registration Statement and are included in the Amended Registration Statement.
The Company has further updated its disclosure on pages 121 and 122 of the Amended Registration Statement to include the material
estimates and specific assumptions that supported the projections.
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences, page 138
14. We partially reissue prior comment 34. We note the disclosure
on page 144 that both MCAC and ConnectM expect the business combination to qualify as
a reorganization under Section 368(a). It appears that the tax consequences are material
to an investor. Therefore, please file a tax opinion as an exhibit to the registration statement.
For guidance see Staff Legal Bulletin No. 19 Section III.A.2.
Response:
The Compa