Merlin (MRLN) Risk Analysis

The federal proxy rules require that the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We included such disclosure in our Registration Statement. If we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, we will provide such same disclosure in the proxy statement/prospectus associated with such initial business combination, or, if applicable, we will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IFRS"), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB"). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination. Amending our Articles requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company. In addition, our Articles requires us to provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our Articles (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders' rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. On October 21, 2025, we held an extraordinary general meeting to approve a proposal to amend the Articles to allow us to consummate the redemption of the Public Shares at an earlier time in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate a proposed business combination if our board of directors determined it is desirable to facilitate the consummation of such business combination. We did not offer the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares for cash.

Our Articles do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our Public Shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates. For example, in connection with the Proposed Business Combination, the Business Combination Proposal was approved by a vote of 54.9% of our shareholders, and 90.3% of our shareholders exercised their right to redeem their Class A Ordinary Shares for cash. The Proposed Business Combination does not impose a minimum cash requirement. If we do not complete the Proposed Business Combination and instead seek an alternate initial business combination, such initial business combination may impose a minimum requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A Ordinary Shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy such other cash requirements in connection with an another initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete such business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A Ordinary Shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

As of December 31, 2025, our Sponsor owns 25.9% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our Articles. This potential concentration of influence could be disadvantageous to other shareholders with interests different from those of our sponsor. In addition, the Founder Shares, all of which are held by the Sponsor, will entitle the holders to appoint all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Holders of our Public Shares will have no right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors during such time. Further, prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to vote on transferring the company by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). In connection with the Proposed Business Combination, our Sponsor voted each of their voting securities in favor of the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal and other proposals associated therewith. Each of the proposals was approved by the requisite vote of the shareholders. The aforementioned provisions of our Articles may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than 90% of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company. As a result, you will not have any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. If our Sponsor purchases any additional Class A Ordinary Shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our Sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Annual Report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our Sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term for three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual or extraordinary general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our "staggered" board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our Sponsor, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. In addition, only the Class B Ordinary Shares will have the right to vote on directors prior to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. Accordingly, the Sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

On June 25, 2024, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 Founder Shares. On October 2, 2024, we capitalized $239.58 standing to the credit of our share premium account and issued an additional 2,395,833 Founder Shares to the Sponsor, resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 9,583,333 Founder Shares (up to 1,250,000 shares of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters' over-allotment option was exercised). On November 4, 2024, the underwriters forfeited their over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 units. As a result, 1,250,000 Class B Ordinary Shares were surrendered by the Sponsor and cancelled by the Company. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the Sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of Founder Shares issued. The number of Founder Shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 Units if the underwriters' over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such Founder Shares would represent approximately 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO. The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside of the Trust Account. In addition, the Sponsor purchased 425,000 Private Placement Units in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the IPO. If we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window, the Private Placement Units will be worthless. Further, any loans made by the Sponsor, of which none are outstanding as of the date of this Annual Report, will only be repaid to the Sponsor upon consummation of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our Sponsor, officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the end of the completion window nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination, unless such completion window is extended as described herein.

As we have in connection with the Proposed Business Combination, we have and may further issue shares to investors in private placement transactions at a price below $10.00 per share. We do not expect to do so prior to the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination on March 16, 2026. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity and capital to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time. Any such issuances of equity securities could dilute the interests of our existing shareholders.

While an opinion was obtained in connection with the Proposed Business Combination, if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, unless we complete such alternative initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

We held the EGM on March 12, 2026, at which Public Shareholders were afforded the opportunity to vote on the Proposed Business Combination but were not afforded the opportunity to appoint directors or discuss general company affairs with management at an annual general meeting. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, Public Shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our Public Shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands until after the consummation of our initial business combination.

In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of: (i) $10.00 per Public Share; and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and the Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against the Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against the Sponsor to enforce the Sponsor's indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.

We sought shareholder approval of the Proposed Business Combination at the EGM held on March 12, 2026 and did not conduct redemptions in connection with the Proposed Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules; if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity and seek shareholder approval thereof and do not conduct redemptions in connection with such alternative initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Articles provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a "group" (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO, which we refer to as the "Excess Shares", without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders' ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Units are intended to be used to complete one or more initial business combinations with a target business or businesses, we may be deemed to be a "blank check" company under the United States securities laws. We have entered into the Business Combination Agreement with Merlin as our proposed initial business combination; however, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combinations than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the IPO had been subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account to us unless and until the funds in the Trust Account were released to us or in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not have become aware (whether in connection with the Proposed Business Combination or, if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination, any alternative initial business combination opportunity) of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit Public Shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in "street name," to, at the holder's option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its Public Shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.

On March 12, 2026, we held an EGM for our shareholders to vote on the Proposed Business Combination. All proposals were approved by the requisite vote of the shareholders, and we expect to consummate the Proposed Business Combination on March 16, 2026. Prior to the EGM, none of the Sponsor, our directors, officers or affiliates purchased additional securities on the open market. In the unlikely scenario we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, at any time prior to the extraordinary general meeting held to approve an initial business combination, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or Public Rights in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market, or take other actions to incentivize non-redemption, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of Public Shares or Public Rights that such persons may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase Public Shares or Public Rights in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our securities, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such transactions could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining the shareholder approval of the proposed business combination, (2) reduce the amount of redemptions, or (3) reduce the number of Public Rights outstanding. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of the proposed business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public "float" of our securities may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. The Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Additionally, in the event the Sponsor, the Company's or the target's directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or Public Rights, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following: - this Annual Report discloses, and any proxy statement and/or prospectus filed in connection with such business combination would disclose, the possibility that the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or Public Rights from Public Shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases;- if the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares from Public Shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price at which Public Shares may be redeemed;- any of our securities purchased by the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates will not be voted in favor of approving the proposed business combination;- the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates will not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and - we will disclose in a Form 8-K, before the shareholder meeting to approve the proposed business combination, the following material items: ?the amount of securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by the Sponsor, the Company's, or target's directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates, along with the purchase price;?the purpose of the purchases by the Sponsor, the Company's, or target's directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates;?the impact, if any, of the purchases by the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates on the likelihood that the proposed business combination will be approved;?the identities of the security holders who sold to the Sponsor or our directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to the Sponsor, the Company's, or the target's directors, managers, officers, advisors and their affiliates; and ?the number of Public Shares for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to its redemption offer.

We have until November 4, 2026 or until such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, to consummate our initial business combination. If we anticipate that we may be unable to consummate our initial business combination within such period, we may seek shareholder approval to amend our Articles to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination. However, we may decide not to seek to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination. If we do not seek to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial business combination, and we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period, 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 (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, interest released to us for working capital purposes and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then-outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders' rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, the Rights may be worthless.

The Proposed Business Combination has received requisite shareholder approval and is expected to be consummated on March 16, 2026. If we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, and such alternative initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that such initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If such initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.

At the time we entered into the Business Combination Agreement with Merlin, we did not know how many shareholders would exercise their redemption rights, and therefore structured the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that would be submitted for redemption. As of the date of this Annual Report, in connection with the EGM held on March 12, 2026, Public Shareholders holding 22,550,551 Public Shares, representing approximately 90.3% of the outstanding Public Shares, exercised their redemption rights with respect to the Proposed Business Combination. If we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead enter into an agreement for an alternate initial business combination opportunity, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights with respect to such alternate transaction, and therefore will need to structure such transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, as the Proposed Business Combination does, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B Ordinary Shares results in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares at the time of our initial business combination, though the Sponsor has agreed to waive its anti-dilution rights under the Articles in connection with the Proposed Business Combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. As a result, our obligations to redeem Public Shares for which redemption is requested and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. In addition, raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B Ordinary Shares result in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure and may result in substantial dilution from your purchase of our Class A Ordinary Shares. The effect of this dilution will be greater for our Public Shareholders than holders of our Founder Shares. The amount of the deferred underwriting compensation payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination, which may further dilute your investment. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting compensation and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting compensation. We may not be able to generate sufficient value from the completion of our initial business combination in order to overcome the dilutive impact of these and other factors, and, accordingly, you may incur a net loss on your investment.

We expect to consummate the Proposed Business Combination with Merlin as we have received the requisite shareholder vote. The Proposed Business Combination does not have a minimum cash condition. However, in the unlikely scenario that we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, we may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would not allow us to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.

As of December 31, 2025, the Sponsor owned 25.9% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The Sponsor and management team may from time to time purchase Class A Ordinary Shares prior to our initial business combination. The Articles provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination requires an ordinary resolution which is the affirmative vote (in person (including virtually) or by proxy) of holders of a majority of the outstanding Ordinary Shares that are entitled to vote and are voted. As a result, in connection with the EGM held on March 12, 2026, and if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, the extraordinary general meeting to approve the alternative initial business combination opportunity, in addition to the Sponsor's Founder Shares and Private Placement Units, we did not and would not need any of the 25,000,000 Public Shares outstanding to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming that only the holders of 11,252,779 ordinary shares, representing a quorum under the Articles, are voted).

At the time of investment in us, our Public Shareholders were not provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. We held the EGM on March 12, 2026 to approve the Proposed Business Combination, in connection with which our Public Shareholders were provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of the Proposed Business Combination and exercise the right to redeem their Public Shares for cash; however, if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead search for an alternate initial business combination opportunity, since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking shareholder approval, Public Shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, their only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding our initial business combination may be limited to exercising their redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our Public Shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

We held the EGM on March 12, 2026 to approve the Proposed Business Combination; however, if we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead search for an alternate initial business combination opportunity, we may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination if such business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the Sponsor will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our Public Shareholders do not approve of the Business Combination we complete.

Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor, the managing member of the Sponsor, and our officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our Articles provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors have and may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies with acquisition objectives that are similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so in connection with the Proposed Business Combination. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors' and officers' discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders' best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders' rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.

We do not expect to enter into an insolvent liquidation given that the Proposed Business Combination has received requisite shareholder approval and is expected to be consummated on March 16, 2026; however, in the unlikely scenario we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, the following risks may apply. If, in such alternative scenario, we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it were proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, the Company was unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and the Company to claims, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against it for these reasons. The Company and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of the our share premium account while it was unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offense and may be liable to a fine of $18,293 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.

Our Letter Agreement with our Sponsor, officers, directors and advisors contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units, indemnification of the Trust Account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the Trust Account. The Letter Agreement may be amended without shareholder approval. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the Letter Agreement prior to the anticipated consummation of the Proposed Business Combination on March 16, 2026, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to the Letter Agreement. Any such amendments to the Letter Agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.

We expect to consummate the Proposed Business Combination on March 16, 2026. If we are unable to consummate the Proposed Business Combination by the date anticipated or instead seek to consummate an alternative initial business combination opportunity, and are unable to do so by November 4, 2026, or such later date as our shareholders may approve in accordance with the Articles, subject to applicable law, the proceeds then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be less taxes payable and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our Public Shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of Public Shareholders from the Trust Account will be effected automatically by function of the Articles prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the Trust Account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our Public Shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Cayman Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the end of the completion window before the redemption proceeds of our Trust Account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our Trust Account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate the Proposed Business Combination or another initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Public Shareholders. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will Public Shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete the Proposed Business Combination or another initial business combination.

Our Class A Ordinary Shares, Units and Rights are listed on Nasdaq under "BACQ", "BACQU" and "BACQR", respectively. We cannot assure you that the securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq prior to the earlier of the Proposed Business Combination, completion of another initial business combination or the end of the completion window. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to the Business Combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market value of listed securities (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq's initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq's continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, unless we decide to list on a different Nasdaq tier such as the Nasdaq Capital Market which has different initial listing requirements, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time. If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including: - a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;- reduced liquidity for our securities;- a determination that our securities are a "penny stock" which will require brokers trading in our securities to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;- a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and - a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as "covered securities." Because our securities will be listed on Nasdaq, our securities will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.

Pursuant to the registration rights agreement entered into simultaneously with the IPO, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A Ordinary Shares into which Founder Shares are convertible, holders of our Private Placement Units and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Private Placement Units and the Class A Ordinary Shares and holders of Private Placement Units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such shares or the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Private Placement Units. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our Sponsor, holders of our Private Placement Units or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

We will be issuing rights that may result in the issuance of up to 2,542,500 Class A Ordinary Shares, as part of the Units issued in the IPO and the Private Placement Units. In addition, if the Sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 150,000 Private Placement Units, at the price of $10.00 per unit. To the extent we issue Ordinary Shares to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A Ordinary Shares upon conversion of these rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such rights, when converted, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares and reduce the value of the Class A Ordinary Shares issued to complete an initial business combination. Therefore, our rights may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. For more information on the dilutive effect of the Rights in connection with the Proposed Business Combination, please see "Summary of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus-Ownership of New Merlin" in our Registration Statement.

In connection with the Proposed Business Combination, pursuant to the Domestication, each of the Rights will convert into a right of Post-Domestication Inflection Point (each, a "Post-Domestication Right"), which, at the effective time of the Proposed Business Combination, will convert automatically into one-tenth of one-share of common stock of New Merlin, with any fractional shares rounded down. If we do not consummate the Proposed Business Combination and instead pursue an alternative initial business combination opportunity, except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a Right will automatically receive one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A Ordinary Share upon consummation of our initial business combination. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a Right will be required to affirmatively convert its rights in order to receive the one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A Ordinary Share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. We will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. As a result, you must hold Rights in multiples of ten in order to receive Class A Ordinary Shares for all of your Rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we redeem the Public Shares for the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Rights will not receive any of such funds for their Rights and the Rights will expire worthless.

Our rights agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the rights agreement, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the rights agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. We note that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our Rights shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our rights agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the rights agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a "foreign action") in the name of any holder of our rights, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an "enforcement action"), and (y) having service of process made upon such rights holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such rights holder's counsel in the foreign action as agent for such rights holder. This choice-of-forum provision may limit a rights holder's ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our rights agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management team.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers. Our corporate affairs will be governed by our Articles, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States. We have been advised by Ogier (Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere. As a result of all of the above, Public Shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.

It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under U.S. laws.

We are an "emerging growth company" within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Additionally, we are a "smaller reporting company" as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

Our Articles contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.