We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on January 19, 2021. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.
Our Sponsor is Ross Holding Company LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company. The registration statement for the IPO was declared effective on March 11, 2021. On March 16, 2021, we consummated the IPO of 34,500,000 units, including 4,500,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $345.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $19.9 million, of which approximately $12.1 million was for deferred underwriting commissions.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we consummated the private placement of 5,933,333 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $8.9 million.
Upon the closing of the IPO and the private placement, $345.0 million ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds of the IPO and certain of the proceeds of the private placement were placed in the trust account, located in the United States with Continental acting as trustee, and was, until the end of March 2023, invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. However, the longer that the funds in the Trust Account are held in short-term U.S. government securities or in money market funds invested exclusively in such securities, the greater the risk that we may be considered an unregistered investment company, in which case we may be required to liquidate. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to be an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act) and thus subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, we instructed Continental, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing demand deposit account at a bank until the earlier of the consummation of our Initial Business Combination or the liquidation of the Company.
Like most blank check companies, our Articles provide for the return of the IPO proceeds held in the trust account to the holders of ordinary shares sold in the IPO if there is no qualifying Business Combination(s) consummated on or before a certain date. In our case such certain date was March 16, 2023, under our amended and restated articles of association dated March 16, 2021 (the “IPO Articles”), at the time of our IPO. On March 13, 2023, we held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “first extension meeting”), at which our shareholders voted and approved amending our IPO Articles, to extend the date by which we must consummate a Business Combination from March 16, 2023 to September 16, 2023. In connection with the first extension meeting, a total of 28,119,098 Public Shares were presented for redemption for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $287.7 million. On September 15, 2023, we held a second extraordinary general meeting in lieu of an annual meeting (the “second extension meeting”), at which our shareholders voted and approved further amending our then amended and restated articles of association, as amended, which became our current Articles, to extend the date by which we must consummate a Business Combination from September 16, 2023 to March 16, 2024. In connection with the second extension meeting, a total of 1,339,804 Public Shares were presented for redemption for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $14.4 million. As of the Record Date, the Company has approximately $[•] million of cash remaining in the Trust Account.
If the Extension Amendment Proposal is not approved, or if the Extension Amendment Proposal is approved, but the Extension is not implemented, and we do not consummate a Business Combination by March 16, 2024 in accordance with our Articles, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not 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 its tax obligations, if any (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and the Board, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete a Business