Correspondence 0001493152-23-023189 from AIRO Group, Inc. (CIK 0001971544)
AIRO Group, Inc. (CIK 0001971544)
Date: June 30, 2023 · CIK: 0001971544 · Accession: 0001493152-23-023189
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-272402
Referenced dates: June 26, 2023
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NELSON
MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH LLP
ATTORNEYS
AND COUNSELORS AT LAW
Andrew
M. 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
June
30, 2023
Division
of Corporation Finance
U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
100
F Street, N.E.
Washington,
DC 20549
Attention:
Dale
Welcome
Andrew
Blume
Patrick
Fullem
Jay
Ingram
RE:
AIRO
Group, Inc.
Registration
Statement on Form S-4
Filed
June 2, 2023
File
No. 333-272402
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
On
behalf of AIRO Group, Inc. (the “Company”), we are hereby responding to the letter dated June 26, 2023 (the “Comment
Letter”) from the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”
or the “Commission”), regarding the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on June 2, 2023 (the
“Registration Statement”). In response to the Comment Letter and to update certain information in the Registration
Statement, the Company is submitting its Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Amended Registration
Statement”) with the Commission today, which includes revisions made to the Registration Statement in response to the Staff’s
comments as well as additional changes required to update the disclosure contained in the Registration Statement. The numbered paragraphs
below correspond to the numbered comments in the Comment Letter, and the Staff’s comments are presented in bold italics.
Registration
Statement on Form S-4 filed June 2, 2023
Backstop
Agreements, page 26
1.
We
note your response to prior comment 8. Please quantify the maximum potential impact on available working capital based on the maximum
payout under the Meteora Backstop Agreement.
Response: The
Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure on page 74 of
the Amended Registration Statement as requested to quantify that the maximum potential impact on available working capital based on
the maximum payout under the forward purchase agreement is $79 million which is further detailed within Note 1 to the Unaudited Pro
Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information.
Risk
Factors
Even
if this offering is successful, we will require substantial additional capital..., page 40
2.
Please
revise your disclosure to clarify how long you expect your current capital to last if you are faced with the maximum redemptions
and the purchase of shares by Meteora under the Backstop Agreement.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure on page 40 of
the Amended Registration Statement as requested to reflect that the current capital of Company in the maximum redemption with backstop
scenario would last less than one year, in the event that no funds are accessed through the Meteora Backstop Agreement in the first
year.
Timeline
of the Business Combination, page 92
3.
We
note your response to prior comment 18 and 19. Please clarify the basis for the initial $600 million valuation and explain the quantitative
factors regarding why the valuation increased from what was initially offered. Also, discuss in greater detail the discounted cash
flow analysis mentioned on page 93.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure on page 93
of the Amended Registration Statement as requested.
Projected
Financial Information, page 99
4.
We
note your response to prior comment 10. Please revise to disclose all of the material assumptions underlying the projections. Also,
disclose whether the projections are in line with historic operating trends and, if not, address why the change in trends is appropriate
or assumptions are reasonable.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure on page 100
of the Amended Registration Statement as requested.
Unaudited
Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information
Earnout
Shares, page 127
5.
We
note your response to prior comment 23. Based on your disclosure of scenarios (i) through (vi) on pages 127-128, it appears that
the earnout award alternatives represent fixed monetary amounts, which are predominantly based on meeting specific revenue and EBITDA
thresholds, that are settleable with a variable number of shares based on specific share-value dollar amounts (e.g. shares with a
value equal to $66 million at the time the target is met). Please tell us in sufficient detail how you determined the earnout shares
do not represent liabilities under ASC 480-10-25-14(b).
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that when considering whether the earnouts
represent liabilities under ASC 480-10-25-14, while the value of the share-value is fixed, the shares are variable based on when the
target is met. The accounting for the Earnout Shares was evaluated under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 480, Distinguishing
Liabilities from Equity, Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, to determine if the Earnout
Shares should be classified as a liability or within equity. As part of that preliminary analysis, it was determined that the
Earnout Shares subject to vesting do not meet the criteria in ASC 815-40 to be considered indexed to the Combined Company Common
Stock. As result, the Earnout Shares will be classified as a liability. The Company further advises the Staff that we have
revised our disclosure on pages 123 through 135 to reflect the earnouts as a liability.
2.
Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Combined Financial Information
Adjustments
to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Balance Sheet, page 129
6.
We
note your responses to prior comments 24 and 25 and remind you that your pro forma adjustments should reflect transactions that have
occurred or for which you have agreements in place. To the extent that you do not have formal agreements in place related to certain
transactions, please remove the applicable pro forma effects from adjustments (5), (6), and (8).
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that we have removed the $25.0 million financing
proceeds from the Company’s expected bridge financing because there are no agreements in place. The Company is in
the process of converting debt to equity with debt holders of contingent promissory notes and other contingent consideration. The conversion
proposals have been finalized and definitive agreements are forthcoming. The conversion terms have been incorporated into the pro forma
condensed combined financial statements on pages 123 through 135 of the Amended Registration Statement based on the final proposal
terms. The Company will supplement such presentation in a future submission following receipt of signature on the final conversion agreements.
The
Company further respectfully advises the Staff that it is a closing condition of the Business Combination Agreement that Kernel deliver
$50 million in unencumbered cash at closing. While there are no signed agreements in place, the parties are pursuing avenues to raise
capital. If Kernel cannot raise $50 million, the Business Combination will not close unless AIRO agrees to waive the unencumbered cash
closing condition. Thus, the Company respectfully advises the Staff that it has not revised its presentation to remove the pro forma
effect of such adjustment, as in the event there are no such adjustments, the transaction will not close. If AIRO were to waive the
unencumbered cash closing condition, the pro forma information will be revised to remove this adjustment.
7.
Please
expand pro forma adjustment (5), disclosed on page 133, to clearly reconcile each component of the adjustment to the face of your
pro forma balance sheet.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure in Note 5
to the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information on pages 123 through 135 of the Amended Registration Statement
as requested.
8.
We
note your response to prior comment 26. Please tell us in sufficient detail and revise your disclosures to explain how you determined
the $10.00 per share value of ParentCo common stock used in the settlement of your extension loans.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that it has revised the disclosure on page 134
of the Amended Registration Statement as requested.
9.
We
note your response to prior comment 27. Please address the following comments related to
the Meteora Backstop Agreement:
●
On
pages 27 and 130, you state that “the maximum value of the agreement liability at settlement date under conditions of the contract
as if they occurred at the reporting date is a liability of $19.3 million (i.e. 7,700,000 shares unsold at the reporting date x $2.50).”
Please reconcile this statement with your disclosure on pages 11 and 87 that states that “at maturity, an amount equal to $2.50
per share that remains in the transaction, but no more than $2,500,000 in the aggregate, will be payable to Meteora in shares.”
As part of your response, please tell us the maximum amount in shares and/or cash you will be required to repay Meteora and revise
your disclosure accordingly to clarify this provision in the agreement. Additionally, please tell us if, and if so, how the $2.50
per share payable to Meteora in shares, at the maturity date, is factored into your valuation of the forward purchase agreement.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that that it has revised the disclosure
on pages 11, 27, 87, and 129 of the Amended Registration Statement as requested.
With
regard to the valuation of the Forward Purchase
Agreement, the “Maturity Consideration” is part of the third-party valuation but does not factor into the computation
unless the valuation of the outstanding shares are less than the “Maturity Consideration”. At that time, the presentation
would be as a liability.
●
We
note that you intend to initially record the transaction as a forward purchase receivable that is classified as a non-current asset.
We also note your disclosure on page 131 that you made a cash payment to Meteora as a prepayment for their purchase of your shares
prior to closing and the journal entries provided as part of your response also characterize the prepayment as a cash payment to
Meteora. However, per review of exhibit 10.8 (Forward Purchase Agreement, dated February 28, 2023), the prepayment cash was placed
into escrow until the valuation date. Please tell us how you determined that this prepayment should be reflected as a receivable
and clarify your disclosures as appropriate.
Response:
The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that that it has revised the disclosure on
page 131 of the Amended Registration Statement as requested.
The
Company further advises the Staff that no cash payment will be made to Meteora prior
to the closing of the Business Combination. The cash payment amount to be made to Meteora
is determined by the number of shares purchased by Meteora prior to the Business Combination.
After the business combination, the cash payment amount is paid directly by the Trust
Account to an escrow account (at Meteora’s discretion) for the benefit of Meteora to
be able to purchase the shares from the shareholders that intend to redeem at the closing
of the transaction. The cash payment
amount is not being valued – the probability of the number of shares being sold prior
to the termination of the contract is the Binomial Option Pricing Model which is treated
as a receivable, because there is an expectation of money being paid to the Company as shares
are sold in the open market by Meteora.
●
Given
that the forward purchase agreement will be prepaid, please tell us in sufficient detail
how you determined that this transaction should be accounted for under ASC 480. Additionally,
since you did not address this comment in your last response, please tell us what consideration
you gave to accounting for the agreement as a hybrid financial instrument consisting of a
loan and an embedded forward purchase contract, with the contract possibly requiring bifurcation
as an embedded derivative under ASC 815. In this regard, we note that on the maturity date,
Meteora may require that you repurchase all of the shares held by Meteora and Meteora will
be entitled to an additional $2.50 per share purchased with such amount being payable in
shares of your common stock. Please tell us how this future obligation has been considered
in your analysis.
Response: The Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and advises the Staff that that it considered the following factors in its determination that this transaction should be accounted for under ASC 480.
Discussion
and Analysis
Identifying
the Unit of Account(s)
The
Company evaluated the Forward Purchase Agreement under ASC 480-10 to determine whether it represents an obligation that would require
the Company to classify the instrument as a liability at its fair value. ASC 480, however, only applies to freestanding equity-linked
financial instruments, including those that comprise more than one option or forward contract. ASC 480-10-20 states that for a financial
instrument to be considered “freestanding,” the instrument must meet either of the following conditions:
1.
It is entered into separately and apart from any of the entity’s other financial instruments or equity transactions;
2.
It is entered into in conjunction with some other transaction and is legally detachable and separately exercisable.
The
rights, obligations or instruments can be separated, including consideration of any transferability provisions or restrictions in
the legal documents constituting the transaction. Unit structures may include a combination of (1) a debt or equity security and
(2) an equity (e.g., warrant) contract to purchase the issuer’s common stock. In the cas