Correspondence 0001104659-24-033545 from SCHMID Group N.V. (SHMD)
SCHMID Group N.V.
Date: March 12, 2024 · CIK: 0001987240 · Accession: 0001104659-24-033545
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-274701
Referenced dates: March 6, 2024
Show Raw Text
CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
CLIFFORD CHANCE
PARTNERSCHAFT MIT
BESCHRÄNKTER BERUFSHAFTUNG
JUNGHOFSTRAßE 14
60311 FRANKFURT AM MAIN
GERMANY
TEL +49 69 7199 01
FAX +49 69 7199 4000
www.cliffordchance.com
VIA EDGAR
Laura Veator, Stephen Krikorian,
Alexandra Barone, and Jeff Kauten
United States Securities & Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
March 12, 2024
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549-0404
Re
Pegasus
Digital Mobility Acquisition Corp. / Pegasus TopCo B.V.
Registration Statement
on Form F-4, File No. 333-274701
Responses to Staff comments made by letter dated
March 6, 2024
Dear Ms. Veator, Mr. Krikorian, Ms. Barone,
and Mr. Kauten:
On
behalf of our client, Pegasus TopCo B.V. (the "Company"), we submit to the staff of the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Staff") this letter setting forth the Company's response to the comments contained in the
Staff's letter dated March 6, 2024 (the "Comment Letter") in connection with the Company's Registration
Statement on Form F-4, filed on February 27, 2023, (the "Registration Statement"). Concurrent with the submission
of this response letter, the Company is submitting Amendment No. 4 of the Registration Statement on Form F-4 (the "Amended
Registration Statement") via EDGAR. The Amended Registration Statement contains updates in response to the Staff's comments
made in the Comment Letter. Attached as Annex A to this letter is a marked copy showing the changed pages of the Amended Registration
Statement for reference.
The Staff's comments are reproduced below in
italics and are followed by the Company's response. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings set forth
in the Amended Registration Statement.
Amendment No. 3 to Registration Statement
on Form F-4
The Business Combination
The Pegasus Board's Reasons for the Business
Combination
Consideration to be paid for the Target,
page 122
1. We note your response to prior
comment 2. Please expand your disclosure to specifically explain the reasons for increases
in projected revenue and EBITDA for FY 2024 as compared to actual amounts achieved for FY
2023 and FY 2022 and clarify why these assumptions are reasonable. Please also expand your
disclosure to explain the underlying reasons for increases in projected orders from your
customers for FY 2024 as compared to FY 2023. Quantify the impact of any new revenue products
included in your projections, such as the commercial ET sales, and the basis for these projections.
Also, clarify the specific macroeconomic conditions and the industry growth trends to which
you refer and how these are different than the conditions that existed in 2023. In this section,
please also disclose the specific factors or contingencies that could impact achievement
of the projections.
Company
Response: In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company has revised the disclosure in "The Business Combination"
to set out the reasons, assumptions and other disclosures the Staff has requested.
Clifford
Chance LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under no. OC323571. The firm's registered office and principal
place of business is at 10 Upper Bank Street London E14 5JJ. The firm uses the word "partner" to refer to a member of Clifford
Chance LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualifications. The firm is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority under SRA number 447778.
Clifford
Chance
PARTNERSCHAFT MIT
BESCHRÄNKTER BERUFSHAFTUNG
2. Please revise your disclosure
to clarify Schmid’s revised enterprise value based on the 2024 EBITDA forecast and
the multiple that was used in its determination. To the extent the multiple used is greater
than the median multiple of 16.0x of the comparable companies, please further explain Schmid’s
premium technical product and technology customer relationships that support this.
Company
Response: In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company has revised the disclosure in "The Business Combination"
to clarify Schmid's revised enterprise value based on its 2024 EBITDA forecast and the multiple used in its determination. The multiple
used is significantly below the median multiple of 16.0x (even if assigning a full value to the earn-out shares as if they had already
vested) and as such no additional disclosure was added except for such disclosure of multiples.
Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information
Notes to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information,
page 175
3. In your response to prior comment
5 you indicate that given the uncertainty related to the future share price, the Company
has, for the purposes of the Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Financial
Statements, assumed the probability of meeting the share price requirements is zero and that
the resulting fair value is immaterial. However, you also indicate that you will perform
a fair value assessment to determine the fair value of the Earnout Shares as of the Closing
Date and you will recognize that amount as an expense. Please further clarify why this expense
is not recognized in your Pro Forma Combined Statement of Profit or Loss for the year ended
December 31, 2022 in accordance with Article 11-02(a)(6)(i)(A) of Regulation
S-X. Clarify the valuation methodology you will use to measure the fair value of these awards
in accordance with IFRS 2 and how the significant inputs were determined.
Company
Response: In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company respectfully advises the Staff that, for purposes of the Pro
Forma Financial Statements, estimating the fair value of the Earnout Shares through an option valuation model may not appropriately reflect
the actual fair value of the Earnout Shares as will be calculated on the closing date of the Business Combination. A key input into the
fair value model is the grant date value of the underlying shares. This will only be known at the closing of the Business Combination
and is subject to substantial fluctuations due to the nature of de-SPAC transactions and resulting redemptions, capital raises, or other
changes that may occur prior to closing of the Business Combination. Additionally, based on the negative share price returns experienced
in other recent de-SPAC transactions in the U.S., the closing price of a TopCo Ordinary share on the date of closing of the Business
Combination may be significantly different than the current price of a Pegasus Class A Ordinary Share. For this reason, rather than
record a pro forma adjustment based on significant estimates that may not be representative of the actual impact, the Company has assumed
the probability of meeting the share price requirements is at or near zero. To be transparent, the Company has disclosed the maximum
potential impact of the Earnout Agreement based on the Euro equivalent of the assumed TopCo Ordinary Share price in the First Amendment
to Shareholders’ Undertaking agreement.
- 2 -
Clifford
Chance
PARTNERSCHAFT MIT
BESCHRÄNKTER BERUFSHAFTUNG
As acknowledged in the Staff’s comment,
once the Business Combination closing has occurred and the Earnout Shares are granted the Company plans to calculate the fair value of
the stock-based compensation under IFRS 2 utilizing a Monte Carlo model. The share price thresholds are non-vesting conditions that will
be considered by incorporating the risk of not meeting such a condition into the model. The Company plans to use the following assumptions:
Inputs
Determination
Share
Price
Closing
price of a TopCo Ordinary Share on the Closing Date
Risk-free
rate
Yield
of a U.S. Government 3 Year Zero Coupon Bond at Closing
Expected
Volatility
Schmid
does not have historical share prices that can be assessed for volatility. Therefore, the expected volatility will be determined
based on the Company’s business model, history, and projections.
Expected
Dividends
None.
Neither Pegasus nor Schmid have historically paid dividends. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon TopCo’s
revenues and earnings. However, TopCo does not anticipate paying any dividends on the TopCo Ordinary Shares for the foreseeable future.
Term
3
years (based on the Earnout Agreement)
Thresholds
$15.00
per share and $18.00 per share;
The resulting fair value will be recognized in
the financial results of TopCo at the time of the closing of the Business Combination.
- 3 -
Clifford
Chance
PARTNERSCHAFT MIT
BESCHRÄNKTER BERUFSHAFTUNG
Schmid's Management's Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
Liquidity and Capital Resources, page 202
4. In your response to prior comment
6 you state that the retained earnings of your Chinese subsidiary amount to EUR 4,442,478
as of December 31, 2022 and are fully distributable. You further state that the amount
of net assets of the Chinese subsidiary as of December 31, 2022 was EUR 36,866,231 before
consolidation. Considering your disclosure on page 59 that for any Chinese company,
dividends can be declared and paid only out of the retained earnings of that company under
Chinese law, it appears that the net assets of your Chinese subsidiary, excluding the retained
earnings, are restricted net assets that may not be transferred to the parent in the form
of loans, advances or dividends. Tell us the amount of net assets of your Chinese subsidiary
after intercompany eliminations, and how you considered including Schedule 1, required by
Rule 5-04 of Regulation S-X. In this regard, considering that the total combined net
assets of the Schmid Group was negative, any restrictions placed on the net assets of subsidiaries
with positive equity (after intercompany eliminations) would result in the 25% threshold
being met and a requirement to provide parent company financial information. Refer to Rule 1-02(dd)
of Regulation S-X for the definition of Restricted Net Assets. Please also tell us how you
considered including the disclosures required by Rule 4-08(e)(3) of Regulation
S-X.
Company
Response: In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company respectfully acknowledges the Staff’s comment and notes
that the Company does not believe the restrictions mentioned within page 59 meet the requirements of “restricted net assets”
as defined in Rule 1-02(dd) of Regulation S-X. These restrictions are customary laws in China which act to limit dividends to the
amount of the retained earnings of the subsidiary and additionally they do not mandate consent by the Chinese government. For example,
in 2021 the Company entered into a licensing agreement with a Chinese subsidiary and in payment, €15 million was transferred out
of the subsidiary to the Company. A transaction which did not require the approval of the Chinese government. For these reasons we do
not believe the disclosures under Rule 4-08(e)(3) or Schedule 1 under Rule 5-04 of Regulation S-X are required.
The Company does note that a percentage of profit
is required to be reserved according to Chinese law but as of December 31, 2022 it was not material.
If you have any questions regarding the Amended
Registration Statement, please contact with George Hacket at +49 69 7199 3103 or george.hacket@cliffordchance.com or Axel Wittmann at
Axel.Wittmann@CliffordChance.com or under +49 69 7199 1528.
Sincerely,
/s/ George Hacket
c.c.
Pegasus Digital Mobility Acquisition Corp
Jeremy Mistry
- 4 -
Clifford
Chance
PARTNERSCHAFT MIT
BESCHRÄNKTER BERUFSHAFTUNG
Annex A
- 5 -