Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration Statement No. 333-268975
PROXY STATEMENT FOR EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF
RICE ACQUISITION CORP. II
PROSPECTUS FOR UP TO 199,845,063 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK AND
19,525,000 WARRANTS TO PURCHASE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF
RICE ACQUISITION CORP. II
(TO BE RENAMED “NET Power Inc.” FOLLOWING DOMESTICATION IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE AND IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUSINESS COMBINATION DESCRIBED HEREIN)
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To the Shareholders of Rice Acquisition Corp. II:
You are cordially invited to attend an extraordinary general meeting (the “extraordinary general meeting”) of the shareholders of Rice Acquisition Corp. II, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands (“RONI,” “we,” “our” or “us”), which will be held at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on June 6, 2023. The extraordinary general meeting has been called to approve, among other things, the Domestication (as defined below) and the Business Combination (as defined below).
As further described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, pursuant to the Domestication, on the date on which the Business Combination is consummated (the “Closing Date”), prior to the Effective Time (as defined below), RONI will become a Delaware corporation named “NET Power Inc.” (the “Domestication”). As part of the Domestication, all of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of RONI (“Class A Shares”) will be converted into Class A common stock of a domesticated Delaware corporation, all of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, of RONI (“Class B Shares” and together with the Class A Shares, the “Ordinary Shares”) will be converted into Class B common stock of a domesticated Delaware corporation, the warrants of RONI (which are currently exercisable for Class A Shares) will become warrants to purchase Class A common stock of a domesticated Delaware corporation, and the governing documents of RONI will be amended and restated. Immediately following the Domestication, Rice Acquisition Holdings II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and direct subsidiary of RONI (“RONI Opco”), will migrate and domesticate as a limited liability company in the State of Delaware (the “Opco Domestication” and, together with the Domestication, the “Domestications”). As used herein, “NET Power Inc.” and “Opco” refers to RONI and RONI Opco, respectively, after giving effect to the Domestications and the Business Combination.
On December 13, 2022, RONI entered into the Business Combination Agreement (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement”) by and among RONI, RONI Opco, Topo Buyer Co, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of RONI Opco (the “Buyer”), Topo Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer (“Merger Sub” and, together with RONI, RONI Opco and the Buyer, collectively, the “Buyer Parties”), and NET Power, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“NET Power”), pursuant to which, among other things, Merger Sub will merge with and into NET Power (the “Merger”), with NET Power surviving the Merger and becoming a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein.
In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Business Combination Agreement, at the time that the Merger becomes effective (the “Effective Time”), each issued and outstanding equity interest of NET Power (other than any such equity interests held in the treasury of NET Power or owned by any subsidiary of NET Power immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be exchanged for one Class A Unit of RONI Opco and one share of Class B common stock of NET Power Inc. (“Class B Common Stock”). The transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement is referred to herein as the “Business Combination.”
Following the closing of the Business Combination (the “Closing”), we will retain our “Up-C” structure, whereby all of the equity interests in NET Power LLC will be held by the Buyer, all of the equity interests in the Buyer will be held by Opco, and NET Power Inc.’s only assets will be its equity interests in Opco. The Up-C structure allows the Existing NET Power Holders (as defined below) to retain their equity ownership in NET Power, an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in the form of post-merger units of Opco (“Opco Units”). Immediately following the Closing, the Existing NET Power Holders are expected to own
approximately 60.3% of the Opco Units, assuming no redemptions of the Class A Shares. Following the completion of the Business Combination, holders of Opco Units (other than NET Power Inc.) will, subject to certain limitations, have the right to cause Opco to acquire all or a portion of their Opco Units and corresponding shares of Class B Common Stock for Class A Common Stock (as defined below), subject to NET Power Inc.’s right to acquire each tendered Opco Unit directly from such holder for Class A Common Stock or an equivalent amount of cash. These acquisitions of Opco Units will provide potential future tax benefits for NET Power Inc. (a substantial portion of which the Existing NET Power Holders that are parties to the Tax Receivable Agreement will benefit from pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement). The payments that NET Power Inc. will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be substantial and may materially affect NET Power Inc.’s liquidity; any such payments will reduce the cash provided by such potential future tax benefits that would otherwise have been available to NET Power Inc. for other uses, some of which could benefit the holders of Class A Common Stock. For more information, please see “Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
The Class A Shares and warrants exercisable for Class A Shares are currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbols “RONI” and “RONI WS,” respectively. Certain Class A Shares and certain warrants currently trade as units (the “Units”), each of which consists of one Class A Share and one-fourth of one redeemable warrant. The Units are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “RONI U.” The Units will automatically separate into their component securities upon consummation of the Business Combination and, as a result, will no longer trade as an independent security. We intend to apply to list the Class A common stock of NET Power Inc. (the “Class A Common Stock”) and the warrants exercisable for Class A Common Stock on the NYSE under the symbols “NPWR” and “NPWR WS,” respectively, upon the Closing.
In connection with the Closing, RONI, RONI Opco, Rice Acquisition Sponsor II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), and certain entities affiliated with NET Power will enter into a stockholders’ agreement (the “Stockholders’ Agreement”), which will provide that, among other things: (i) the board of directors of NET Power Inc. (the “NET Power Inc. Board”) is expected to initially consist of 10 members (which may be increased to comply with independence requirements); (ii) the holders of a majority of the Common Stock (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) held by OLCV Net Power, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“OXY”), or its Permitted Transferees (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) will have the right to designate three directors for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board (the “OXY Directors”); provided that (a) on the first date after the Closing Date that OXY, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 25% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc., the right of OXY to designate three directors shall cease, and the term of one then current OXY Director shall thereupon automatically end, (b) further, on the first date after the Closing Date that OXY, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 20% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc., the right of OXY to designate two OXY Directors shall cease, and the term of one then current OXY Director shall thereupon automatically end, and (c) further, on the first date after the Closing Date that OXY, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc., the right of OXY to designate an OXY Director shall cease, and the term of the then current OXY Director shall thereupon automatically end; (iii) the holders of a majority of the Common Stock held by NPEH, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“8 Rivers”), controlled by 8 Rivers Capital, LLC (“8 Rivers Capital”), or the Permitted Transferees of 8 Rivers will have the right to designate one director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board (the “8 Rivers Director”); provided that on the first date after the Closing Date that (a) 8 Rivers, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. and (b) 8 Rivers’ Percentage Interest (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) represents less than 50% of its Initial Percentage Interest (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement), the right of 8 Rivers to designate a director shall cease, and the term of the then current 8 Rivers Director shall thereupon automatically end; (iv) the holders of a majority of the Common Stock held by Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company (“Constellation”), or its Permitted Transferees will have the right to designate one independent director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board (the “Constellation Director”); provided that on the first date after the Closing Date that (a) Constellation, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. and (b) Constellation’s Percentage Interest represents less than 50% of its Initial Percentage Interest, the right of Constellation to designate a director shall cease, and the term of the then current Constellation Director shall thereupon automatically end; (v) the holders of a majority of the Common Stock held by Sponsor or its Permitted Transferees will have the right to designate one director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board (the “Sponsor Director”); provided that on the first date after the Closing Date that (a) Sponsor, together with its Permitted Transferees, fails to hold at least 5% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. and (b) Sponsor’s Percentage Interest represents less than 50% of its
Initial Percentage Interest, the right of Sponsor to designate a director shall cease, and the term of the then current Sponsor Director shall thereupon automatically end; (vi) the NET Power Inc. Board shall take all necessary action to nominate the person then serving as the Chief Executive Officer of NET Power Inc. for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board during the term of the Stockholders’ Agreement; and (vii) the Board shall designate three independent directors (the “Independent Directors”) to serve on the NET Power Inc. Board during the term of the Stockholders’ Agreement. If the Sponsor Director is not reasonably determined, based on the advice of NET Power Inc.’s counsel, to be an “independent director” for purposes of the applicable stock exchange listing standards, or if the NET Power Inc. Board otherwise fails to satisfy the independence requirements of NYSE rules, the NET Power Inc. Board shall be permitted in its sole discretion to increase the size of the NET Power Inc. Board to 13 members, and to fill the three additional directorships with three additional independent directors nominated by the NET Power Inc. Board.
Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, OXY, 8 Rivers, Constellation, Baker Hughes Energy Services LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Existing NET Power Holders”), and the Sponsor and their permitted transferees will be granted certain customary registration rights. Also, the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement will be, from and after the Closing Date, subject to a lock-up period from the Closing Date (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) on transferring their equity interests in NET Power Inc. and RONI Opco that were received pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, with 33 1/3% of the Company Interests (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) issued to each of the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement being subject to a three-year lock-up (subject to early expiration based on the per share trading price of Class A Common Stock), and 66 2/3% of the Company Interests issued to each of the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement being subject to a one-year lock-up (subject to early expiration based on the per share trading price of Class A Common Stock).
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on December 13, 2022, RONI entered into subscription agreements (the “2022 Subscription Agreement”) with certain investors (the “2022 PIPE Investors”), and in April 2023, RONI entered into additional subscription agreements (the “2023 Subscription Agreements” and, together with the 2022 Subscription Agreements, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (the “2023 PIPE Investors” and, together with the 2022 PIPE Investors, the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which, among other things, the PIPE Investors have agreed to subscribe for and purchase from RONI, and RONI has agreed to issue and sell to the PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 49,044,995 newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $490,449,950, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein (the “PIPE Financing”). Each Subscription Agreement contains customary conditions to closing, including the consummation of the Business Combination immediately following the consummation of the PIPE Financing. RONI has agreed with certain of the PIPE Investors (the “Open Market Purchase Rights PIPE Investors”) that such investors may reduce the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be purchased by such investors pursuant to their Subscription Agreements by up to 15.0 million shares in the aggregate if, among other things, they purchase Class A Shares in open market transactions at a price of less than $9.97 per share prior to the Closing Date, do not vote any such Class A Shares in favor of approving the Business Combination and instead submit a proxy abstaining from voting thereon and, to the extent they have the right to have all or some of their Class A Shares redeemed for cash in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, not exercise any such redemption rights.
At the extraordinary general meeting, in addition to approval of the Business Combination (the “Business Combination Proposal”) and the Domestication (the “Domestication Proposal”), you will also be asked to consider and vote upon (i) the proposed certificate of incorporation and bylaws of NET Power Inc. to be effective after giving effect to the Domestication, copies of which are attached to the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and Annex D, respectively (such proposal, the “Charter Proposal”), (ii) on a non-binding advisory basis, proposals to approve material differences between RONI’s existing amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Existing Governing Documents”) and the proposed certificate of incorporation and bylaws of NET Power Inc. upon the Domestication, copies of which are attached to the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and D, respectively (such proposals, collectively, the “Governance Proposals”), (iii) a proposal to approve, for purpose of complying with provisions of Section 312.03 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, the issuance of Class A Common Stock in connection with the Business Combination and the PIPE Financing (the “NYSE Proposal”), (iv) a proposal to approve and adopt the NET Power Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan Proposal”), a copy of which is attached to the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus as Annex J, (v) a proposal to approve the election of four directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, three directors to serve until the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders
and three directors to serve until the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders (the “Director Election Proposal”) and (vi) a proposal to adjourn the extraordinary general meeting to a later date or dates to the extent necessary (the “Adjournment Proposal”). Each of these proposals is more fully described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, which we urge you to read carefully in its entirety, including the annexes and accompanying financial statements of RONI and NET Power Inc.
After careful consideration, the board of directors of RONI (the “RONI Board”) has unanimously approved the Business Combination Agreement and the Business Combination and determined that each of the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, the Governance Proposals, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal, the Director Election Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal is in the best interests of RONI and its shareholders, and unanimously recommends that you vote or give instruction to vote “FOR” each of those proposals. In considering the recommendation of the RONI Board to vote for these proposals, shareholders should be aware that aside from their interests as shareholders, the Sponsor, certain members of the RONI Board, certain RONI officers and certain NET Power officers and directors have interests in the Business Combination that may be different from, or in addition to, those of other stockholders generally. See the sections entitled “The Business Combination Proposal — Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination,” “Risk Factors” and “Beneficial Ownership of Securities” in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus for a further discussion.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of Class B Shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, holders of Class A Shares and holders of Class B Shares vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Approval of the Business Combination Proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the Ordinary Shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at the extraordinary general meeting. Approval of the Domestication Proposal and the Charter Proposal each requires the affirmative vote of holders of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the holders of the Ordinary Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter. Approval of the NYSE Proposal, the Governance Proposals, the Incentive Plan Proposal, the Director Election Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal each requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the Ordinary Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
The Sponsor and certain of our officers and directors entered into a letter agreement at the time of RONI’s initial public offering (the “RONI IPO”), pursuant to which they agreed to vote any shares of capital stock of RONI owned by them in favor of the Business Combination Proposal and to waive their right to have their stock redeemed by RONI. As of the date hereof, such shareholders own approximately 20% of the total outstanding Ordinary Shares.
Pursuant to the Existing Governing Documents, we are providing our public shareholders (as defined below) with the opportunity to have all or a portion of their Class A Shares redeemed for cash upon the Closing (the “redemption rights”). Our “public shareholders” are holders of Class A Shares included as part of the Units sold in the RONI IPO and Class A Shares issued to the Sponsor prior to the RONI IPO (such shares, the “public shares”), whether such shares were purchased in the RONI IPO or in the secondary market following the RONI IPO and whether or not such holders are affiliates of the Sponsor. Holders of our outstanding warrants do not have redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination. You will be entitled to receive cash for any Class A Shares to be redeemed only if you:
(i) (a) hold Class A Shares or (b) hold Units and you elect to separate your Units into the underlying Class A Shares and warrants prior to exercising your redemption rights with respect to the Class A Shares; and
(ii) prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 2, 2023 (two business days prior to the vote at the extraordinary general meeting), (a) submit a written request to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, our transfer agent (“Continental”), that we redeem your Class A Shares for cash and (b) deliver your Class A Shares to Continental.
Public shareholders may elect to redeem all or a portion of their Class A Shares, whether they vote “FOR” the Business Combination Proposal or not. If the Business Combination is not consummated, the Class A Shares will not be redeemed for cash. If the Business Combination is consummated and a public shareholder properly exercises its right to redeem its Class A Shares and timely delivers its shares to Continental, we will redeem each Class A Share for a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in RONI’s trust account that holds proceeds of the RONI IPO (the “Trust Account”), calculated as of two business days prior to the Closing, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to pay franchise and income taxes of RONI, divided by the number of then-outstanding Class A Shares and Class A units of RONI Opco (other than those held by RONI). For illustrative purposes, as of December 31, 2022, this would have amounted to approximately $10.14 per share. If a public shareholder exercises its redemption rights, then it will be exchanging its redeemed Class A Shares for cash and will no longer own such shares. Any request to redeem Class A Shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time until the deadline for requesting to exercise redemption rights and thereafter, with our consent, until the Closing. Furthermore, if a holder of Class A Shares delivers its certificate in connection with an election of its redemption and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, it may simply request that RONI instruct Continental to return the certificate. The holder can make such request by contacting Continental, at the address or email address listed in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. We will be required to honor such request only if made prior to the deadline for requesting to exercise redemption rights. See the section entitled “Special Meeting of RONI Shareholders — Redemption Rights” in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus for a detailed description of the procedures to be followed if you wish to redeem your Class A Shares for cash.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such public shareholder or any other person with whom such public shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), will be restricted from redeeming its Class A Shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the public shares, without our prior consent. Accordingly, if a public shareholder, alone or acting in concert or as a group, seeks to redeem more than 15% of the public shares, then any such shares in excess of that 15% limit would not be redeemed for cash, without our prior consent.
Each redemption of Class A Shares by public shareholders will decrease the amount in the Trust Account, which held total assets of approximately $350 million as of December 31, 2022 and which RONI intends to use for the purposes of consummating the Business Combination within the time period described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus and to pay deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the RONI IPO. The Business Combination Agreement provides that RONI’s and NET Power’s respective obligations to consummate the Business Combination is conditioned on RONI having Available Cash equaling or exceeding $200,000,000. “Available Cash” means, as of the Closing Date, the (i) amount in the Trust Account (after giving effect to the exercise of redemption rights by RONI shareholders), plus (ii) the amount received in respect of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of cash funding raised by NET Power following entry into the Business Combination Agreement and retained on its books as of the Closing Date in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000), minus (iii) transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), plus (iv) all cash proceeds from the purchase of Class A Common Stock following entry into the Business Combination Agreement as contemplated by Section 6.12 of the Business Combination Agreement in an aggregate amount not to exceed $400,000,000 (except to the extent received from any of the Existing NET Power Holders); plus (v) all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries, in the aggregate. The conditions to closing in the Business Combination Agreement are for the sole benefit of the parties thereto and may be waived by such parties. If, as a result of redemptions of Class A Shares by the public shareholders, these conditions are not met (or not waived), then RONI or NET Power may elect not to consummate the Business Combination. Based on the amount of $350 million in the Trust Account as of December 31, 2022, and taking into account the anticipated gross proceeds of approximately $490 million from the PIPE Financing, all 34.5 million shares of our currently outstanding Class A Shares may be redeemed and still enable us to have sufficient cash to satisfy the $200,000,000 Available Cash closing condition contained in the Business Combination Agreement. In addition, in no event will RONI consummate the Business Combination if the redemption of Class A Shares would result in our failure to have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001.
All RONI shareholders are cordially invited to attend the extraordinary general meeting, and we are providing the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus and proxy card to our shareholders in connection with the solicitation of proxies to be voted at the extraordinary general meeting (or any adjournments or postponements thereof).
Whether or not you plan to attend the extraordinary general meeting, we urge you to read the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus carefully and submit your proxy to vote on the Business Combination and the other proposals contained therein. Please pay particular attention to the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 27 of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus.
Only holders of record of Ordinary Shares at the close of business on April 18, 2023 are entitled to notice of and to vote and have their votes counted at the extraordinary general meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.
Your vote is important regardless of the number of shares you own. To ensure your representation at the extraordinary general meeting, whether you plan to attend the extraordinary general meeting or not, you are urged to complete, sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card as soon as possible. If your shares are held in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, you must instruct your broker or bank on how to vote your shares or, if you wish to attend the extraordinary general meeting and vote, obtain a proxy from your broker or bank.
If you sign, date and return your proxy card without indicating how you wish to vote, your proxy will be voted “FOR” each of the proposals presented at the extraordinary general meeting. If you fail to return a proxy card or fail to instruct a broker or other nominee how to vote, and do not attend the extraordinary general meeting in person, your shares will not be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the extraordinary general meeting. If a valid quorum is established, any such failure to vote or to provide voting instructions will have no effect on the outcome of any proposal in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus.
On behalf of our board of directors, I would like to thank you for your support of Rice Acquisition Corp. II and look forward to a successful completion of the Business Combination.
Sincerely, |
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/s/ J. Kyle Derham |
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J. Kyle Derham |
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Chief Executive Officer and Director |
May 10, 2023
TO EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS, YOU MUST (i) IF YOU HOLD CLASS A SHARES THROUGH THE UNITS, ELECT TO SEPARATE YOUR UNITS INTO THE UNDERLYING CLASS A SHARES AND WARRANTS PRIOR TO EXERCISING YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS, (ii) SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST TO THE TRANSFER AGENT, AT LEAST TWO BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE VOTE AT THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING, THAT YOUR CLASS A SHARES BE REDEEMED FOR CASH AND (iii) DELIVER YOUR CLASS A SHARES TO THE TRANSFER AGENT, PHYSICALLY OR ELECTRONICALLY USING THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY’S DWAC (DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL AT CUSTODIAN) SYSTEM, IN EACH CASE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROCEDURES AND DEADLINES DESCRIBED IN THE ACCOMPANYING PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS. IF THE BUSINESS COMBINATION IS NOT CONSUMMATED, THEN THE SHARES WILL NOT BE REDEEMED FOR CASH. IF YOU HOLD THE SHARES IN STREET NAME, YOU WILL NEED TO INSTRUCT THE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT YOUR BANK OR BROKER TO WITHDRAW THE SHARES FROM YOUR ACCOUNT IN ORDER TO EXERCISE YOUR REDEMPTION RIGHTS. SEE THE SECTION ENTITLED “SPECIAL MEETING OF RONI SHAREHOLDERS — REDEMPTION RIGHTS” IN THE ACCOMPANYING PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS FOR MORE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the transactions described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus, passed upon the merits or fairness of the Business Combination Agreement or the transactions contemplated thereby or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The accompanying proxy statement/prospectus is dated May 10, 2023 and is first being mailed to RONI shareholders on or about May 11, 2023.
RICE ACQUISITION CORP. II
102 East Main Street, Second Story
Carnegie, Pennsylvania
NOTICE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
TO BE HELD ON JUNE 6, 2023
To the Shareholders of Rice Acquisition Corp. II:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders (the “extraordinary general meeting”) of Rice Acquisition Corp. II, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“RONI,” “we,” “our” or “us”), will be held at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on June 6, 2023.
To attend and participate in the extraordinary general meeting, you will need to physically attend the premises at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and wish to attend the extraordinary general meeting, you will need to follow the instructions on your voting instruction form provided by your bank, broker or other organization that holds your shares.
The extraordinary general meeting will be held for the following purposes:
• Proposal No. 1 — The Business Combination Proposal — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that RONI’s entry into the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of December 13, 2022 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Business Combination Agreement” and, the transactions contemplated thereby, the “Business Combination”), by and among RONI, Rice Acquisition Holdings II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (“RONI Opco”), Topo Buyer Co, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of RONI Opco (the “Buyer”), Topo Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer (“Merger Sub”), and NET Power, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“NET Power”), a copy of which is attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A-1 and Annex A-2, pursuant to which, among other things, following the de-registration of RONI as an exempted company in the Cayman Islands and the continuation and domestication of RONI as a corporation in the State of Delaware with the name “NET Power Inc.,” (i) Merger Sub will merge with and into NET Power (the “Merger”), with NET Power surviving the Merger and becoming a wholly owned direct subsidiary of the Buyer and (ii) at the time that the Merger becomes effective (the “Effective Time”), all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of NET Power (other than any such equity interests held in the treasury of NET Power or owned by any subsidiary of NET Power immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be canceled and converted into the right to receive an aggregate of 137,192,563 Class A Units of RONI Opco and an equivalent number of shares of Class B Common Stock (one share of Class B Common Stock together with one Class A Unit or Class B Unit of RONI Opco, a “RONI Interest”), subject to adjustment for (a) NET Power units issued pursuant to the amended and restated joint development agreement, dated as of December 13, 2022 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms), by and among RONI, NET Power, RONI Opco, Nuovo Pignone International, S.r.l., an Italian limited liability company that is an affiliate of Baker Hughes Company, and Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l., an Italian limited liability company that is also an affiliate of Baker Hughes Company, between the date hereof and the Closing Date and thereafter and (b) cash funding raised by NET Power following entry into the Business Combination Agreement and retained on its books as of the Closing Date in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000 (the “Interim Company Financing”), and the Business Combination, be approved, ratified and confirmed in all respects.
• Proposal No. 2 — The Domestication Proposal — RESOLVED, as a special resolution, that RONI be de-registered in the Cayman Islands pursuant to Article 47 of its articles of association and registered by way of continuation as a corporation under the laws of the state of Delaware (the “Domestication”) pursuant to Part XII of the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and Section 388 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) and, immediately upon being de-registered in the Cayman Islands, RONI be continued and domesticated as a corporation and, conditional upon, and with effect from, the registration of RONI as a corporation in the State of Delaware, the name of RONI be changed from “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.” (the “Domestication Proposal”).
• Proposal No. 3 — The Charter Proposal — RESOLVED, as a special resolution, that, upon the Domestication, the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of RONI (“Existing Governing Documents”) be amended and restated by the proposed new certificate of incorporation and the proposed new bylaws, copies of which are attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and Annex D (the “Proposed Certificate of Incorporation” and the “Proposed Bylaws,” respectively, and, together, the “Proposed Governing Documents”) of “NET Power Inc.” (a corporation incorporated in the State of Delaware, assuming the Domestication Proposal is approved and adopted, and the filing with and acceptance by the Secretary of State of Delaware of the Certificate of Corporate Domestication in accordance with Section 388 of the DGCL), including authorization of the change in authorized share capital as indicated therein and the change of name of “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.” in connection with the Business Combination (such proposal, the “Charter Proposal”).
• Governing Documents Proposals — To consider and vote upon, on a non-binding advisory basis, certain governance provisions in the Existing Governing Documents, and to approve the following material differences between the Existing Governing Documents and the Proposed Governing Documents of NET Power Inc. (such proposals, collectively, the “Governing Documents Proposals”):
• Proposal No. 4 — Governing Documents Proposal A — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that upon the Domestication, the change in the authorized share capital of RONI from $33,100 divided into (i) 300,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of $0.0001 each, (ii) 30,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of $0.0001 each and (iii) 1,000,000 preference shares of a par value of $0.0001 each to (a) 520,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc., (b) 310,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc. and (c) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“NET Power Inc. preferred stock”), of NET Power Inc., be approved.
• Proposal No. 5 — Governing Documents Proposal B — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, the authorization to the board of directors of NET Power Inc. (the “NET Power Inc. Board”) to issue any or all shares of NET Power Inc. preferred stock, in one or more classes or series, with such terms and conditions as may be expressly determined by the NET Power Inc. Board and as may be permitted by the DGCL, be approved.
• Proposal No. 6 — Governing Documents Proposal C — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, the provision that certain provisions of the certificate of incorporation of NET Power Inc. are subject to the NET Power Inc. Stockholders’ Agreement be approved.
• Proposal No. 7 — Governing Documents Proposal D — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, the removal of the ability of NET Power Inc. stockholders to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting be approved.
• Proposal No. 8 — Governing Documents Proposal E — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, any director or the entire board of directors of NET Power Inc. may be removed from office, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of stock of NET Power Inc. entitled to vote generally for the election of directors be approved.
• Proposal No. 9 — Governing Documents Proposal F — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, all other changes necessary or desirable in connection with the replacement of Existing Governing Documents with the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and Proposed Bylaws as part of the Domestication (copies of which are attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and Annex D, respectively), including (i) changing the post-Business Combination corporate name from “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.” (which is expected to occur upon the consummation of the Domestication), (ii) making NET Power Inc.’s corporate existence perpetual, (iii) adopting Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation and the United States District Courts as the exclusive forum for litigation arising out of the federal securities laws, and (iv) removing certain provisions related to our status as a blank check company that will no longer be applicable upon consummation of the Business Combination, be approved.
• Proposal No. 10 — The Director Election Proposal — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, the election, effective upon the consummation of the Business Combination, of four directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, three directors to serve until the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders and three directors to serve until the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, each until his or her respective successor is duly elected and qualified, subject to such director’s earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal, be approved (the “Director Election Proposal”).
• Proposal No. 11 — The NYSE Proposal — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, approve, assuming the Business Combination Proposal and the Governing Documents Proposals are approved and adopted, for purposes of complying with the applicable provisions of Section 312.03 of the New York Stock Exchange’s (“NYSE”) Listed Company Manual, the issuance of more than 20% of RONI’s Class A Common Stock to the investors in connection with the Business Combination and the PIPE Financing (as defined below) (the “NYSE Proposal”).
• Proposal No. 12 — The Incentive Plan Proposal — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that, upon the Domestication, the NET Power Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”), a copy of which is attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex J, be adopted and approved (the “Incentive Plan Proposal”).
• Proposal No. 13 — The Adjournment Proposal — RESOLVED, as an ordinary resolution, that the extraordinary general meeting be adjourned to a later date or dates (i) to the extent necessary to ensure that any required supplement or amendment to the proxy statement/prospectus is provided to RONI shareholders or, if as of the time for which the extraordinary general meeting is scheduled, there are insufficient RONI ordinary shares represented (either in person or by proxy) to constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business at the extraordinary general meeting, (ii) in order to solicit additional proxies from RONI shareholders in favor of one or more of the proposals at the extraordinary general meeting or (iii) if RONI shareholders have elected to redeem an amount of the Class A Shares issued as part of the units (“public shares”) in the RONI IPO such that the condition to consummation of the Business Combination that the aggregate cash proceeds to be received by RONI from the trust account established at the consummation of the RONI IPO (the “Trust Account”) in connection with the Business Combination, together with the aggregate gross proceeds from the PIPE Financing and the Interim Company Financing, and all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries, minus transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), minus transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), plus all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries in the aggregate, equal no less than $200,000,000 after deducting any amounts paid to RONI shareholders that exercise their redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination would not be satisfied (such condition to the consummation of the Business Combination, the “Minimum Available Cash Condition”) (the “Adjournment Proposal”).
Each of the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, NYSE Proposal and the Incentive Plan Proposal (collectively, the “Condition Precedent Proposals”) is conditioned on the approval and adoption of each of the other Condition Precedent Proposals. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned upon the approval of any other proposal, and the Governing Documents Proposals are being submitted for approval on a non-binding advisory basis. Each of these proposals is described in this proxy statement/prospectus, which each shareholder is encouraged to read carefully and in its entirety before voting.
Only holders of record of ordinary shares at the close of business on April 18, 2023 are entitled to notice of and to vote and have their votes counted at the extraordinary general meeting and any adjournment of the extraordinary general meeting.
This proxy statement/prospectus and accompanying proxy card is being provided to RONI’s shareholders in connection with the solicitation of proxies to be voted at the extraordinary general meeting and at any adjournment of the extraordinary general meeting. Whether or not you plan to attend the extraordinary general meeting, all of RONI’s shareholders are urged to read this proxy statement/prospectus, including the annexes and the documents referred to herein carefully and in their entirety. You should also carefully consider the risk factors described in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 27 of this proxy statement/prospectus.
After careful consideration, the RONI Board has unanimously approved the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, and unanimously recommends that shareholders vote “FOR” the adoption of the Business Combination Agreement and approval of the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Merger, and “FOR” all other proposals presented to RONI’s shareholders in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. When you consider the recommendation of these proposals by the RONI Board, you should keep in mind that RONI’s directors and officers have interests in the Business Combination that may conflict with your interests as a shareholder. See the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination” in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus for a further discussion of these considerations.
Pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, RONI is providing its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A Shares in connection with the Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to RONI to pay its taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Class A Shares. The per-share amount RONI will pay to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission totaling $11,721,500 that RONI will pay to the underwriters of the RONI IPO or transaction expenses incurred in connection with the Business Combination. For illustrative purposes, based on the fair value of marketable securities held in the Trust Account of approximately $350 million as of December 31, 2022, the estimated per share redemption price would have been approximately $10.14. Public shareholders may elect to redeem their shares even if they vote for the Business Combination.
A public shareholder, together with any of his, her or its affiliates or any other person with whom it is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), will be restricted from redeeming in the aggregate his, her or its shares or, if part of such a group, the group’s shares, in excess of 15% of the Class A Shares included in the units sold in the RONI IPO without the prior consent of RONI. Any beneficial holder of Class A Shares on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself to RONI in connection with any redemption election in order to validly elect to redeem such Class A Shares. RONI has no specified maximum redemption threshold under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, other than the aforementioned 15% threshold. Each redemption of Class A Shares by RONI’s public shareholders will reduce the amount in the Trust Account.
The Business Combination Agreement provides that the obligation of NET Power to consummate the Business Combination is conditioned upon the sum of (i) the amount in the Trust Account (after giving effect to the exercise of redemption rights by RONI shareholders), plus (ii) the amount received in respect of the PIPE Financing (as defined below) and the Interim Company Financing, minus (iii) transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), plus (iv) all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries, in the aggregate, equaling or exceeding $200,000,000 as of immediately prior to the Closing. The conditions to closing in the Business Combination Agreement are for the sole benefit of the parties thereto and may be waived by such parties. If, as a result of redemptions of Class A Shares by holders of public shares and a failure to consummate the PIPE Financing, this condition is not met or is not waived, then NET Power may elect not to consummate the Business Combination. In addition, in no event will RONI redeem its Class A Shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, as provided in RONI’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and as required as a closing condition to each party’s obligation to consummate the Business Combination under the terms of the Business Combination Agreement. Holders of outstanding public warrants do not have redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination. Unless otherwise specified, the information in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus assumes that no holders of public shares exercise their redemption rights with respect to their Class A Shares.
Rice Acquisition Sponsor II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and RONI’s officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any RONI ordinary shares they may hold in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, and the Founder Units (as defined below) will be excluded from the pro rata calculation used to determine the per-share redemption price.
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, RONI entered into subscription agreements (the “2022 Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors and in April 2023, RONI entered into additional subscription agreements (the “2023 Subscription Agreements” and, together with the 2022 Subscription Agreements, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors, pursuant to which such investors agreed to purchase, and RONI agreed to issue and sell to such investors, newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $10.00 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $490 million, which purchase and sale will be consummated immediately prior to the Business Combination (together with any additional subscription agreements entered into prior to the Closing, the “PIPE Financing”).
Any amount of Interim Company Financing provided by OXY, Constellation or 8 Rivers, up to $25 million in the aggregate, will be exchanged for an equivalent number of securities of NET Power Inc. and be deemed to reduce the PIPE Financing subscription amounts of OXY, Constellation or 8 Rivers. As of the date hereof, OXY has provided $10 million of Interim Company Financing. The securities to be issued pursuant to the Subscription Agreements have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in reliance upon the exemption provided in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder.
Holders must complete the procedures for electing to redeem their public shares in the manner described above prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 2, 2023 (two business days before the extraordinary general meeting) in order for their shares to be redeemed.
Holders of units must elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and warrants prior to exercising redemption rights with respect to the public shares. If holders hold their units in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, holders must notify their broker or bank that they elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and warrants, or if a holder holds units registered in its own name, the holder must contact Continental directly and instruct them to do so. The redemption rights include the requirement that a holder must identify itself in writing as a beneficial holder and provide its legal name, phone number and address to Continental in order to validly redeem its shares. Public shareholders may elect to redeem public shares regardless of if or how they vote in respect of the Business Combination Proposal. If the Business Combination is not consummated, the public shares will be returned to the respective holder, broker or bank. If the Business Combination is consummated, and if a public shareholder properly exercises its right to redeem all or a portion of the public shares that it holds and timely delivers its shares to Continental, RONI’s transfer agent, RONI will redeem such public shares for a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the pro rata portion of Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination. For illustrative purposes, as of December 31, 2022, this would have amounted to approximately $10.14 per issued and outstanding public share. If a public shareholder exercises its redemption rights in full, then it will be electing to exchange its public shares for cash and will no longer own public shares. All references herein to the exercise of redemption rights or to the redemption of Class A Shares generally shall be deemed to be references to the redemption of Class A Shares prior to the conversion of Class A Common Stock in connection with the Domestication, and shall be construed accordingly. See “Extraordinary General Meeting of RONI — Redemption Rights” in this proxy statement/prospectus for a detailed description of the procedures to be followed if you wish to redeem your public shares for cash.
The Business Combination Agreement is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain other closing conditions as described in the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus. There can be no assurance that the parties to the Business Combination Agreement would waive any such provision of the Business Combination Agreement.
The approval of each of the Domestication Proposal and Charter Proposal requires a special resolution, being the affirmative vote of at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter. The approval of each of the Business Combination Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued ordinary shares present or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
Your vote is very important. Whether or not you plan to attend the extraordinary general meeting, please vote as soon as possible by following the instructions in this proxy statement/prospectus to make sure that your shares are represented at the extraordinary general meeting. If you hold your shares in “street name” through a bank, broker or other nominee, you will need to follow the instructions provided to you by your bank, broker or other nominee to ensure that your shares are represented and voted at the extraordinary general meeting. The Business Combination
will be consummated only if the Condition Precedent Proposals are approved at the extraordinary general meeting. Each of the Condition Precedent Proposals is cross-conditioned on the approval of each other. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned upon the approval of any other proposal set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus, and the Governing Documents Proposals are being submitted for approval on a non-binding advisory basis.
If you sign, date and return your proxy card without indicating how you wish to vote, your proxy will be voted FOR each of the proposals presented at the extraordinary general meeting. If you fail to return your proxy card or fail to instruct your bank, broker or other nominee how to vote, and do not attend the extraordinary general meeting in person, the effect will be that your shares will not be counted for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present at the extraordinary general meeting. If you are a shareholder of record and you attend the extraordinary general meeting and wish to vote in person, you may withdraw your proxy and vote in person.
Your attention is directed to the remainder of the proxy statement/prospectus following this notice (including the Annexes and other documents referred to herein) for a more complete description of the proposed Business Combination and related transactions and each of the proposals. You are encouraged to read this proxy statement/prospectus carefully and in its entirety, including the Annexes and other documents referred to herein. If you have any questions or need assistance voting your ordinary shares, please contact D.F. King & Co., Inc. (“D.F. King”), our proxy solicitor, by calling (800) 769-7666, or banks and brokers can call collect at (212) 269-5550, or by emailing RONI@dfking.com.
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/s/ Daniel Joseph Rice, IV |
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Daniel Joseph Rice, IV |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS OF NET POWER |
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE |
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ANNEX A-2: FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE BUSINESS COMBINATION AGREEMENT |
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You may request copies of this proxy statement/prospectus and any other publicly available information concerning RONI, without charge, by written request to Rice Acquisition Corp. II, 102 East Main Street, Second Story, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106, or by telephone request at (713) 446-6259; or please contact D.F. King, our proxy solicitor, by calling (800) 769-7666, or banks and brokers can call collect at (212) 269-5550, or by emailing RONI@dfking.com; or from the SEC through the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov.
In order for RONI’s shareholders to receive timely delivery of the documents in advance of the extraordinary general meeting of RONI to be held on June 6, 2023, you must request the information no later than five business days prior to the date of the extraordinary general meeting, by May 30, 2023.
This document contains references to trademarks, trade names and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this proxy statement/prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
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Unless otherwise stated in this proxy statement/prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
• “8 Rivers” means NPEH, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company controlled by 8 Rivers Capital, LLC;
• “Amended and Restated JDA” means that certain Amended and Restated Joint Development Agreement, dated December 13, 2022, by and among NET Power, RONI, RONI Opco, NPI, and NPT, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms;
• “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” means the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of RONI, effective June 15, 2021;
• “Available Cash” means as of the Closing, the (i) the amount in the Trust Account (after giving effect to the exercise of redemption rights by RONI shareholders), plus (ii) the amount received in respect of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of cash funding raised by NET Power following entry into the Business Combination Agreement and retained on its books as of the Closing Date in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000), minus (iii) transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), plus (iv) all cash proceeds from the purchase of Class A Common Stock following entry into the Business Combination Agreement as contemplated by Section 6.12 of the Business Combination Agreement in an aggregate amount not to exceed $400,000,000 (except to the extent received from any of the Existing NET Power Holders); plus (v) all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries, in the aggregate;
• “Baker Hughes” means Baker Hughes Company, a Delaware corporation;
• “BH License Agreement” means that certain License Agreement, dated February 3, 2022, by and between NET Power and NPT, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms;
• “BHES” means Baker Hughes Energy Services LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and affiliate of Baker Hughes;
• “Business Combination Agreement” means that certain Business Combination Agreement, dated December 13, 2022, by and among RONI, RONI Opco, the Buyer, Merger Sub and NET Power, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms (including by the First Amendment to the Business Combination Agreement, dated April 23, 2023, by and between Buyer and NET Power);
• “Business Combination” means the Domestication, the Merger and other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, collectively, including the PIPE Financing;
• “Buyer” means Topo Buyer Co, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of RONI Opco;
• “Call Right” means the right, pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement and upon the exercise of the Opco Redemption Right by an Opco Unitholder, for NET Power Inc. to acquire each tendered Opco Unit directly from such Opco Unitholder for, at NET Power Inc.’s election, (i) one share of Class A Common Stock, subject to conversion rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassification, or (ii) an equivalent amount of cash;
• “Cayman Islands Companies Act” means the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
• “Charter Proposal” means Proposal No. 3 to approve the Proposed Certificate and the Proposed Bylaws of NET Power Inc.;
• “Class A Common Stock” means Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, of NET Power Inc.;
• “Class A Shares” means the Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value in the capital of RONI, which will automatically convert, on a one-for-one basis, into shares of Class A Common Stock in connection with the Domestication;
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• “Class B Common Stock” means the Class B common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc.;
• “Class B Shares” means the Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value in the capital of RONI, which will automatically convert, on a one-for-one basis, into shares of Class B Common Stock in connection with the Domestication;
• “Closing Date” means the date on which the Closing occurs;
• “Closing” means the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement;
• “Common Stock” means the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock;
• “Condition Precedent Proposals” means the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the NYSE Proposal, collectively;
• “Constellation” means Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company;
• “Continental” means Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company;
• “Domestication” means the transfer by way of continuation by way of the deregistration of RONI from the Cayman Islands and the continuation and domestication as a corporation registered in the State of Delaware, upon which RONI will change its name to NET Power Inc.;
• “Effective Time” means the time at which the Merger becomes effective;
• “Existing Governing Documents” means the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of RONI;
• “Existing NET Power Holders” means the existing holders of equity securities of NET Power;
• “extraordinary general meeting” means the extraordinary general meeting of RONI to be held at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 on June 6, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern time, and any adjournments or postponements thereof;
• “Founder Units” means the 8,624,900 Class B Shares (the “Founder Shares”) and corresponding number of Class B Units of RONI Opco (or the Class A Units of RONI Opco into which such Class B Units will convert) outstanding as of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus that were initially issued to our Sponsor in a private placement prior to the RONI IPO;
• “Incentive Plan” means the NET Power Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan to be considered for adoption and approval by the shareholders pursuant to the Incentive Plan Proposal;
• “Interim Company Financing” means cash funding raised by NET Power following entry into the Business Combination Agreement and retained on its books as of the Closing Date in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25,000,000;
• “Merger Sub” means Topo Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer;
• “Merger” means the merger of Merger Sub with and into NET Power pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, with NET Power surviving and becoming a wholly owned direct subsidiary of the Buyer;
• “Minimum Available Cash Condition” means the condition in the Business Combination Agreement that states that Available Cash must equal no less than $200,000,000;
• “NET Power” means, prior to the Closing of the Business Combination, NET Power, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
• “NET Power Inc.” means NET Power Inc., a Delaware corporation (f/k/a Rice Acquisition Corp. II), upon and after the Domestication;
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• “NET Power Inc. Board” means the board of directors of NET Power Inc.;
• “NET Power Stockholder Group” means, collectively, 8 Rivers, Constellation, OXY and BHES;
• “NPI” means Nuovo Pignone International, S.r.l., an Italian limited liability company and affiliate of Baker Hughes;
• “NPT” means Nuovo Pignone Tecnologie S.r.l., an Italian limited liability company and affiliate of Baker Hughes;
• “NYSE” means the New York Stock Exchange;
• “Opco” means, after the conversion to a Delaware limited liability company and the Business Combination, NET Power Operations LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
• “Opco LLC Agreement” means the Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Opco to be entered into in connection with the Closing;
• “Opco Unitholder” means a holder of Opco Units;
• “Opco Units” means the units of Opco;
• “Opco Redemption Right” means the right, pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement, for Opco Unitholders (other than NET Power Inc.) to cause Opco to acquire all or a portion of their vested Opco Units and corresponding shares of Class B Common Stock for shares of Class A Common Stock at a redemption ratio of one share of Class A Common Stock for each Opco Unit redeemed, subject to conversion rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassification;
• “Ordinary Shares” means the Class A Shares and the Class B Shares together;
• “Original JDA” means that certain Joint Development Agreement, dated February 3, 2022, by and among NET Power, NPI, and NPT, as amended by that certain First Amendment to Joint Development Agreement, dated effective June 30, 2022, by and among the same parties;
• “OXY” means OLCV NET Power, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
• “Permitted Equity Financing” means the purchase of Class A Common Stock following entry into the Business Combination Agreement as contemplated by Section 6.12 of the Business Combination Agreement;
• “Permitted Equity Financing Proceeds” means the cash proceeds from all Permitted Equity Financings in an aggregate amount not to exceed $400,000,000;
• “PIPE Financing” means the transactions contemplated by the Subscription Agreements, pursuant to which the certain investors agreed to purchase, and RONI agreed to issue and sell to such investors, newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $10.00 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $490 million as of the date hereof, which purchase and sale will be consummated immediately prior to the Business Combination;
• “PIPE Investors” means the investors who participated in the PIPE Financing;
• “Preferred Stock” means shares of NET Power Inc. preferred stock, par value $0.0001;
• “private placement warrants” means the 10,900,000 private placement warrants outstanding as of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus that were issued to our Sponsor (which may become exercisable for Class A Shares at an exercise price of $11.50 per share), which are substantially identical to the public warrants sold as part of the units in the RONI IPO;
• “Proposed Bylaws” means the proposed bylaws of NET Power Inc. to be effective upon the Domestication attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex D;
• “Proposed Certificate of Incorporation” means the proposed certificate of incorporation of NET Power Inc. to be effective upon the Domestication attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C;
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• “Proposed Governing Documents” means the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and the Proposed Bylaws;
• “public shareholders” means holders of public shares;
• “public shares” means the currently outstanding 34,500,000 Class A Shares issued as part of the Units in the RONI IPO;
• “public warrants” means the currently outstanding 8,625,000 warrants to purchase Class A Shares that were issued as part of the Units in the RONI IPO (which may become exercisable for Class A Shares at an exercise price of $11.50 per share) and, after the Domestication, the 8,625,000 warrants to purchase Class A Common Stock that will be exercisable for shares of Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share;
• “redemption” means each redemption of public shares for cash pursuant to the Existing Governing Documents;
• “RONI” means Rice Acquisition Corp. II, a Cayman Islands exempted company, prior to the consummation of the Domestication;
• “RONI Board” means RONI’s board of directors;
• “RONI Interest” means one Class B Share together with one Class A Unit or Class B Unit of RONI Opco;
• “RONI IPO” means RONI’s initial public offering that was consummated on June 18, 2021;
• “RONI Opco” means Rice Acquisition Holdings II LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company and direct subsidiary of RONI, prior to the Domestication;
• “SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission;
• “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
• “Share Forfeitures” means the forfeiture of 1,000,000 RONI Interests held by our Sponsor for no further consideration and the additional RONI Interests forfeitures by our Sponsor pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement;
• “Sponsor” means Rice Acquisition Sponsor II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
• “Sponsor Letter Agreement” means the letter agreement, dated December 13, 2022, by and among RONI, our Sponsor, RONI Opco, NET Power and RONI’s directors and officers;
• “Stockholders’ Agreement” means that certain agreement by and among RONI, RONI Opco, the NET Power Stockholder Group and our Sponsor, to be entered into upon the Closing, pursuant to which certain governing rights and obligations of the parties are given;
• “Subscription Agreements” means the subscription agreements, entered into by RONI and certain investors in connection with the PIPE Financing;
• “Support Agreement” means the letter agreement, dated December 13, 2022, by and among RONI, our Sponsor, NET Power and the NET Power Stockholder Group, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time in accordance with its terms (including by the First Amendment to the Support Agreement, dated April 23, 2023, by and among RONI, our Sponsor, NET Power and the NET Power Stockholder Group);
• “Trust Account” means the trust account established at the consummation of the RONI IPO that holds the proceeds of the RONI IPO and is maintained by Continental, acting as trustee;
• “Units” means the units of RONI, each unit representing one Class A Share and one-fourth of one warrant to acquire one Class A Share, that were offered and sold by RONI in the RONI IPO and in its concurrent private placement; and
• “warrants” means, collectively, the public warrants and private placement warrants.
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SHARE CALCULATIONS AND OWNERSHIP PERCENTAGES
Unless otherwise specified, the share counts and other data set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus does not take into account (i) the issuance of any shares upon completion of the Business Combination under the Incentive Plan, which is expected to include 20,468,545 shares available for issuance, or (ii) 19,525,000 warrants that will remain outstanding immediately following the Business Combination and may be exercised thereafter, and otherwise assumes that (a) no public shareholders elect to have their public shares redeemed, (b) none of RONI’s existing shareholders or NET Power equity holders purchase Class A Shares in the open market and (c) there are no other issuances of equity interests of RONI prior to or in connection with the Closing.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements contained in this proxy statement/prospectus that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements about the parties’ ability to close the Business Combination, the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination, and the financial conditions, results of operations, earnings, outlook and prospects of NET Power Inc., and may include statements for the period following the consummation of the Business Combination. In addition, any statements that refer to characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained in this proxy statement/prospectus are based on the current expectations of the management of RONI and NET Power and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of any such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. The forward-looking statements contained in this proxy statement/prospectus involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in “Risk Factors” and the following:
• conditions to the completion of the Business Combination and PIPE Financing, including shareholder approval of the Business Combination, may not be satisfied or the regulatory approvals required for the Business Combination may not be obtained on the terms expected or on the anticipated schedule;
• the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement or the termination of any Subscription Agreement;
• the effect of the announcement or pendency of the Business Combination on NET Power’s business relationships, operating results and business generally;
• risks that the Business Combination disrupts NET Power’s current plans and operations;
• risks related to diverting management’s attention from NET Power’s ongoing business operations;
• potential litigation that may be instituted against RONI or NET Power or their respective directors or officers related to the Business Combination or in relation to NET Power’s business;
• the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and other charges related to the Business Combination;
• risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to NET Power Inc.;
• NET Power’s history of significant losses;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to manage future growth effectively;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to utilize its net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards effectively;
• the capital-intensive nature of NET Power’s business model, which may require NET Power Inc. to raise additional capital in the future;
• barriers NET Power Inc. may face in its attempts to deploy and commercialize its technology;
• the complexity of the machinery NET Power relies on for its operations and development;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to establish and maintain supply relationships;
• risks related to NET Power’s arrangements with third parties for the development, commercialization and deployment NET Power’s technology;
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• NET Power Inc.’s ability to successfully commercialize its operations;
• the availability and cost of raw materials;
• the ability of NET Power’s supply base to scale to meet its anticipated growth;
• risks related to NET Power Inc.’s ability to meet its projections;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to update the design, construction and operations of the NET Power technology;
• the impact of potential delays in discovering manufacturing and construction issues;
• the possibility of damage to NET Power’s Texas facilities as a result of natural disasters;
• the ability of commercial plants using NET Power’s technology to efficiently provide net power output;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to obtain and retain licenses;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to establish an initial commercial scale plant;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to license to large customers;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to accurately estimate future commercial demand and adapt to the rapidly evolving and competitive natural and renewable power industry;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to comply with all applicable laws and regulations;
• the impact of public perception of fossil fuel derived energy on NET Power Inc.’s business;
• any political or other disruptions in gas producing nations;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to protect its intellectual property and the intellectual property it licenses;
• NET Power Inc.’s ability to meet stock exchange listing standards following the consummation of the Business Combination; and
• the impact of macroeconomic events, such as inflation, recessions or depressions, wars or fears of war and the global COVID-19 or other pandemic.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions made by the management of RONI or NET Power prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements contained in this proxy statement/prospectus. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements in deciding how to vote your shares on the proposals set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus.
Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, RONI and NET Power undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this proxy statement/prospectus or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR SHAREHOLDERS OF RONI
The questions and answers below highlight only selected information from this document and only briefly address some commonly asked questions about the proposals to be presented at the extraordinary general meeting, including with respect to the Business Combination. The following questions and answers do not include all the information that may be important to RONI’s shareholders. We urge shareholders to read this proxy statement/prospectus, including the annexes and the other documents referred to herein, carefully and in their entirety to fully understand the Business Combination and the voting procedures for the extraordinary general meeting, which will be held at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 on June 6, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time.
Q: Why am I receiving this proxy statement/prospectus?
A: RONI shareholders are being asked to consider and vote upon, among other proposals, a proposal to approve and adopt the Business Combination Agreement and approve the transactions contemplated thereby, including the Business Combination. In accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the Business Combination Agreement, among other things, in connection with the Domestication, on the Closing Date prior to the Effective Time, Merger Sub will merge with and into NET Power, with NET Power surviving the Merger and becoming a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer.
At the Effective Time, all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of NET Power (other than any such equity interests held in the treasury of NET Power or owned by any subsidiary of NET Power immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be canceled and converted into the right to receive an aggregate of 137,192,563 Class A Units of RONI Opco and an equivalent number of shares of Class B Common Stock, subject to adjustment for NET Power units issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated JDA between the date hereof and the Closing Date and thereafter and after the Interim Company Financing.
See “Business Combination Proposal.”
A copy of the Business Combination Agreement is attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex A-1 and Annex A-2 and you are encouraged to read the Business Combination Agreement in its entirety.
The approval of the Business Combination Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued Ordinary Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter, and each of the Domestication Proposal and the Charter Proposal require a special resolution, being the affirmative vote of at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued Ordinary Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter.
In connection with the Domestication, on the Closing Date prior to the Effective Time, (i) each issued and outstanding Class A Share will convert automatically by operation of law, on a one-for-one basis, into shares of Class A Common Stock; (ii) each outstanding Class B Share will convert automatically by operation of law, on a one-for-one basis, into shares of Class B Common Stock; (iii) each issued and outstanding warrant to purchase Class A Shares will automatically represent the right to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share on the terms and conditions set forth in the warrant agreement; and (iv) each issued and outstanding unit of RONI that has not been previously separated into the underlying public share and underlying public warrant upon the request of the holder thereof, will be canceled and will entitle the holder thereof to one share of Class A Common Stock and one-fourth of one warrant to acquire one share of Class A Common Stock. Immediately following the Domestication, RONI Opco will migrate and domesticate as a limited liability company in the State of Delaware. See “Domestication Proposal.”
The provisions of the Proposed Governing Documents will differ in certain material respects from the Existing Governing Documents. Please see “What amendments will be made to the current constitutional documents of RONI?” below.
THE VOTE OF SHAREHOLDERS IS IMPORTANT. SHAREHOLDERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO VOTE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER CAREFULLY REVIEWING THIS PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS.
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Q: What proposals are shareholders of RONI being asked to vote upon?
A: At the extraordinary general meeting, RONI is asking holders of the Ordinary Shares to consider and vote upon 13 separate proposals:
• a proposal to approve by ordinary resolution and adopt the Business Combination Agreement, including the Merger, and the transactions contemplated thereby;
• a proposal to approve by special resolution the Domestication;
• a proposal to approve by special resolution the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and the Proposed Bylaws;
• the following six separate proposals to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, by ordinary resolution the following material differences between the Existing Governing Documents and the Proposed Governing Documents:
• to change in the authorized share capital of RONI from (i) 300,000,000 Class A Shares, (ii) 30,000,000 Class B Shares and (iii) 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001, to (a) 520,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, (b) 310,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, and (c) 1,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock;
• to authorize the NET Power Inc. Board to issue any or all shares of Preferred Stock in one or more classes or series, with such terms and conditions as may be expressly determined by the NET Power Inc. Board and as may be permitted by the DGCL;
• to approve the provision that certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation are subject to the Stockholders’ Agreement;
• to approve the provision that removes the ability of NET Power Inc. stockholders to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting;
• to approve the provision that any director or the entire NET Power Inc. Board may be removed from office, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of stock of NET Power Inc. entitled to vote generally for the election of directors; and
• to amend and restate the Existing Governing Documents and authorize all other changes necessary or desirable in connection with the replacement of Existing Governing Documents with the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and Proposed Bylaws as part of the Domestication (copies of which are attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and Annex D, respectively), including (i) changing the post-Business Combination corporate name from “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.” (which is expected to occur upon the consummation of the Domestication), (ii) making NET Power Inc.’s corporate existence perpetual, (iii) adopting Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation and the United States District Courts as the exclusive forum for litigation arising out of federal securities laws, as amended, and (iv) removing certain provisions related to our status as a blank check company that will no longer be applicable upon consummation of the Business Combination.
• a proposal to approve by ordinary resolution the election, effective immediately in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, of four directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, three directors to serve until the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders and three directors to serve until the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, each until his or her respective successor is duly elected and qualified, subject to such director’s earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal;
• a proposal to approve by ordinary resolution, for purposes of complying with the applicable provisions of Section 312.03 of The NYSE Listed Company Manual, the issuance of more than 20% of RONI’s Class A Common Stock to the investors in connection with the Business Combination and the PIPE Financing;
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• a proposal to approve and adopt by ordinary resolution the Incentive Plan; and
• a proposal to approve by ordinary resolution the adjournment of the extraordinary general meeting to a later date or dates, if necessary, to, among other things, permit further solicitation and vote of proxies in the event that there are insufficient votes for the approval of one or more proposals at the extraordinary general meeting.
If our shareholders do not approve each of the Condition Precedent Proposals, then unless certain conditions in the Business Combination Agreement are waived by the applicable parties to the Business Combination Agreement, the Business Combination Agreement could terminate and the Business Combination may not be consummated.
For more information, please see “Business Combination Proposal,” “Domestication Proposal,” “Charter Proposal,” “Governing Documents Proposals,” “Director Election Proposal,” “NYSE Proposal,” “Incentive Plan Proposal” and “Adjournment Proposal.”
RONI will hold the extraordinary general meeting to consider and vote upon these proposals. This proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about the Business Combination and the other matters to be acted upon at the extraordinary general meeting. Shareholders of RONI should read it carefully.
After careful consideration, the RONI Board has determined that the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, each of the Governing Documents Proposals, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are in the best interests of RONI and its shareholders and unanimously recommends that you vote or give instruction to vote “FOR” each of those proposals.
The existence of financial and personal interests of one or more of RONI’s directors may result in a conflict of interest on the part of such director(s) between what he, she or they may believe is in the best interests of RONI and its shareholders and what he, she or they may believe is best for himself, herself or themselves in determining to recommend that shareholders vote for the proposals. In addition, RONI’s officers have interests in the Business Combination that may conflict with your interests as a shareholder. See the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Q: What conditions must be satisfied to complete the Business Combination?
A: There are a number of closing conditions in the Business Combination Agreement, including the approval by RONI shareholders of the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the NYSE Proposal. In addition, unless waived by NET Power, the Business Combination Agreement provides that each party’s obligation to consummate the Business Combination is conditioned on the Available Cash equaling or exceeding $200,000,000.
Q: Why is RONI proposing the Business Combination?
A: RONI is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on February 2, 2021 and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more target businesses. RONI’s acquisition plan is focused in the energy transition or sustainability arena, but it may seek to complete a business combination in any industry or location, except that it is not, under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, permitted to effect a business combination with a blank check company or a similar type of company with nominal operations.
RONI has identified several criteria and guidelines it believes are important for evaluating acquisition opportunities. These criteria and guidelines include, among others: being in the renewable and energy industry and utilizing the extensive networks and strategic insights RONI has built in those sectors, including those that display differentiated business attributes and/or product offerings that provide RONI confidence on the long-term prospects and profitability of the company; operating in high growth, large addressable
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markets with favorable long-term market dynamics; being at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management, and are able to innovate through new operation techniques, where RONI believes it can drive improved financial performance; exhibiting unrecognized value or other characteristics, desirable returns on capital, and a need for capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy, which RONI believes have been misevaluated by the marketplace based on our analysis and due diligence review; and offering attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for RONI shareholders. Based on its due diligence investigations of NET Power and the industry in which it operates, including the financial and other information provided by NET Power in the course of negotiations, RONI believes that NET Power meets the criteria and guidelines listed above.
The RONI Board considered a wide variety of factors in connection with its evaluation of the Business Combination, including its review of the results of the due diligence conducted by RONI’s management and RONI’s advisors. As a result, the RONI Board concluded that a transaction with NET Power would present an attractive opportunity to maximize value for RONI shareholders. Please see the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — The RONI Board’s Reasons for the Business Combination” for additional information.
Q: Did the RONI Board obtain a third-party valuation or fairness opinion in determining whether or not to proceed with the Business Combination?
A: No. The RONI Board did not obtain a third-party valuation or fairness opinion in connection with its determination to approve the Business Combination. RONI’s officers and directors have substantial experience in evaluating the operating and financial merits of companies from a wide range of industries, including Rice Acquisition Corp., which completed its business combination with Archaea Energy LLC and Aria Energy LLC on September 15, 2021, and concluded that their experience and backgrounds, together with the experience and sector knowledge of RONI’s advisors, enabled them to make the necessary analyses and determinations regarding the Business Combination. In addition, RONI’s officers and directors and its advisors have substantial experience with mergers and acquisitions. Accordingly, investors will be relying solely on the judgment of the RONI Board in valuing NET Power’s business and assuming the risk that the RONI Board may not have properly valued such business.
Q: What will the Existing NET Power Holders receive in the Business Combination with RONI?
A: On the Closing Date, promptly following the consummation of the Domestications, among other things, Merger Sub will merge with and into NET Power, with NET Power surviving the Merger and becoming a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of the Buyer.
At the Effective Time, all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of NET Power (other than any such equity interests held in the treasury of NET Power or owned by any subsidiary of NET Power immediately prior to the Effective Time) will be canceled and converted into the right to receive an aggregate of 137,192,563 Class A Units of Opco and an equivalent number of shares of Class B Common Stock, subject to adjustment for NET Power units issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated JDA between the date hereof and the Closing Date and thereafter and after the Interim Company Financing. See “Business Combination Proposal.”
This business combination is being accomplished through what is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering. The Up-C structure allows the Existing NET Power Holders to retain their equity ownership in NET Power, an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in the form of post-merger Opco Units, and provides potential future tax benefits for NET Power Inc. (a substantial portion of which the post-merger NET Power holders of Opco Units will benefit from pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement) in connection with the Business Combination and when the post-merger NET Power holders of Opco Units ultimately exchange their Opco Units for shares of Class A Common Stock. NET Power Inc. will be a holding company and, immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination, its only direct assets will consist of Opco Units and Opco warrants. Immediately following the Closing, NET Power Inc. is expected to own approximately 36.7% of the Opco Units, assuming no redemptions of the Class A Shares.
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Following the Closing, assuming no redemptions of the Class A Shares, as a result of issuances pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, the Existing NET Power Holders are expected to own approximately 95.4% of the outstanding Class B Common Stock or 60.3% of the Common Stock of NET Power Inc.
For a diagram showing the expected post-closing corporate structure, please see the section entitled “Summary of the Proxy Statement — Organizational Structure.”
Q: What is an “Up-C” Structure?
A: Our corporate structure prior to and following the Business Combination, as described under the section entitled “Proposal No. 1 — The Business Combination Proposal,” is commonly referred to as an “Up-C” structure, which is often used by partnerships and limited liability companies undertaking an initial public offering. The Up-C structure allows the Existing NET Power Holders to retain their equity ownership in NET Power, an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in the form of post-merger Opco Units and Opco warrants, and provides potential future tax benefits for NET Power Inc. (a substantial portion of which the post-merger NET Power holders of Opco Units will benefit from pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement) in connection with the Business Combination and when the post-merger NET Power holders of Opco Units ultimately exchange their Opco Units for shares of Class A Common Stock. NET Power Inc. will be a holding company and, immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination, its only direct assets will consist of Opco Units and Opco warrants. Immediately following the Closing, NET Power Inc. is expected to own approximately 36.7% of the Opco Units, assuming no redemptions of the Class A Shares.
Q: How will we be managed following the Business Combination?
A: We anticipate that all of the executive officers of NET Power will remain with NET Power Inc., except for the Chief Executive Officer. Daniel Joseph Rice, IV, a director of RONI, will become the Chief Executive Officer of NET Power Inc.
Concurrently with the Closing of the Business Combination, RONI, RONI Opco, our Sponsor and the NET Power Stockholder Group will enter into the Stockholders’ Agreement, which will govern certain rights and obligations of the parties, and, among other things, sets forth certain requirements regarding the composition of the NET Power Inc. Board. Pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, among other things, the NET Power Inc. Board is expected to initially consist of 10 directors (which may be increased to comply with independence requirements), including a minimum of six independent directors. The Stockholders’ Agreement further grants certain board designation rights, subject to equity ownership thresholds in the combined company (NET Power Inc.), as follows: (i) OLCV NET Power, LLC will have the right to designate three directors; (ii) our Sponsor will have the right to designate one director; (iii) 8 Rivers Capital, LLC (through an entity controlled by it) will have the right to designate one director; and (iv) Constellation Energy Generation, LLC will have the right to designate one independent director.
Also, pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement, the NET Power Inc. Board appointed at the Closing will be divided into three classes. The NET Power Inc. Board is expected to be comprised initially of the following members:
• Class I: Ralph Alexander, Frederick A. Forthuber, Carol Peterson and Eunkyung Sung
• Class II: Peter J. (Jeff) Bennett, Kyle Derham and Alejandra Veltmann
• Class III: Joe Kelliher, Brad Pollack and Daniel Rice IV
Please see the section entitled “Management Following the Business Combination” for further information.
Q: What is the PIPE Financing?
A: In connection with the Business Combination, RONI entered into the Subscription Agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which such investors agreed to purchase, and RONI agreed to issue and sell to such investors, newly issued shares of Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $10.00 per share for gross
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proceeds of approximately $490 million, which we refer to as the PIPE Financing. RONI has agreed with certain of the PIPE Investors (the “Open Market Purchase Rights PIPE Investors”) that such investors may reduce the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be purchased by such investors pursuant to their Subscription Agreements by up to 15.0 million shares in the aggregate if, among other things, they purchase Ordinary Shares in open market transactions at a price of less than $9.97 per share prior to the Closing Date, do not vote any such Ordinary Shares in favor of approving the Business Combination and instead submit a proxy abstaining from voting thereon and, to the extent they have the right to have all or some of their Ordinary Shares redeemed for cash in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, not exercise any such redemption rights.
Q: What equity stake will current RONI shareholders and current equityholders of NET Power hold in NET Power Inc. immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination?
A: The following table presents the share ownership of various holders of NET Power Inc. upon the closing of the Business Combination, does not give effect to the potential exercise of any warrants and otherwise assumes the following redemption scenarios:
No Redemptions: This scenario assumes that no Class A Shares are redeemed from RONI’s public shareholders.
Illustrative Redemption: This scenario assumes that 50% or 16,745,000 Class A Shares held by RONI’s public shareholders (not including the 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO that they have agreed not to redeem) are redeemed. Other than the $5,000,001 net tangible asset requirement and the 15% threshold described above, RONI has no specified maximum redemption threshold under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. The Minimum Available Cash Condition is expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of Interim Company Financing).
Maximum Redemption: This scenario assumes 100% or 33,490,000 Class A Shares held by RONI’s public shareholders (not including the 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO that they have agreed not to redeem) are redeemed for an aggregate payment of approximately $334,900,000 plus interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to RONI to pay its taxes. Other than the $5,000,001 net tangible asset requirement, which is expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing, and the limitation on any group redeeming in excess of 15% of total outstanding shares described above, RONI has no specified maximum redemption threshold under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. As noted above, the Minimum Available Cash Condition is still expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of Interim Company Financing).
Holders |
No |
% of |
Illustrative |
% of |
Maximum |
% of |
|||||||||||||||
Public Shareholders |
|
34,500,000 |
|
15.2 |
% |
|
17,755,000 |
|
8.4 |
% |
|
1,010,000 |
|
0.5 |
% |
||||||
Sponsor and Affiliates(1)(2) |
|
6,640,725 |
|
2.9 |
% |
|
6,640,725 |
|
3.2 |
% |
|
6,640,725 |
|
3.4 |
% |
||||||
Existing NET Power Holders |
|
137,192,563 |
|
60.3 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
65.1 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
70.8 |
% |
||||||
PIPE Investors |
|
49,044,995 |
|
21.6 |
% |
|
49,044,995 |
|
23.3 |
% |
|
49,044,995 |
|
25.3 |
% |
||||||
Total |
|
227,378,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
|
210,633,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
|
193,888,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
||||||
Implied Value per Share(3) |
$ |
9.71 |
|
|
$ |
9.68 |
|
|
$ |
9.66 |
|
|
|||||||||
Effective Underwriting Commission(4) |
|
2.6 |
% |
|
|
2.7 |
% |
|
|
3.0 |
% |
|
____________
(1) Represents the shares of Class A Common Stock owned upon conversion of the shares of Class B Common Stock and, in the case of the Sponsor, taking into account (i) the 2,500 Class A Shares purchased by the Sponsor in connection with the RONI IPO and (ii) assuming Share Forfeitures in an aggregate amount of 1,986,775 shares pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement. See “The Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements — Sponsor Letter Agreement” for more information.
(2) Does not include (i) 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO (that they have agreed not to redeem) or (ii) the 11,495,000 shares purchased in the PIPE Financing by certain members of the Rice family and their friends and certain members of RONI management.
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(3) Assumes (i) a fully distributed enterprise value of $2,207,375,577 of NET Power Inc. upon consummation of the Business Combination, (ii) $345 million of funds in the Trust Account less any redemption amounts, (iii) approximately $490 million of cash proceeds received from the PIPE Financing and (iv) no exercise of any warrants that will remain outstanding after consummation of the Business Combination regardless of redemption levels.
(4) Calculated using total underwriting commissions of $21,698,940, $18,249,470 and $14,800,000 for No Redemption, Illustrative Redemption and Maximum Redemption, respectively, and by dividing such underwriting commissions by cash proceeds received from (i) the Trust Account net of any redemption amounts and (ii) the PIPE Financing.
If the actual facts are different from the assumptions or the scenarios presented above, the interests of RONI shareholders and other estimates set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus set forth above will differ and such differences may be material.
The scenarios above do not give effect to the potential exercise of any warrants. The maximum number of warrants currently expected to be outstanding at the closing includes 8,625,000 warrants to be issued upon the exchange of outstanding public warrants and 10,900,000 private placement warrants held by Sponsor. If each such warrant were exercisable and exercised following completion of the Business Combination, with proceeds to NET Power Inc. of approximately $224.5 million, then ownership of NET Power Inc. would be as follows:
Holders |
No |
% of |
Illustrative |
% of |
Maximum |
% of |
|||||||||||||||
Public Shareholders |
|
43,125,000 |
|
17.5 |
% |
|
26,380,000 |
|
11.5 |
% |
|
9,635,000 |
|
4.5 |
% |
||||||
Sponsor and Affiliates(1)(2) |
|
17,540,725 |
|
7.1 |
% |
|
17,540,725 |
|
7.6 |
% |
|
17,540,725 |
|
8.2 |
% |
||||||
Existing NET Power Holders |
|
137,192,563 |
|
55.6 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
59.6 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
64.3 |
% |
||||||
PIPE Investors |
|
49,044,995 |
|
19.9 |
% |
|
49,044,995 |
|
21.3 |
% |
|
49,044,995 |
|
23.0 |
% |
||||||
Total |
|
246,903,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
|
230,158,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
|
213,413,283 |
|
100.0 |
% |
||||||
Implied Value per Share(3) |
$ |
9.85 |
|
|
$ |
9.84 |
|
|
$ |
9.83 |
|
|
|||||||||
Effective Underwriting Commission(4) |
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
____________
(1) Represents the shares of Class A Common Stock owned upon conversion of the shares of Class B Common Stock and, in the case of the Sponsor, taking into account (i) the 2,500 Class A Shares purchased by the Sponsor in connection with the RONI IPO and (ii) assuming Share Forfeitures in an aggregate amount of 1,986,775 shares pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement. See “The Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements — Sponsor Letter Agreement” for more information.
(2) Does not include (i) 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO (that they have agreed not to redeem) or (ii) the 11,495,000 shares purchased in the PIPE Financing by certain members of the Rice family and their friends and certain members of RONI management.
(3) Assumes (i) a fully distributed enterprise value of $2,207,375,577 of NET Power Inc. upon consummation of the Business Combination, (ii) $345 million of funds in the Trust Account less any redemption amounts, (iii) approximately $490 million of cash proceeds received from the PIPE Financing and (iv) the cash exercise of all 8,625,000 warrants to be issued upon the exchange of outstanding public warrants and 10,900,000 private placement warrants held by Sponsor at a strike price of $11.50 (all of which will remain outstanding after consummation of the Business Combination regarding of redemption levels).
(4) Calculated using total underwriting commissions of $21,698,940, $18,249,470 and $14,800,000 for No Redemption, Illustrative Redemption and Maximum Redemption, respectively, and by dividing such underwriting commissions by cash proceeds received from (i) the Trust Account net of any redemption amounts, (ii) the PIPE Financing and (iii) exercise of the warrants.
The amount of proceeds to NET Power Inc. upon the exercise of all outstanding warrants following the completion of the Business Combination could be nil, as (i) all such warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis under certain circumstances and (ii) the public warrants may be redeemed for $0.01 per warrant under certain circumstances. To the extent that some or all of the warrants are exercised on a cashless basis or redeemed for $0.01 per warrant, both scenarios would reduce the number of shares to be issued as described in the table above and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of the warrants being exercised for cash. For further information on the circumstances in which the public warrants and the private placement warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis, please see the section entitled “Description of NET Power Inc. Securities.” For further information regarding our post-combination capital structure, please see the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information.”
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In addition, Sponsor will not receive additional securities pursuant to an anti-dilution adjustment based on additional financing activities, as Sponsor waived any rights to anti-dilution adjustments pursuant to Section 2 of the Sponsor Letter Agreement; however, if Sponsor elects to participate in either (i) any Permitted Equity Financing pursuant to Section 6.12 of the Business Combination Agreement or (ii) the funding of Permitted Buyer Party Indebtedness pursuant to Section 5.2(vi) of the Business Combination Agreement, Sponsor may receive Class A Shares or warrants, respectively (the conversion of indebtedness into warrants is provided for in Section 5.2(iii) of the Business Combination Agreement). Pursuant to Section 6.12(a) of the Business Combination Agreement, any such issuance of Class A Shares in connection with a Permitted Equity Financing shall be conducted at a price per share no less than $10.00, and proceeds raised from Permitted Equity Financing shall not exceed $400,000,000 in the aggregate without the prior written consent of NET Power. Pursuant to Section 5.2(vi) of the Business Combination Agreement, the indebtedness converted into warrants shall not exceed $4,000,000 in the aggregate without the prior written consent of NET Power. Furthermore, the occurrence of any Permitted Equity Financing or Permitted Buyer Party Indebtedness may have a dilutive effect on existing RONI shareholders to the extent additional Class A Common Stock is issued directly or upon exercise of any additional warrants.
Q: Why is RONI proposing the Domestication?
A: The RONI Board believes that there are significant advantages to us that will arise as a result of a change of our domicile to Delaware. Further, the RONI Board believes that any direct benefit that the DGCL provides to a corporation also indirectly benefits its stockholders, who are the owners of the corporation. The RONI Board believes that there are several reasons why transfer by way of continuation to Delaware is in the best interests of RONI and its shareholders, including, (i) the prominence, predictability and flexibility of the DGCL, (ii) Delaware’s well-established principles of corporate governance and (iii) the increased ability for Delaware corporations to attract and retain qualified directors, each of the foregoing are discussed in greater detail in the section entitled “Domestication Proposal — Reasons for the Domestication.”
To effect the Domestication, we will file an application for deregistration with the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies, together with the necessary accompanying documents, and file a certificate of corporate domestication and a certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware, under which we will be domesticated and continue as a Delaware corporation.
The approval of the Domestication Proposal is a condition to closing the Business Combination under the Business Combination Agreement. The approval of the Domestication Proposal requires a special resolution, being a resolution that is passed by at least two-thirds of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes, while considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum, will not count as votes cast at the extraordinary general meeting, and otherwise will have no effect on a particular proposal.
Q: What amendments will be made to the current constitutional documents of RONI?
A: The consummation of the Business Combination is conditional, among other things, on the Domestication. Accordingly, in addition to voting on the Business Combination, RONI’s shareholders also are being asked to consider and vote upon a proposal to approve the Domestication, and replace the Existing Governing Documents, in each case, under Cayman Islands law with the Proposed Governing Documents, in each case, under the DGCL, which differ from the Existing Governing Documents in the following material respects:
Existing Governing Documents |
Proposed Governing Documents |
|||
Authorized Shares |
The share capital under the Existing Governing Documents is $33,100 divided into (i) 300,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of $0.0001 each, (ii) 30,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of $0.0001 each and (iii) 1,000,000 preference shares of a par value of $0.0001 each. |
The Proposed Governing Documents authorize (i) 520,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc., (ii) 310,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc., and (iii) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of NET Power Inc. |
||
See Paragraph 5 of our Memorandum of Association. |
See Article IV, Section 4.1 of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
xviii
Existing Governing Documents |
Proposed Governing Documents |
|||
Authorize the Board of Directors to Issue Preferred Stock Without Stockholder Consent |
The Existing Governing Documents authorize the issuance of 1,000,000 preference shares with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by our board of directors. Accordingly, our board of directors is empowered under the Existing Governing Documents, without shareholder approval, to issue preference shares with dividend, liquidation, redemption, voting or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of ordinary shares. |
The Proposed Governing Documents authorize the NET Power Inc. Board to issue any or all shares of NET Power Inc. Preferred Stock in one or more classes or series and to fix for each such series such voting powers, full or limited, and such designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as the NET Power Inc. Board may determine. |
||
See Article 3.1 of our Articles of Association. |
See Article IV, Section 4.2 of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
|||
Stockholders’ Agreement |
The Existing Governing Documents do not state that the Certificate of Incorporation may be subject to a shareholders agreement. |
The Proposed Governing Documents will provide that certain provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation are subject to the Stockholders’ Agreement. |
||
Action by Written Consent in Lieu of Meeting |
The Existing Governing Documents allow for action by written resolution. |
The Proposed Governing Documents will remove the ability of NET Power Inc. stockholders to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting. |
||
See Article 22.4 of our Articles of Association and the definition of “Ordinary Resolution” thereto. |
See Article VIII, Section 7.3 of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
|||
Director Removal from Office |
The Existing Governing Documents allow for removal of directors with or without cause. |
The Proposed Governing Documents will provide that any director or the entire board of directors of NET Power Inc. may be removed from office, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of stock of NET Power Inc. entitled to vote generally for the election of directors. |
||
See Article 29.1 of our Articles of Association. |
See Article V, Section 5.4 of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
|||
Corporate Name |
The Existing Governing Documents provide the name of the company is “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” |
The Proposed Governing Documents will provide that the name of the corporation will be “NET Power Inc.” |
||
See Paragraph 1 of our Memorandum of Association. |
See Article I of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
xix
Existing Governing Documents |
Proposed Governing Documents |
|||
Perpetual Existence |
The Existing Governing Documents provide that if we do not consummate a business combination (as defined in the Existing Governing Documents) by June 18, 2023 (24 months after the closing of the RONI IPO), RONI will cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up and will redeem the shares issued in the RONI IPO and liquidate its trust account. |
The Proposed Governing Documents do not include any provisions relating to NET Power Inc.’s ongoing existence; the default under the DGCL will make NET Power Inc.’s existence perpetual. |
||
See Article 50.7 of our Articles of Association. |
||||
Exclusive Forum |
The Existing Governing Documents do not contain a provision adopting an exclusive forum for certain shareholder litigation. |
The Proposed Governing Documents adopt Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation and the United States Federal District Courts as the exclusive forum for litigation arising out of the federal securities laws. |
||
See Article X, Sections 10.1 and 10.2 of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation. |
||||
Provisions Related to Status as Blank Check Company |
The Existing Governing Documents set forth various provisions related to our status as a blank check company prior to the consummation of a business combination. |
The Proposed Governing Documents do not include such provisions related to our status as a blank check company, which no longer will apply upon consummation of the Business Combination, as we will cease to be a blank check company at such time. |
Q: How will the Domestication affect my Ordinary Shares, warrants and units?
A: In connection with the Domestication, on the Closing Date prior to the Effective Time, (i) each issued and outstanding Class A Share will convert automatically by operation of law, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of Class A Common Stock; (ii) each issued and outstanding Class B Share will convert automatically by operation of law, on a one-for-one basis, into a share of Class B Common Stock; (iii) each issued and outstanding warrant to purchase Class A Shares will automatically represent the right to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock on the terms and conditions set forth in the warrant agreement; and (iv) each issued and outstanding unit of RONI that has not been previously separated into the underlying public share and underlying public warrant upon the request of the holder thereof, will be canceled and will entitle the holder thereof to one share of Class A Common Stock and one-fourth of one warrant to acquire one share of Class A Common Stock. See “Domestication Proposal.”
Q: What are the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Domestication to public shareholders and holders of public warrants?
A: As discussed more fully under the section entitled “The Business Combination Proposal — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Domestication to Public Shareholders” below, the Domestication will qualify as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). However, due to the absence of direct guidance on the application of Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Code to a statutory conversion of a corporation holding only investment-type assets such as RONI,
xx
this result is not free from doubt. In the case of a transaction, such as the Domestication, that qualifies as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Code, U.S. Holders (as defined in such section) of public shares will be subject to Section 367(b) of the Code and as a result:
• a U.S. Holder of public shares whose public shares have a fair market value of less than $50,000 on the date of the Domestication, and who on the date of the Domestication owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) less than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of public shares entitled to vote and less than 10% of the total value of all classes of public shares, will generally not recognize any gain or loss and will generally not be required to include any part of RONI’s earnings in income pursuant to the Domestication;
• a U.S. Holder of public shares whose public shares have a fair market value of $50,000 or more on the date of the Domestication, and who on the date of the Domestication owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) less than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of public shares entitled to vote and less than 10% of the total value of all classes of public shares will generally recognize gain (but not loss) on the exchange of public shares for NET Power Inc. shares (a Delaware corporation) pursuant to the Domestication. As an alternative to recognizing gain, such U.S. Holders may file an election to include in income as a dividend the “all earnings and profits amount” (as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.367(b)-2(d)) attributable to their public shares, provided certain other requirements are satisfied. RONI does not expect to have significant cumulative earnings and profits on the date of the Domestication; and
• a U.S. Holder of public shares who on the date of the Domestication owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) 10% or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of public shares entitled to vote or 10% or more of the total value of all classes of public shares will generally be required to include in income as a dividend the “all earnings and profits amount” (as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.367(b)-2(d)) attributable to its public shares. Any such U.S. Holder that is a corporation may, under certain circumstances, effectively be exempt from taxation on a portion or all of the deemed dividend pursuant to Section 245A of the Code. RONI does not expect to have significant cumulative earnings and profits on the date of the Domestication.
Furthermore, even in the case of a transaction, such as the Domestication, that qualifies as a reorganization under Section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Code, a U.S. Holder of shares or warrants of the domesticating corporation may, in certain circumstances, still recognize gain (but not loss) upon the exchange of its shares or warrants for the common stock or warrants of the Delaware corporation pursuant to the Domestication under the “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, rules of the Code. Proposed Treasury Regulations with a retroactive effective date have been promulgated under Section 1291(f) of the Code which generally require that a U.S. person who disposes of stock of a PFIC (including for this purpose exchanging public warrants for newly issued warrants in the Domestication) must recognize gain equal to the excess, if any, of the fair market value of the common stock or warrants of the Delaware corporation received in the Domestication and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the corresponding shares or warrants surrendered in exchange therefor, notwithstanding any other provision of the Code. Because RONI is a blank check company with no current active business, we believe that RONI may be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, these proposed Treasury Regulations, if finalized in their current form, may require a U.S. Holder of public shares or public warrants to recognize gain on the exchange of such shares or warrants for common stock or warrants of NET Power Inc. pursuant to the Domestication, unless such U.S. Holder has made certain tax elections with respect to such U.S. Holder’s public shares. A U.S. Holder cannot currently make the aforementioned elections with respect to such U.S. Holder’s public warrants. The tax on any such gain so recognized would be imposed at the rate applicable to ordinary income and an interest charge would apply based on complex rules designed to offset the tax deferral to such U.S. Holder on the undistributed earnings, if any, of RONI. It is not possible to determine at this time whether, in what form, and with what effective date, final Treasury Regulations under Section 1291(f) of the Code will be adopted. For a more complete discussion of the potential application of the PFIC rules to U.S. Holders as a result of the Domestication, see the discussion in the section entitled “The Business Combination Proposal — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Domestication to Public Shareholders — U.S. Holders — PFIC Considerations.”
xxi
Additionally, the Domestication may cause Non-U.S. Holders (as defined in “The Business Combination Proposal — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Domestication to Public Shareholders”) to become subject to U.S. federal withholding taxes on any dividends paid in respect of such Non-U.S. Holder’s NET Power Inc. shares after the Domestication.
The tax consequences of the Domestication are complex and will depend on a holder’s particular circumstances. All holders are urged to consult their tax advisors on the tax consequences to them of the Domestication, including the applicability and effect of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign income and other tax laws. For a more complete discussion of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of the Domestication, including with respect to public warrants, see “The Business Combination Proposal — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Domestication to Public Shareholders.”
Q: Do I have redemption rights?
A: If you are a holder of public shares, you have the right to request that we redeem all or a portion of your public shares for cash provided that you follow the procedures and deadlines described elsewhere in this proxy statement/prospectus. Public shareholders may elect to redeem all or a portion of the public shares held by them regardless of if or how they vote in respect of the Business Combination Proposal. If you wish to exercise your redemption rights, please see the answer to the next question: “How do I exercise my redemption rights?”
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such public shareholder or any other person with whom such public shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its public shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the public shares without RONI’s consent. Accordingly, if a public shareholder, alone or acting in concert or as a group, seeks to redeem more than 15% of the public shares, then any such shares in excess of that 15% limit would not be redeemed for cash without RONI’s consent.
The RONI Initial Shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to all of their Ordinary Shares in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination. This waiver was made at the time of the RONI IPO for no additional consideration. Such shares will be excluded from the pro rata calculation used to determine the per-share redemption price.
Q: How do I exercise my redemption rights?
A: In connection with the proposed Business Combination, pursuant to the Existing Governing Documents, RONI’s public shareholders may request that RONI redeem all or a portion of such public shares for cash if the Business Combination is consummated. If you are a public shareholder and wish to exercise your right to redeem the public shares, you must:
(i) (a) hold public shares, or (b) if you hold public shares through units, you must elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and public warrants prior to exercising redemption rights with respect to the public shares. If holders hold their units in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, holders must notify their broker or bank that they elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and public warrants, or if a holder holds units registered in its own name, the holder must contact Continental, our transfer agent, directly and instruct them to do so;
(ii) submit a written request to Continental, RONI’s transfer agent, in which you (i) request that we redeem all or a portion of your public shares for cash, and (ii) identify yourself as the beneficial holder of the public shares and provide your legal name, phone number and address; and
(iii) deliver your public shares to Continental, our transfer agent, physically or electronically through The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”).
Holders must complete the procedures for electing to redeem their public shares in the manner described above prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 2, 2023 (two business days before the extraordinary general meeting) in order for their public shares to be redeemed.
xxii
The address of Continental, RONI’s transfer agent, is listed under the question “Who can help answer my questions?” below.
Public shareholders will be entitled to request that their public shares be redeemed for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (net of taxes payable). For illustrative purposes, as of December 31, 2022, this would have amounted to approximately $10.14 per issued and outstanding public share. However, the proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders, regardless of whether such public shareholders vote or, if they do vote, irrespective of if they vote for or against the Business Combination Proposal. Therefore, the per share distribution from the trust account in such a situation may be less than originally expected due to such claims. Whether you vote, and if you do vote irrespective of how you vote, on any proposal, including the Business Combination Proposal, will have no impact on the amount you will receive upon exercise of your redemption rights. It is expected that the funds to be distributed to public shareholders electing to redeem their public shares will be distributed promptly after the consummation of the Business Combination.
Any request for redemption, once made by a holder of public shares, may be withdrawn at any time up to the time the vote is taken with respect to the Business Combination Proposal at the extraordinary general meeting. If you deliver your shares for redemption to Continental, our transfer agent, and later decide prior to the extraordinary general meeting not to elect redemption, you may request that our transfer agent return the shares (physically or electronically) to you. You may make such request by contacting Continental, our transfer agent, at the phone number or address listed at the end of this section.
Any corrected or changed written exercise of redemption rights must be received by Continental, our transfer agent, prior to the vote taken on the Business Combination Proposal at the extraordinary general meeting. No request for redemption will be honored unless the holder’s public shares have been delivered (either physically or electronically) to Continental, our transfer agent, at least two business days prior to the vote at the extraordinary general meeting.
If a holder of public shares properly makes a request for redemption and the public shares are delivered as described above, then, if the Business Combination is consummated, we will redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of funds deposited in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination. The redemption takes place following the Domestication and, accordingly, it is shares of Class A Common Stock that will be redeemed immediately after consummation of the Business Combination.
If you are a holder of public shares and you exercise your redemption rights, such exercise will not result in the loss of any warrants that you may hold.
Q: If I am a holder of units, can I exercise redemption rights with respect to my units?
A: No. Holders of issued and outstanding units must elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and public warrants prior to exercising redemption rights with respect to the public shares. If you hold your units in an account at a brokerage firm or bank, you must notify your broker or bank that you elect to separate the units into the underlying public shares and public warrants, or if you hold units registered in your own name, you must contact Continental, our transfer agent, directly and instruct them to do so. The redemption rights include the requirement that a holder must identify itself in writing as a beneficial holder and provide its legal name, phone number and address to Continental in order to validly redeem its shares. You must cause your public shares to be separated and delivered to Continental, our transfer agent, by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 2, 2023 (two business days before the extraordinary general meeting) in order to exercise your redemption rights with respect to your public shares.
Q: What are the U.S. federal income tax consequences of exercising my redemption rights?
A: The tax consequences of an exercise of redemption rights depend on your particular facts and circumstances. Because the Domestication will occur after the redemption of U.S. Holders that exercise redemption rights, U.S. Holders exercising redemption rights should not be subject to the potential tax consequences of Section 367(b) of the Code as a result of the Domestication. Please see the section entitled “The Business Combination Proposal — Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Domestication to Public
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Shareholders — U.S. Holders — Tax Consequences to U.S. Holders That Elect to Exercise Redemption Rights.” We urge you to consult your tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of exercising your redemption rights.
Q: What happens to the funds deposited in the Trust Account after consummation of the Business Combination?
A: Following the closing of the RONI IPO, an amount equal to $345,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) of the net proceeds from the RONI IPO and the sale of the private placement units was placed in the Trust Account. As of December 31, 2022, funds in the Trust Account totaled approximately $350 million and were held in U.S. treasury securities. These funds will remain in the Trust Account, except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any, until the earliest of (i) the completion of a business combination (including the closing of the Business Combination) or (ii) the redemption of all of the public shares if we are unable to complete a business combination by June 18, 2023 (unless such date is extended in accordance with the Existing Governing Documents), subject to applicable law.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions or purchases of the public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of NET Power Inc., the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our Business Combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. See “Summary of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus — Sources and Uses of Funds for the Business Combination.”
Q: What happens if a substantial number of the public shareholders vote in favor of the Business Combination Proposal and exercise their redemption rights?
A: Our public shareholders are not required to vote “FOR” the Business Combination in order to exercise their redemption rights. Accordingly, the Business Combination may be consummated even though the funds available from the Trust Account and the number of public shareholders are reduced as a result of redemptions by public shareholders.
If a public shareholder exercises its redemption rights, such exercise will not result in the loss of any warrants that it may hold. Assuming that 100% or 33,490,000 Class A Shares held by our public shareholders (not including the 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO that they have agreed not to redeem) were redeemed, the 8,625,000 retained outstanding public warrants would have had an aggregate value of $12,635,625 on March 31, 2023. If a substantial number of, but not all, public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, any non-redeeming shareholders would experience dilution to the extent such warrants are exercised and additional Class A Common Stock is issued.
In no event will RONI redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) of the Exchange Act) to be less than $5,000,001 after giving effect to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the PIPE Financing.
Additionally, as a result of redemptions, the trading market for the Class A Common Stock may be less liquid than the market for the public shares was prior to consummation of the Business Combination and we may not be able to meet the listing standards for NYSE or another national securities exchange.
Q: What happens to the warrants following the Business Combination?
A: All outstanding warrants will continue to be outstanding following the Business Combination notwithstanding the actual redemptions. An aggregate value of our outstanding public warrants of approximately $12.6 million (based on the closing price of the warrants of $1.465 on the NYSE as of March 31, 2023) may be retained by the redeeming shareholders assuming maximum redemptions. The conversion of outstanding warrants would also have a dilutive effect on existing RONI shareholders. See “— What equity stake will current RONI shareholders and current equityholders of NET Power hold in NET Power Inc. immediately after the consummation of the Business Combination?” above for a summary of the implied book value of Ordinary Shares following the Business Combination under various redemption scenarios.
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Q: How do the public warrants differ from the private placement warrants and what are the related risks for any public warrant holders post Business Combination?
A: The private placement warrants, unlike the public warrants, are not redeemable by RONI. Further, the public warrants differ from the private placement warrants as the private placement warrants may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or any of their permitted transferees. If the private warrants are held by holders other than the initial purchasers or any of their permitted transferees, they will be redeemable by RONI and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the public warrants. The initial purchasers of the private warrants have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the warrants, including the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants (except to certain permitted transferees), until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination.
As a result, following the Business Combination, NET Power Inc. may redeem your public warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making such warrants worthless. We have the ability to redeem outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per public warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of such redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the public warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of the Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the public warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws, or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify such shares under the blue sky laws of the state of such residence in those states in which the public warrants were offered. Redemption of the outstanding public warrants could force you (i) to exercise your public warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your public warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your public warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding public warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your public warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their public warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A Common Stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A Common Stock. Please see “Description of NET Power Inc. Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of Redeemable Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the public warrants (i) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their public warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (ii) may not compensate the holders for the value of the public warrants, including because the number of shares received is capped at 0.361 shares of Class A Common Stock per whole warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the public warrants.
In each case, we may only call the public warrants for redemption upon a minimum of 20 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each public warrant holder, provided that holders will be able to exercise their public warrants prior to the time of redemption and, at our election, any such exercise may be required to be on a cashless basis. Please see “Description of NET Power Inc. Securities — Warrants.”
Q: When do you expect the Business Combination to be completed?
A: It is currently expected that the Business Combination will be consummated in the second quarter of 2023. This date depends, among other things, on the approval of the proposals to be put to RONI shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting. However, such extraordinary general meeting could be adjourned if the Adjournment Proposal is adopted by our shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting and we elect to adjourn the extraordinary general meeting to a later date or dates to consider and vote upon a proposal to approve by ordinary resolution the adjournment of the extraordinary general meeting to a later date or dates
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(i) to the extent necessary to ensure that any required supplement or amendment to the accompanying proxy statement/prospectus is provided to RONI shareholders or, if as of the time for which the extraordinary general meeting is scheduled, there are insufficient Ordinary Shares represented (either in person or by proxy) to constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business at the extraordinary general meeting, (ii) in order to solicit additional proxies from RONI shareholders in favor of one or more of the proposals at the extraordinary general meeting or (iii) if RONI shareholders have elected to redeem an amount of public shares such that the Minimum Available Cash Condition would not be satisfied. For a description of the conditions for the completion of the Business Combination, see “Business Combination Proposal — Conditions to Closing of the Business Combination.”
Q: What happens if the Business Combination is not consummated?
A: RONI will not complete the Domestication to Delaware unless all other conditions to the consummation of the Business Combination have been satisfied or waived by the parties in accordance with the terms of the Business Combination Agreement. If RONI is not able to consummate the Business Combination with NET Power nor able to complete another business combination by June 18, 2023, in each case, as such date may be extended pursuant to our Existing Governing Documents, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less 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 the RONI Board, 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 laws.
Q: What is the Tax Receivable Agreement?
A: Concurrently with the completion of the Business Combination, RONI will enter into the Tax Receivable Agreement, in substantially the form attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex K. Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, RONI will be required to pay to certain Opco Unitholders 75% of the tax savings that RONI realizes as a result of increases in tax basis in Opco’s assets resulting from the future exchange of Opco Units for Class A Common Stock (or cash) pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement, as well as certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired unless RONI exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement for an amount representing the present value of all forecasted future payments that would have otherwise been made under the Tax Receivable Agreement (subject to certain assumptions), or certain other acceleration events, including a Change of Control (as defined in the Tax Receivable Agreement), occur. For more information on the Tax Receivable Agreement, please see the section entitled “The Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements — Tax Receivable Agreement.”
Q: Do I have appraisal rights in connection with the proposed Business Combination and the proposed Domestication?
A: Neither our shareholders nor our warrant holders have appraisal rights in connection with the Business Combination or the Domestication under the Cayman Islands Companies Act or under the DGCL.
Q: What do I need to do now?
A: We urge you to read this proxy statement/prospectus, including the Annexes and the documents referred to herein, carefully and in their entirety and to consider how the Business Combination will affect you as a shareholder and/or warrant holder. Our shareholders should then vote as soon as possible in accordance with the instructions provided in this proxy statement/prospectus and on the enclosed proxy card.
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Q: How do I vote?
A: If you hold your shares in “street name,” which means your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or nominee, and were a holder of record of Ordinary Shares on April 18, 2023, the record date for the extraordinary general meeting, you may vote with respect to the proposals at the extraordinary general meeting, or by completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided. For the avoidance of doubt, the record date does not apply to RONI shareholders that hold their shares in registered form and are registered as shareholders in RONI’s register of members. All holders of shares in registered form on the day of the extraordinary general meeting are entitled to vote at the extraordinary general meeting.
Q: If my shares are held in “street name,” will my broker, bank or nominee automatically vote my shares for me?
A: No. If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other nominee, you are considered the “beneficial holder” of the shares held for you in what is known as “street name.” If this is the case, this proxy statement/prospectus may have been forwarded to you by your brokerage firm, bank or other nominee, or its agent. As the beneficial holder, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or other nominee as to how to vote your shares. If you do not provide voting instructions to your broker on a particular proposal on which your broker does not have discretionary authority to vote, your shares will not be voted on that proposal. This is called a “broker non-vote.” Abstentions and broker non-votes, while considered present for the purposes of establishing a quorum, will not count as votes cast at the extraordinary general meeting, and otherwise will have no effect on a particular proposal. If you decide to vote, you should provide instructions to your broker, bank or other nominee on how to vote in accordance with the information and procedures provided to you by your broker, bank or other nominee.
Q: When and where will the extraordinary general meeting be held?
A: The extraordinary general meeting will be held at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on June 6, 2023.
To attend and participate in the extraordinary general meeting, you will need to physically attend the premises at 609 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77002. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in street name and wish to attend the extraordinary general meeting, you will need to follow the instructions on your voting instruction form provided by your bank, broker or other organization that holds your shares.
Q: Who is entitled to vote at the extraordinary general meeting?
A: We have fixed April 18, 2023 as the record date for the extraordinary general meeting. If you were a shareholder of RONI at the close of business on the record date, you are entitled to vote on matters that come before the extraordinary general meeting. However, a shareholder may only vote his or her shares if he or she is present in person or is represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting.
Q: How many votes do I have?
A: RONI shareholders are entitled to one vote at the extraordinary general meeting for each Ordinary Share held of record as of the record date. As of the close of business on the record date for the extraordinary general meeting, there were 43,127,500 Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding, of which 34,500,000 were issued and outstanding public shares.
Q: What constitutes a quorum?
A: A quorum of RONI shareholders is necessary to hold a valid meeting. A quorum will be present at the extraordinary general meeting if one or more shareholders who together hold not less than one-third of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares entitled to vote at the extraordinary general meeting are represented in person or by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting. As of the record date for the extraordinary general meeting, 14,375,834 Ordinary Shares would be required to achieve a quorum.
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Q: What vote is required to approve each proposal at the extraordinary general meeting?
A: The following votes are required for each proposal at the extraordinary general meeting:
(i) Business Combination Proposal: The approval of the Business Combination Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
(ii) Domestication Proposal: The approval of the Domestication Proposal requires a special resolution, being a resolution that is passed by at least two-thirds of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon the extraordinary general meeting.
(iii) Charter Proposal: The approval of the Charter Proposal requires a special resolution, being a resolution that is passed by at least two-thirds of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon the extraordinary general meeting.
(iv) Governing Documents Proposals: The separate approval of each of the Governing Documents Proposals require, on a non-binding advisory basis, an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
(v) Director Election Proposal: The approval of the Director Election Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
(vi) NYSE Proposal: The approval of the NYSE Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
(vii) Incentive Plan Proposal: The approval of the Equity Incentive Plan Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
(viii) Adjournment Proposal: The approval of the Adjournment Proposal requires an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting.
As of the record date, RONI had 43,127,500 Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding. RONI shareholders are entitled to one vote at the extraordinary general meeting for each Ordinary Share held of record as of the record date. The RONI Initial Shareholders hold 8,627,500, or approximately 20%, of the outstanding Ordinary Shares entitled to vote at the extraordinary general meeting. Each RONI Initial Shareholder has agreed to vote in favor of approving the Business Combination. Assuming only the minimal number of shares required to constitute a quorum are present at the extraordinary general meeting, taking into account the 20% of shares to be voted by RONI Initial Shareholders, approximately 6% of the outstanding Ordinary Shares will be needed to approve all proposals, other than the Business Combination Proposal and the Domestication Proposal, which will require approximately 17% of the outstanding Ordinary Shares to approve such proposals.
Assuming all holders that are entitled to vote on such matter vote all of their Ordinary Shares in person or by proxy, 21,563,751 shares will need to be voted in favor of each of the Business Combination Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal.
Assuming all holders that are entitled to vote on such matter vote all of their Ordinary Shares in person or by proxy, 28,751,667 shares will need to be voted in favor of each of the Domestication Proposal and the Charter Proposal, in order to approve the Domestication Proposal and the Charter Proposal.
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Q: What are the recommendations of the RONI Board?
A: The RONI Board believes that the Business Combination Proposal and the other proposals to be presented at the extraordinary general meeting are in the best interest of RONI and its shareholders and unanimously recommends that its shareholders vote “FOR” the Business Combination Proposal, “FOR” the Domestication Proposal, “FOR” the Charter Proposal, “FOR” each of the separate Governing Documents Proposals, “FOR” the Director Election Proposal, “FOR” the NYSE Proposal, “FOR” the Incentive Plan Proposal and “FOR” the Adjournment Proposal, in each case, if presented to the extraordinary general meeting.
The existence of financial and personal interests of one or more of RONI’s directors may result in a conflict of interest on the part of such director(s) between what he, she or they may believe is in the best interests of RONI and its shareholders and what he, she or they may believe is best for himself, herself or themselves in determining to recommend that shareholders vote for the proposals. In addition, RONI’s officers have interests in the Business Combination that may conflict with your interests as a shareholder. See the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — Interests of Certain Persons in the Business Combination” for a further discussion of these considerations.
Q: How do Sponsor and the other RONI Initial Shareholders intend to vote their shares?
A: Unlike some other blank check companies in which the RONI Initial Shareholders agree to vote their shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, the RONI Initial Shareholders have agreed to vote all their shares in favor of all the proposals being presented at the extraordinary general meeting. As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, the RONI Initial Shareholders own approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares.
At any time at or prior to the Business Combination, during a period when they are not then aware of any material nonpublic information regarding us or our securities, the RONI Initial Shareholders, NET Power and/or their directors, officers, advisors or respective affiliates may purchase public shares from institutional and other investors who vote, or indicate an intention to vote, against any of the Condition Precedent Proposals, or execute agreements to purchase such shares from such investors in the future, or they may enter into transactions with such investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares or vote their public shares in favor of the Condition Precedent Proposals. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record or beneficial holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that the RONI Initial Shareholders, NET Power and/or their directors, officers, advisors or respective affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholder would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such share purchases and other transactions would be to increase the likelihood of satisfaction of the requirements that (i) the Business Combination Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal, the Incentive Plan Proposal and the Adjournment Proposal are approved by an ordinary resolution, being a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting, (ii) the Domestication Proposal and the Charter Proposal are approved by a special resolution, being a resolution that is passed by at least two-thirds of the votes cast by those shareholders of RONI who, being entitled to do so, attend, in person or by proxy, and vote thereupon at the extraordinary general meeting, (iii) otherwise limit the number of public shares electing to redeem and (iv) NET Power Inc.’s net tangible assets (as determined in accordance with Rule 3a51-1(g)(1) of the Exchange Act) being at least $5,000,001 after giving effect to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the PIPE Financing.
Entering into any such arrangements may have a depressive effect on the Ordinary Shares. For example, as a result of these arrangements, an investor or holder may have the ability to effectively purchase shares at a price lower than market and may therefore be more likely to sell the shares he or she owns, either at or prior to the Business Combination.
If such transactions are effected, the consequence could be to cause the Business Combination to be consummated in circumstances where such consummation could not otherwise occur. Purchases of shares by the persons described above would allow them to exert more influence over the approval of the proposals
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to be presented at the extraordinary general meeting and would likely increase the chances that such proposals would be approved. We will file or submit a Current Report on Form 8-K to disclose any material arrangements entered into or significant purchases made by any of the aforementioned persons that would affect the vote on the proposals to be put to the extraordinary general meeting or the redemption threshold.
Any such report will include descriptions of any arrangements entered into or significant purchases by any of the aforementioned persons.
Q: What interests do the RONI Initial Shareholders and RONI’s other current officers and directors have in the Business Combination?
A: The RONI Initial Shareholders, certain members of the RONI Board and certain RONI officers have interests in the Business Combination that are different from or in addition to (and which may conflict with) your interests. You should take these interests into account in deciding whether to approve the Business Combination. These interests include:
• the fact that the RONI Initial Shareholders and RONI directors and officers have agreed not to redeem any Ordinary Shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination;
• the fact that our Sponsor paid an aggregate of $26,000 for the Founder Shares, 2,500 Class A Shares and 100 Class A Units of Opco, and upon the completion of the Business Combination, our Sponsor ultimately expects to receive 6,548,225 Class B Shares in connection with the conversion of the Founder Shares in connection with the Business Combination and such securities, along with its 2,500 Class A Shares, will have a significantly higher value at the time of the Business Combination which, if unrestricted and freely tradable, would be valued at $67.0 million based on the closing price of $10.23 per public share on the NYSE on March 31, 2023, resulting in a theoretical gain of $67.0 million, but, given the restrictions on such shares, RONI believes such shares have less value. If the Business Combination is not consummated, our Sponsor will lose such theoretical gain;
• the fact that the RONI Initial Shareholders and RONI directors and officers have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares held by them if RONI fails to complete an initial business combination by June 18, 2023 resulting in a loss of approximately $10,900,000;
• the fact that our Sponsor paid an aggregate of $10,900,000 for its 10,900,000 private placement warrants to purchase Class A Shares and that such private placement warrants will expire worthless if a business combination is not consummated by June 18, 2023;
• the fact that up to an aggregate amount of $1,500,000 of any amounts outstanding under any working capital loans made by our Sponsor or any of its affiliates to RONI may be converted into warrants to purchase Class A Shares at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender;
• the fact that RONI’s officers and directors, other than RONI’s Independent Directors, collectively own, directly or indirectly, a material interest in our Sponsor;
• the anticipated designation of Daniel J. Rice, IV as the Chief Executive Officer and director of NET Power Inc. and J. Kyle Derham as a director of NET Power Inc. following the Business Combination;
• the continued indemnification of RONI existing directors and officers under the Existing Governing Documents and the continuation of RONI’s directors’ and officers’ liability insurance after the Business Combination;
• the fact that our Sponsor and RONI’s officers and directors will lose their entire investment of approximately $10,900,000 in RONI and will not be reimbursed for any loans extended, fees due or out-of-pocket expenses if an initial business combination is not consummated by June 18, 2023. As of the date of this proxy statement/prospectus, other than as described in this proxy statement/prospectus, there are no loans extended, fees due or outstanding out-of-pocket expenses for which the
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Sponsor and RONI’s officers and directors are awaiting reimbursement. As described above, following the Business Combination, our Sponsor ultimately expects to receive 6,548,225 Class B Shares in connection with the conversion of the Founder Shares in connection with the Business Combination and each of RONI’s three independent directors held 30,000 Founder Shares. Additionally, our Sponsor purchased 10,900,000 private placement warrants to purchase Class A Shares simultaneously with the consummation of the RONI IPO for an aggregate purchase price of $10,900,000. The 6,548,225 Class B Shares expected to be owned by our Sponsor, along with its 2,500 Class A Shares, would have had an aggregate market value of $67.0 million based upon the closing price of $10.23 per public share on the NYSE on March 31, 2023. The 10,900,000 private placement warrants held by our Sponsor would have had an aggregate market value of $16.0 million based upon the closing price of $1.465 per public warrant on the NYSE on March 31, 2023;
• the fact that if the Trust Account is liquidated, including in the event RONI is unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period, our Sponsor has agreed to indemnify RONI to ensure that the proceeds in the Trust Account are not reduced below $10.00 per public share, or such lesser per public share amount as is in the Trust Account on the liquidation date, by the claims of prospective target businesses with which RONI has entered into an acquisition agreement or claims of any third party for services rendered or products sold to RONI, but only if such a vendor or target business has not executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account;
• the fact that the Sponsor will benefit from the completion of a business combination and may be incentivized to complete an acquisition of a less favorable target company or on terms less favorable to shareholders rather than liquidate;
• the fact that the Sponsor and its affiliates can earn a positive rate of return on their investment, even if other RONI shareholders experience a negative rate of return in the post-business combination company; and
• the terms and provisions of the Related Agreements as set forth in detail under “The Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements.”
Q: What happens if I sell my Ordinary Shares before the extraordinary general meeting?
A: The record date for the extraordinary general meeting is earlier than the date of the extraordinary general meeting and earlier than the date that the Business Combination is expected to be completed. If you transfer your public shares after the applicable record date, but before the extraordinary general meeting, unless you grant a proxy to the transferee, you will retain your right to vote at such general meeting.
Q: May I change my vote after I have mailed my signed proxy card?
A: Yes. Shareholders may send a later-dated, signed proxy card to our chief financial officer at our address set forth below so that it is received by our secretary prior to the vote at the extraordinary general meeting (which is scheduled to take place on June 6, 2023) or attend the extraordinary general meeting in person and vote. Shareholders also may revoke their proxy by sending a notice of revocation to our secretary, which must be received by our secretary prior to the vote at the extraordinary general meeting. However, if your shares are held in “street name” by your broker, bank or another nominee, you must contact your broker, bank or other nominee to change your vote.
Q: What happens if I fail to take any action with respect to the extraordinary general meeting?
A: If you fail to vote with respect to the extraordinary general meeting and the Business Combination is approved by shareholders and the Business Combination is consummated, you will become a stockholder and/or warrant holder of NET Power Inc. If you fail to vote with respect to the extraordinary general meeting and the Business Combination is not approved, you will remain a shareholder and/or warrant holder of RONI. However, if you fail to vote with respect to the extraordinary general meeting, you will nonetheless be able to elect to redeem your public shares in connection with the Business Combination.
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Q: What should I do if I receive more than one set of voting materials?
A: Shareholders may receive more than one set of voting materials, including multiple copies of this proxy statement/prospectus and multiple proxy cards or voting instruction cards. For example, if you hold your shares in more than one brokerage account, you will receive a separate voting instruction card for each brokerage account in which you hold shares. If you are a holder of record and your shares are registered in more than one name, you will receive more than one proxy card. Please complete, sign, date and return each proxy card and voting instruction card that you receive in order to cast a vote with respect to all of your Ordinary Shares.
Q: Who will solicit and pay the cost of soliciting proxies for the extraordinary general meeting?
A: RONI will pay the cost of soliciting proxies for the extraordinary general meeting. RONI has engaged D.F. King & Co., Inc. (“D.F. King”) to assist in the solicitation of proxies for the extraordinary general meeting. RONI has agreed to pay D.F. King a fee of $25,000, plus disbursements, and will reimburse D.F. King for its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses and indemnify D.F. King and its affiliates against certain claims, liabilities, losses, damages and expenses. RONI will also reimburse banks, brokers and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries representing beneficial owners of Class A Shares for their expenses in forwarding soliciting materials to beneficial owners of Class A Shares and in obtaining voting instructions from those owners. RONI’s directors and officers may also solicit proxies by telephone, by facsimile, by mail, on the Internet or in person. They will not be paid any additional amounts for soliciting proxies.
Q: Where can I find the voting results of the extraordinary general meeting?
A: The preliminary voting results will be announced at the extraordinary general meeting. RONI will publish final voting results of the extraordinary general meeting in a Current Report on Form 8-K within four business days after the extraordinary general meeting.
Q: Who can help answer my questions?
A: If you have questions about the Business Combination or if you need additional copies of the proxy statement/prospectus or the enclosed proxy card you should contact:
D.F. King & Co., Inc.
48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10055
Banks and brokerage firms: (212) 269-5550
E-mail: RONI@dfking.com
You also may obtain additional information about RONI from documents filed with the SEC by following the instructions in the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.” If you are a holder of public shares and you intend to seek redemption of your public shares, you will need to deliver your public shares (either physically or electronically) to Continental, RONI’s transfer agent, at the address below prior to the extraordinary general meeting. Holders must complete the procedures for electing to redeem their public shares in the manner described above prior to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 2, 2023 (two business days before the extraordinary general meeting) in order for their shares to be redeemed. If you have questions regarding the certification of your position or delivery of your stock, please contact:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
1 State Street 30th Floor
New York, New York 10004
Attention: Mark Zimkind
E-mail: Mzimkind@continentalstock.com
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SUMMARY OF THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
This summary highlights selected information from this proxy statement/prospectus and does not contain all of the information that is important to you. To better understand the proposals to be submitted for a vote at the extraordinary general meeting, including the Business Combination, you should read this proxy statement/prospectus, including the Annexes and other documents referred to herein, carefully and in their entirety. The Business Combination Agreement is the legal document that governs the Business Combination and the other transactions that will be undertaken in connection with the Business Combination. The Business Combination Agreement is also described in detail in this proxy statement/prospectus in the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — The Business Combination Agreement.”
Business Summary
NET Power is a clean energy technology company that has developed a novel power generation system (the “NET Power Cycle”) that produces clean, reliable, and low-cost electricity from natural gas while capturing virtually all atmospheric emissions. NET Power was founded in 2010 and since inception, has methodically progressed the technology from a theoretical concept to reality. The NET Power Cycle is designed to inherently capture carbon dioxide (CO2) while producing no air pollutants such as sulfur oxides (SOX), nitrogen oxides (NOX), and particulates. It is nearly immune to differences in altitude, humidity and temperature and can be a net water producer rather than consumer, allowing for easier siting and operation in areas particularly impacted by climate change. It can operate as a traditional baseload power plant, providing reliable electricity to the grid at capacity factors targeted to be above 90 percent. It can also complement intermittent renewables, providing zero-emission dispatchable electricity that can be programmed on demand at the request of power grid operators and according to market needs, while demonstrating substantial improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, affordability and environmental performance as compared to existing carbon capture technologies for power generation and industry. It leverages existing infrastructure and avoids issues of generation capacity and grid transmission overbuild created by other technologies, further reducing system-wide costs incurred in transitioning to net zero.
The NET Power Cycle is designed to achieve clean, reliable, and low-cost electricity generation through NET Power’s patented highly recuperative oxy-combustion process. This process involves the combination of two technologies:
• Oxy-combustion, a clean heat generation process in which fuel is mixed with oxygen such that the resulting byproducts from combustion consist of only water and pure CO2; and
• Supercritical CO2 power cycle, a closed or semi-closed loop process which replaces the air or steam used in most power cycles with recirculating CO2 at high pressure, as supercritical CO2, or sCO2, producing power by expanding sCO2 continuously through a turbo expander.
In the NET Power Cycle, CO2 produced in oxy-combustion is immediately captured in a sCO2 cycle which produces electricity. As CO2 is added through oxy-combustion and recirculated, excess captured CO2 is syphoned from the cycle at high purity for export to permanent storage or utilization.
The NET Power Cycle was first demonstrated at NET Power’s 50 MWth demonstration facility in La Porte, Texas which broke ground in 2016 and began testing in 2018. NET Power conducted three testing campaigns over three years and synchronized to the Texas grid in the fall of 2021. Through these tests, it achieved technology validation, reached critical operational milestones and accumulated over 1,500 hours of total facility runtime as of October 2022.
NET Power plans to license its technology through offering plant designs ranging from industrial-scale configurations between 25-115 MW net electric output to utility-scale units of approximately 300 MW net electric output capacity. This technology is supported by a portfolio of 380 issued patents in-licensed on an exclusive basis (in the applicable field) from 8 Rivers Capital, as well as significant know-how and trade secrets generated through experience at the La Porte, Texas demonstration facility. The initial commercially available product, a first-generation utility-scale design, or Gen1U, is expected to be a 300 MW net electric power plant with net efficiency over 50%. NET Power expects that later facilities adopting its second-generation utility-scale design, or Gen2U, will benefit from net efficiencies targeting 60% and lower costs. Gen2U will have higher operating temperatures and heat exchanger effectiveness, similar to the conditions present at the La Porte demonstration facility, and higher efficiency
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key balance of plant turbomachinery such as compressors and pumps. The Gen2U assumptions provide the technical and economic basis for the substantial majority of expected future NET Power deployments. With multiple Gen1U projects currently in development, NET Power expects the first utility-scale plant utilizing the NET Power Cycle will be commissioned and operational in 2026. NET Power intends to deploy its technology in the United States and around the world; leveraging experience gained from the La Porte, Texas demonstration facility as well as from the expertise of NET Power’s current owners, including OXY, BHES, and 8 Rivers Capital.
NET Power’s potential customers include electric utilities, oil and gas companies, midstream oil and gas companies, technology companies, and industrial facilities, both in domestic and international markets. NET Power has engaged in active dialogue with potential customers in each of these industries. NET Power’s end-markets can be broken down into three general categories: baseload generation, dispatchable generation, and industrial applications. Baseload generation includes replacing emitting fossil fuel-fired facilities (brownfield) or installing new clean baseload capacity (greenfield). Many customers need to balance the intermittency of renewable generation and, NET Power believes, will seek its technology’s dispatchable capability to pair with significant renewable capacity build outs. Industrial customers such as direct air capture facilities, steel facilities, chemical plants, and hydrogen production facilities have significant 24-hour energy needs and goals to decarbonize. NET Power’s technology can provide the necessary clean, reliable, low-cost electricity and heat energy to these facilities as well.
Key benefits for customers include the following:
• Clean: The NET Power Cycle will result in an average Carbon Intensity, or CI, of 58g CO2e/kWh, and can capture CO2 at >97% rate, providing for 87% CO2 emissions reduction in comparison to combined cycle gas turbine technology. CO2 is inherently captured at pipeline pressure and ready for transportation. There are no NOx, SOx, or particulate emissions to atmosphere that plague traditional coal or natural gas fossil fuel generation allowing for project siting near population centers. NET Power expects efforts to reduce upstream methane emissions will further reduce NET Power Cycle CI.
• Reliable: The NET Power Cycle can provide 24/7 baseload power, with a targeted capacity factor of 92.5%, power ramp rates of 10% to 15% per minute, and 0% to 100% load following capabilities. It can function as a utility-scale large plant or seamlessly pair as a load-following asset to support variable renewable energy.
• Low-Cost: NET Power’s targeted Gen2U levelized cost of energy of $21 – $40 $/MWh in the U.S. is lower than both legacy firm generation technology like combined cycle gas turbine and intermittent technologies such as solar photovoltaics, or PVs, coupled with four hours or more of battery storage. Gen1U levelized cost of energy is expected between $26 – $55 $/MWh.
• Utilizes existing infrastructure: The United States alone has over 3 million miles of natural gas pipeline infrastructure, with over 270,000 miles of high-strength steel pipe suitable for high-capacity natural gas transmission. Approximately fifty individual CO2 pipelines with a combined length of over 4,500 miles exist in the U.S. today. According to the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, there further exists hundreds of thermal power generation facilities at or nearing their retirement or replacement period through 2050, which NET Power believes could serve as potential brownfield site locations. For example, 27% of the 56 GW of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the U.S. has plans to retire by the end of 2029. Their transmission interconnections and auxiliary systems can be repurposed with minimal changes to serve NET Power’s facilities. With the addition of CO2 infrastructure, NET Power can fit within the existing grid network with low incremental cost.
• Compact footprint: NET Power’s modular design and the inherent energy density of supercritical CO2 as a working fluid leads to a low surface footprint of approximately 13 acres, equal to 1/100th that of Solar PV of a similar electric output. This footprint is smaller than existing unabated combined cycle facilities of similar capacity, allowing NET Power to serve as a re-powering option for retiring facilities or facilities that cannot secure additional space for capture equipment.
NET Power believes that the NET Power Cycle can serve as a key enabling platform for a low-carbon future, addressing shortfalls inherent to alternative options while contributing to an overall lower system-wide cost of decarbonization. NET Power believes that through its innovative process, it can provide a lower cost of electricity, reduction and in some cases elimination of environmental impacts related to thermal power use (air pollution, water
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use, land use and deforestation), reliability and dispatchability contributing to energy security and lower costs, as well as an ability to achieve required carbon reduction targets. NET Power believes the build-out of the NET Power Cycle will provide the world with clean, reliable and low-cost energy.
The Parties to the Business Combination
RONI
RONI is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on February 2, 2021 and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more target businesses. RONI consummated the RONI IPO on June 18, 2021, generating gross proceeds of approximately $345,000,000. Substantially concurrently with the consummation of the RONI IPO, RONI completed the private sale of the private placement warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrants, to Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to RONI of approximately $10,900,000. A total of $355,900,000, comprised of $345,000,000 of the proceeds from the RONI IPO and $10,900,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants, were placed in a trust account maintained by Continental, acting as trustee.
RONI’s securities are traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbols “RONI,” “RONI U” and “RONI WS.” Upon the closing of the Business Combination, the RONI securities will be delisted from the NYSE.
The mailing address of RONI’s principal executive office is 102 East Main Street, Second Story, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106.
NET Power
NET Power is a Delaware limited liability company. NET Power’s principal executive office is located at 404 Hunt Street, Suite 410, Durham, North Carolina 27701. NET Power’s corporate website address is https://netpower.com/. NET Power’s website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this proxy statement/prospectus.
Proposals to be Put to the Shareholders of RONI at the Extraordinary General Meeting
The following is a summary of the proposals to be put to the extraordinary general meeting of RONI and certain transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement. Each of the proposals below, except the Governing Documents Proposals and the Adjournment Proposal, is cross-conditioned on the approval of each other. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned upon the approval of any other proposal set forth in this proxy statement/prospectus, and the Governing Documents Proposals are being submitted for approval on a non-binding advisory basis. The transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement will be consummated only if the Condition Precedent Proposals are approved at the extraordinary general meeting.
As discussed in this proxy statement/prospectus, RONI is asking its shareholders to approve by ordinary resolution the Business Combination Agreement, pursuant to which, among other things, on the Closing Date:
(i) RONI will change its jurisdiction of incorporation by deregistering as a Cayman Islands exempted company and continuing and domesticating as a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, upon which, (a) RONI will change its name to “NET Power Inc.,” (b) each then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary share of a par value $0.0001 each in the capital of RONI will convert automatically, on a one-for-one basis, to a share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of RONI, (c) each then issued and outstanding Class B ordinary share of a par value $0.0001 each in the capital of RONI will convert automatically, on a one-for-one basis, to a share of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of RONI, and (d) each issued and outstanding warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share in the capital of RONI at a price of $11.50 per share will convert automatically, on a one-for-one basis, into a whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stock;
(ii) Following RONI’s domestication, RONI Opco will change its jurisdiction of formation by deregistering as a Cayman Islands limited liability company and continuing and domesticating as a limited liability company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware (together with RONI’s domestication, the
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“Domestications”), upon which, (a) RONI Opco will change its name to “NET Power Operations LLC”, (b) each then issued and outstanding Class A Unit of RONI Opco will convert automatically, on a one-for-one basis, to a Class A Unit of RONI Opco as issued and outstanding pursuant to the terms of the Opco LLC Agreement, and (c) each then issued and outstanding Class B Unit of RONI Opco will convert automatically, on a one-for-one basis, to either (x) a Class A Unit of RONI Opco as issued and outstanding pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement or (y) a Class B Unit of RONI Opco as issued and outstanding pursuant to the terms of the Opco LLC Agreement; and
(iii) Following the Domestications, Merger Sub will merge with and into NET Power, with NET Power surviving the merger as a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Buyer, on the terms and subject to the conditions of the certificate of merger, pursuant to which (a) all of the equity interests of NET Power that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Business Combination will, in connection with the Business Combination, be canceled, cease to exist and be converted into the right to receive an aggregate of 137,192,563 Class A Units of RONI Opco and an equivalent number of shares of Class B Common Stock (one share of Class B Common Stock together with one Class A Unit or Class B Unit of RONI Opco, a “RONI Interest”), subject to adjustment for (x) NET Power shares issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated JDA as of the Closing Date and (y) cash funding raised by NET Power following entry into the Business Combination Agreement and retained on its books as of the Closing Date, as allocated pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, and (b) any equity interests of NET Power that are held in the treasury of NET Power or owned by any subsidiary of NET Power immediately prior to the Business Combination will be canceled and cease to exist.
For further details, see “The Business Combination Proposal — The Business Combination Agreement.”
Conditions to the Closing of the Business Combination
The consummation of the Business Combination is conditioned upon, among other things: the approval of the Condition Precedent Proposals; no law or governmental order may be in effect prohibiting or preventing the consummation of the Business Combination; all required filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”) shall have been completed and any applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof) applicable to the consummation of the Business Combination under the HSR Act shall have expired or terminated, or such permissions shall have been obtained; the acceptance of the shares of Class A Common Stock for listing on the NYSE; the completion of the Domestication; the effectiveness of this proxy statement/prospectus; and RONI shall have at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets immediately after the Closing. The statutory HSR waiting period expired on February 6, 2023 at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time.
For further details, see “The Business Combination Proposal — Conditions to Closing of the Business Combination.”
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by ordinary resolution, the Business Combination Agreement (as may be amended, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time), dated as of December 13, 2022, by and among RONI, RONI Opco, the Buyer, Merger Sub and NET Power.
Domestication Proposal
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by special resolution the Domestication Proposal. As a condition to closing the Business Combination, the RONI Board has unanimously approved the Domestication Proposal. The Domestication Proposal, if approved, will approve a change of RONI’s jurisdiction of registration from the Cayman Islands to the State of Delaware. Accordingly, while RONI is currently incorporated as an exempted company under the Cayman Islands Companies Act, upon the Domestication, NET Power Inc. will be governed by the DGCL. There are substantive differences between Cayman Islands corporate law and Delaware corporate law as well as between the Existing Governing Documents and the Proposed Governing Documents. The approval of the Domestication Proposal requires a special resolution, being the affirmative vote of holders at least a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the holders of the issued Ordinary Shares present in person or represented by proxy at the extraordinary general meeting and entitled to vote on such matter. Accordingly, RONI encourages shareholders to carefully consult the information set out below under “Comparison of Corporate Governance and Shareholder Rights.”
For further details, see “Domestication Proposal,” “Charter Proposal” and “Governing Documents Proposals.”
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Charter Proposal
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by special resolution the amendment and restatement of the Existing Governing Documents in their entirety by the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and the Proposed Bylaws, including authorization of the change in authorized share capital as indicated therein and the change of name of “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.” RONI encourages shareholders to carefully consult the information set out below under “Charter Proposal” and the complete copies of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and Proposed Bylaws attached hereto as Annex C and Annex D, respectively.
Governing Documents Proposals
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, on a non-binding advisory basis, by ordinary resolution, certain governance provisions in the Existing Governing Documents, to approve the following material differences between the Existing Governing Documents and the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and the Proposed Bylaws. The RONI Board believes such proposals are necessary to adequately address the needs of NET Power Inc. after the Business Combination. Approval of each of the Governing Documents Proposals is a condition to the consummation of the Business Combination. A brief summary of each of the Governing Documents Proposals is set forth below. These summaries are qualified in their entirety by reference to the complete copies of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and Proposed Bylaws attached hereto as Annex C and Annex D, respectively.
• Governing Documents Proposal A — to change in the authorized share capital of RONI from U.S. $33,100 divided into (i) 300,000,000 Class A Shares, (ii) 30,000,000 Class B Shares, and (iii) 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001, to (a) 520,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, (b) 310,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, and (c) 1,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock.
• Governing Documents Proposal B — to authorize the NET Power Inc. Board to issue any or all shares of Preferred Stock in one or more classes or series, with such terms and conditions as may be expressly determined by the NET Power Inc. Board.
• Governing Documents Proposal C — to approve that certain provisions of the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation are subject to the Stockholders’ Agreement.
• Governing Documents Proposal D — to approve the provision that removes the ability of NET Power Inc. stockholders to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting.
• Governing Documents Proposal E — to approve the provision that any director or the entire NET Power Inc. Board may be removed from office, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of stock of NET Power Inc. entitled to vote generally for the election of directors.
• Governing Documents Proposal F — to amend and restate the Existing Governing Documents and authorize all other changes necessary or desirable in connection with the replacement of Existing Governing Documents with the Proposed Certificate of Incorporation and Proposed Bylaws as part of the Domestication (copies of which are attached to the proxy statement/prospectus as Annex C and Annex D, respectively), including (i) changing the post-Business Combination corporate name from “Rice Acquisition Corp. II” to “NET Power Inc.”, (ii) making NET Power Inc.’s corporate existence perpetual, (iii) adopting Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation and the United States District Courts as the exclusive forum for litigation arising out of federal securities laws, as amended, and (iv) removing certain provisions related to RONI status as a blank check company that will no longer be applicable upon consummation of the Business Combination.
The Proposed Governing Documents differ in certain material respects from the Existing Governing Documents, and RONI encourages shareholders to carefully consult the information set out in the section entitled “Governing Documents Proposals” and the full text of the Proposed Governing Documents of NET Power Inc., attached hereto as Annexes C and D.
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Director Election Proposal
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by ordinary resolution, the election, effective immediately in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, of four directors to serve until the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, three directors to serve until the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders and three directors to serve until the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, each until his or her respective successor is duly elected and qualified, subject to such director’s earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal.
NYSE Proposal
Assuming the Business Combination Proposal and the Governing Document Proposals are approved, RONI’s shareholders are also being asked to approve the NYSE Proposal by ordinary resolution.
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by ordinary resolution, assuming the Business Combination Proposal and the Governing Documents Proposals are approved and adopted, the issuance of more than 20% of RONI’s Class A Common Stock to the investors in connection with the Business Combination and the PIPE Financing for purposes of complying with the applicable provisions of Section 312.03 of the NYSE’s Listed Company Manual.
If the NYSE Proposal is adopted, and assuming the Business Combination Proposal, the Charter Approval Proposal and the Incentive Plan Proposal are also approved, approximately (i) 137,192,563 Class A Units of RONI Opco and an equivalent number of shares of Class B Common Stock, subject to adjustment for NET Power shares issued pursuant to the Amended and Restated JDA between the date hereof and the Closing Date and thereafter and the Interim Company Funding, pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, (ii) 49,044,995 shares of Class A Common Stock will be issued in connection with the PIPE Financing and (iii) 20,468,545 shares of Class A Common Stock will be reserved for grants of awards under the Incentive Plan, representing approximately 9% of the shares of Common Stock that will be outstanding following the consummation of the Business Combination assuming that no public shareholders exercise redemption rights with respect to their shares. The issuance of such shares would result in significant dilution to our shareholders and would afford our shareholders a smaller percentage interest in the voting power, liquidation value and aggregate book value of RONI.
Incentive Plan Proposal
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by ordinary resolution, the Incentive Plan Proposal. Pursuant to the NET Power Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan, 20,468,545 shares of Class A Common Stock will be reserved for issuance pursuant to awards granted thereunder, plus an additional share reserve relating to the forfeiture provisions of the NET Power Inc. 2023 Omnibus Incentive Plan. For additional information, see “Incentive Plan Proposal.” The full text of the Equity Incentive Plan is attached hereto as Annex J.
Adjournment Proposal
RONI will ask its shareholders to approve, by ordinary resolution, the adjournment of the extraordinary general meeting to a later date or dates (i) to the extent necessary to ensure that any required supplement or amendment to the proxy statement/prospectus is provided to RONI shareholders or, if as of the time for which the extraordinary general meeting is scheduled, there are insufficient Ordinary Shares represented (either in person or by proxy) to constitute a quorum necessary to conduct business at the extraordinary general meeting, (ii) in order to solicit additional proxies from RONI shareholders in favor of one or more of the proposals at the extraordinary general meeting or (iii) if RONI shareholders have elected to redeem an amount of the Class A Shares issued as part of the units in the RONI IPO such that the condition to consummation of the Business Combination that the aggregate cash proceeds to be received by RONI from the Trust Account in connection with the Business Combination, together with the aggregate gross proceeds from the PIPE Financing and the Interim Company Financing, and all cash on the consolidated balance sheet of RONI and its subsidiaries, minus transaction expenses (for RONI and for NET Power), equal no less than $200,000,000 after deducting any amounts paid to RONI shareholders that exercise their redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination would not be satisfied. For additional information, see “Adjournment Proposal.”
Each of the Business Combination Proposal, the Domestication Proposal, the Charter Proposal, the Director Election Proposal, the NYSE Proposal and the Incentive Plan Proposal is conditioned on the approval and adoption of each of the other Condition Precedent Proposals. The Adjournment Proposal is not conditioned upon the approval of any other proposal, and the Governing Documents Proposals are being submitted for approval on a non-binding advisory basis.
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The RONI Board’s Reasons for the Transaction
RONI was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The RONI Board sought to do this by utilizing the networks and industry experience of both the Sponsor and the RONI Board and management to identify, acquire and operate one or more businesses. The members of the RONI Board and management have extensive transactional experience, particularly in the broadly-defined sustainability and energy transition industries, including but not limited to, energy and power, energy and industrial technology and venture capital and growth equity investing.
In particular, the RONI Board considered the following positive factors, although not weighted or in any order of significance, in deciding to approve the Business Combination:
• Global need for clean, reliable, low-cost baseload power generation and NET Power’s potential to play a large role in servicing this need. RONI’s management and the RONI Board believe that reliable, clean and low-cost baseload power generation is critical to the future of global energy systems. NET Power’s cost and expected reliability relative to leading alternatives, including renewables with energy storage, nuclear, geothermal, and hydrogen, make it a leading candidate to play a significant role in the future of energy. RONI management and the RONI Board believe that the recent global dislocations in the energy markets demonstrate the need for energy security, reliability and affordability and believe that the NET Power technology has the actionable potential to accomplish these objectives.
• Satisfaction of a sufficient number of the acquisition criteria that RONI established to evaluate prospective business combination targets. RONI management has been focused on identifying targets that would benefit from a partnership with the RONI team given its background in the energy sector. Targets for the RONI Board and RONI management focused on clean baseload generation satisfied RONI’s acquisition criteria by operating in high growth, large total addressable markets with favorable long-term market dynamics and, as a result, RONI management focused on those targets primarily. NET Power specifically was identified as a business with differentiated attributes that provided RONI management confidence in the prospects of the Company, particularly when compared to others in the clean baseload generation space that focus on geothermal, nuclear, hydrogen and other CCUS technologies.
• Experienced management team. The RONI Board determined that NET Power’s management team, taking into account the planned installation of Mr. Rice as the incoming Chief Executive Officer of NET Power Inc., is proven and positioned to successfully lead NET Power after the Business Combination. The RONI Board also believes the engineering and technical capabilities of the NET Power management team will allow them to successfully scale the technology from the demonstration facility to a utility-scale 300MWe facility.
• Commitment from NET Power’s existing owners and stakeholders. The RONI Board considered that NET Power has historically attracted capital investment and other support from well-regarded industry participants, including 8 Rivers, Constellation, OXY and BHES, an affiliate of Baker Hughes. Further, 8 Rivers, Constellation and OXY demonstrated support for the proposed Transaction with additional PIPE commitments in connection with the Business Combination. In addition, the Joint Commercial Committee, comprised of representatives from NET Power and NPI, has selected Odessa, NET Power’s first utility-scale project, as Serial Number 1, and the Board of NET Power was supportive of this decision.
• NET Power’s post-closing financial condition. The RONI Board also considered NET Power’s outlook and capital structure, taking into consideration that after consummation of the Business Combination, NET Power Inc. will have additional cash on its balance sheet, better positioning it to commercialize and deploy the NET Power technology. Furthermore, even under high-redemption scenarios considered by the RONI Board, the proceeds from the PIPE Financing are expected to be sufficient to fund the NET Power corporate operations and cash needs through commercialization of the first utility-scale facility, estimated to occur in 2026.
• Valuation supported by financial analyses and due diligence. The RONI Board determined that the valuation analyses conducted by RONI’s management team, based on NET Power’s historical private financing rounds and the implied valuations of those private financings, comparable companies analysis, and the Scenario Analysis, supported the equity valuation of NET Power. As part of this determination,
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RONI’s management, the RONI Board, legal counsel, financial advisors, and consultants performed due diligence reviews of NET Power and discussed with NET Power management and certain stakeholders the technical, financial, operational, manufacturing and legal outlook of NET Power.
After consideration of the factors identified and discussed above, the RONI Board concluded that the potential benefits that it expected RONI and its shareholders to achieve as a result of the Business Combination outweighed the potentially negative factors associated with the Business Combination. Accordingly, the RONI Board unanimously determined that the Business Combination Agreement, including the Business Combination, were advisable, fair to, and in the best interests of, RONI and its shareholders. For more information about the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, see “Business Combination Proposal.”
For more information about the RONI Board’s decision-making process concerning the Business Combination, please see the section entitled “Business Combination Proposal — The RONI Board’s Reasons for the Business Combination.”
Related Agreements
This section describes certain additional agreements related to the Business Combination that have been executed or will be executed in connection with the closing of the Business Combination. For additional information, see “Business Combination Proposal — Related Agreements.”
Sponsor Letter Agreement
In connection with signing the Business Combination Agreement, RONI, our Sponsor, RONI Opco, NET Power and certain members of the RONI Board and/or management (collectively, the “Insiders”) entered into a letter agreement, dated December 13, 2022 (the “Sponsor Letter Agreement”), pursuant to which Sponsor and the Insiders agreed to (i) vote all of their shares of RONI in favor of the Business Combination Agreement; (ii) be bound by certain transfer restrictions in advance of Closing in respect of the shares of RONI each presently holds; and (iii) waive certain of the anti-dilution and conversion rights with respect to their shares of RONI and RONI Opco units, which had been granted in connection with the RONI IPO.
Pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement, 1,000,000 RONI Interests held by Sponsor will be forfeited and canceled for no further consideration. Additionally, (i) 1,000,000 of Sponsor’s RONI Interests will be subject to forfeiture, and vest, incrementally, if the gross proceeds raised by RONI in connection with the Business Combination exceed $300,000,000 as of the Closing (incrementally vesting until the gross proceeds exceed $397,500,000); (ii) 552,536 of Sponsor’s RONI Interests will be subject to forfeiture, and vest if the gross proceeds exceed $397,500,000 as of the Closing; and (iii) 986,775 of Sponsor’s RONI Interests will be subject to forfeiture, and vest in equal one-third increments if, over any 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading-day period during the three years following the Closing, the trading share price of Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share, $14.00 per share and $16.00 per share, respectively (or if RONI consummates a sale that would value such shares at the aforementioned thresholds).
Sponsor and RONI’s independent directors also agreed to be bound by certain “lock-up” provisions, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Sponsor Letter Agreement, as follows: (i) 3,510,643 of Sponsor’s and the Insiders’ RONI Interests will be restricted from transfer for a period of one year following the Closing and (ii) 1,575,045 of Sponsor’s RONI Interests will be restricted from transfer for a period of three years following the Closing, in each case, subject to customary exceptions and potential early-release based on the stock price sustaining specified price thresholds for 20 trading days within any 30 consecutive trading-day period.
The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Sponsor Letter Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex G.
Support Agreement
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, RONI, Sponsor, NET Power and certain holders of NET Power equity (collectively, the “Company Unitholders”) entered into a Support Agreement (as amended pursuant to its terms, the “Support Agreement”), pursuant to which each Company Unitholder agreed to, among other things, (i) retain their respective equity interests, (ii) vote in favor of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby and (iii) be bound by certain other covenants and agreements related to the Business Combination.
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The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Support Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex H-1 and Annex H-2.
Amended and Restated Joint Development Agreement
On December 13, 2022, NET Power entered into the Amended and Restated JDA with RONI, RONI Opco, NPI, and NPT. The Amended and Restated JDA amends and restates the Original JDA, which was entered into in connection with a capital investment by BHES into NET Power (described below), to allow for the joint development of a turbo expander prototype for use in Power Plants (as defined in the Amended and Restated JDA), including a combustor (the “Joint Development”).
The development work to be undertaken by NPI and related milestones are described in statements of work. Subject to limited exceptions, NET Power will be required to reimburse NPI for all costs associated with the performance of its obligations under the applicable statement of work. A percentage of such reimbursement, to be selected by NET Power prior to Closing in accordance with the terms of the Amended and Restated JDA, will be paid in cash with the remaining amount being paid via issuance of additional Class A Units of RONI Opco and Class B Common Stock to NPI or its designee. Similarly, NET Power will be required to reimburse NPI for certain cost overruns through a combination of cash and issuance of securities, as provided in the Amended and Restated JDA. Furthermore, NPI or its designee will receive additional Class A Units of RONI Opco and Class B Common Stock of RONI in up to an amount equal to the product of 64,799 and the Exchange Ratio (as defined in the Amended and Restated JDA), upon the achievement of certain milestones and the occurrence of certain other events. Additionally, NPI (or its designee) shall receive 47,000 shares of NET Power immediately prior to the Closing of the Business Combination per the Change of Control (as defined in the Amended and Restated JDA) terms of the Amended and Restated JDA.
The Amended and Restated JDA is subject to customary covenants, representations and warranties. The term of the Amended and Restated JDA expires on the later of February 3, 2027 or the completion or termination of the statements of work, unless terminated earlier in accordance with the agreement. Either of NET Power or BH may terminate the Amended and Restated JDA upon 15 days’ prior notice to the other parties in the event of occurrence or continuation of certain events or material breaches of the terms of the Amended and Restated JDA. Furthermore, BH may terminate the Amended and Restated JDA upon the occurrence of a change of control, other than the Business Combination.
Stockholders’ Agreement
Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, in connection with the Closing, RONI, RONI Opco, and certain Existing NET Power Holders will enter into the Stockholders’ Agreement, a copy of the form of which is attached to this proxy statement as Annex E, which provides that, among other things, (i) the NET Power Inc. Board is expected to initially consist of 10 members (which may be increased to comply with independence requirements), (ii) the holders of a majority of the Company Interests (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) held by the Sponsor Holders (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) will have the right to designate one director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board for so long as the Sponsor Holders hold at least 5% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. or Sponsor’s Percentage Interest represents at least 50% of its Initial Percentage Interest, (iii) OXY will have the right to designate three directors for appointment or election to NET Power Inc. Board for so long as OXY holds at least 25% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc., the right to designate two directors for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board for so long as OXY holds at least 20% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. and the right to designate one director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board for so long as OXY holds at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc., (iv) 8 Rivers will have the right to designate one director for appointment or election to NET Power Inc. Board, with such director being independent, for so long as 8 Rivers holds at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. or 8 Rivers’ Percentage Interest represents at least 50% of its Initial Percentage Interest, (v) Constellation will have the right to designate one independent director for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board, with such director being independent, for so long as Constellation holds at least 10% of the issued and outstanding voting interests of NET Power Inc. or Constellation’s Percentage Interest represents at least 50% of its Initial Percentage Interest, (vi) the NET Power Inc. Board shall take all necessary action to designate the person then serving as the Chief Executive Officer of NET Power Inc. for appointment or election to the NET Power Inc. Board during the term of the Stockholders’ Agreement and (vii) the Board shall designate (at least) three Independent Directors to serve on NET Power Inc. Board during the term of the Stockholders’ Agreement. If the director nominated by the Sponsor Holders is not reasonably determined, based on the advice of NET Power Inc.’s counsel, to be an “independent director” for purposes of NYSE rules, or if the NET Power Inc. Board otherwise fails to satisfy the independence
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requirements of NYSE rules, NET Power Inc. Board shall be permitted in its sole discretion to increase the size of the Board to up to 13 members, and to fill the three additional directorships with three additional “independent directors” nominated by the NET Power Inc. Board.
Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the Stockholders’ Agreement, the Existing NET Power Holders party thereto will be granted certain customary registration rights. Also, the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement will be subject to a lock-up period from the Closing Date (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) on transferring their equity interests in NET Power Inc. and RONI Opco that were received pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, with 33 1/3% of the Company Interests (as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement) issued to each of the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement being subject to a three-year lock-up (subject to early expiration based on the per share trading price of Class A Common Stock), and 66 2/3% of the Company Interests issued to each of the Existing NET Power Holders party to the Stockholders’ Agreement pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement being subject to a one-year lock-up (subject to early expiration based on the per share trading price of Class A Common Stock).
The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Stockholders’ Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex E.
Tax Receivable Agreement
The future exchange of Opco Units for Class A Common Stock (or cash) pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement may produce favorable tax attributes for NET Power Inc. The resulting anticipated tax basis adjustments may increase (for applicable income tax purposes) NET Power Inc.’s depreciation and amortization deductions and therefore may reduce the amount of income tax it would be required to pay in the future in the absence of this increased basis. This increased tax basis may also decrease the gain (or increase the loss) on future dispositions of certain assets to the extent the tax basis is allocated to those assets.
Concurrently with the completion of the Business Combination, NET Power Inc. will enter into the Tax Receivable Agreement, in substantially the form attached to this proxy statement/prospectus as Annex K. Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, NET Power Inc. will be required to pay to certain Opco Unitholders 75% of the tax savings that NET Power Inc. realizes as a result of increases in tax basis in Opco’s assets resulting from the future exchange of Opco Units for Class A Common Stock (or cash) pursuant to the Opco LLC Agreement, as well as certain other tax benefits, including tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Further, to the extent that RONI does not make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement when due, as a result of having insufficient funds or otherwise, interest will generally accrue at a rate equal to SOFR plus 100 basis points, or in some cases SOFR plus 600 basis points, until paid. Nonpayment of NET Power Inc.’s obligations for a specified period may constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and therefore may accelerate payments due under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting in a lump-sum payment, which may be substantial. If NET Power Inc. does not have sufficient funds to pay its obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement, it may borrow funds and thus its liquidity and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
The increase in tax basis, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges, the price of public shares at the time of the exchange, whether such exchanges are taxable, the amount and timing of the taxable income NET Power Inc. generates in the future, the U.S. federal and state tax rates then applicable, and the portion of its payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement constituting imputed interest. Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are expected to give rise to certain additional tax benefits attributable to either further increases in basis or in the form of deductions for imputed interest, depending on the circumstances. Any such benefits are covered by the Tax Receivable Agreement and will increase the amounts due thereunder. In addition, the Tax Receivable Agreement will provide for interest, generally at a rate equal to SOFR plus 100 basis points or in some cases SOFR plus 600 basis points, accrued from the due date (without extensions) of NET Power Inc.’s U.S. federal income tax return for the year to which the payment relates to the date of payment under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
The payments that NET Power Inc. will be required to make under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be substantial, and any such payments will reduce cash that would otherwise have been available to NET Power Inc. for other uses, some of which could benefit the holders of NET Power Inc. shares. Furthermore, NET Power Inc.’s future obligation to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement could make it a less attractive target for an acquisition.
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Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that NET Power Inc. determines. Although NET Power Inc. is not aware of any issue that would cause the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, to challenge a tax basis increase or other tax attributes subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement, if any subsequent disallowance of tax basis or other benefits were so determined by the IRS, generally NET Power Inc. would not be reimbursed for any payments previously made under the Tax Receivable Agreement (although it would generally reduce future amounts otherwise payable under the Tax Receivable Agreement). As a result, the amounts that NET Power Inc. pays under the Tax Receivable Agreement may significantly exceed the actual tax savings that it ultimately realizes. NET Power Inc. may need to incur debt to finance payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement to the extent its cash resources are insufficient to meet its obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise. In these situations, NET Power Inc.’s obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement could have a substantial negative impact on its liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combination, or other changes of control. There can be no assurance that NET Power Inc. will be able to finance its obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.
The term of the Tax Receivable Agreement will continue until all such tax benefits have been utilized or expired unless NET Power Inc. exercises its right to terminate the Tax Receivable Agreement for an amount representing the present value of all forecasted future payments that would have otherwise been made under the Tax Receivable Agreement (subject to certain assumptions), or certain other acceleration events, including a Change of Control (as defined in the Tax Receivable Agreement), occur.
The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Tax Receivable Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex K.
Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Opco
Following the Business Combination, NET Power Inc. will be organized in an “Up-C” structure, such that RONI and the subsidiaries of RONI will hold and operate substantially all of the assets and business of NET Power, and RONI will be a publicly listed holding company that will hold equity interests in NET Power. At Closing, RONI Opco will amend and restate its limited liability company agreement in its entirety.
The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Opco LLC Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex F.
Subscription Agreements
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on December 13, 2022, RONI entered into subscription agreements (the “2022 Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (the “2022 PIPE Investors”) and in April 2023, RONI entered into additional subscription agreements (the “2023 Subscription Agreements” and, together with the 2022 Subscription Agreements, the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (the “2023 PIPE Investors” and, together with the 2022 PIPE Investors, the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which, among other things, the PIPE Investors have agreed to subscribe for and purchase, and RONI has agreed to issue and sell to the PIPE Investors, an aggregate of 49,044,995 shares of Class A Common Stock following its Domestication for an aggregate purchase price of $490,449,950, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein (the “PIPE Financing”). Each Subscription Agreement contains customary representations and warranties of RONI, on the one hand, and the PIPE Investor, on the other hand, and customary conditions to closing, including the consummation of the Business Combination immediately following the consummation of the PIPE Financing.
The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the form of Subscription Agreement, which is attached hereto as Annex I.
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Organizational Structure
The following diagrams illustrate, in simplified terms, the current structure of RONI and NET Power prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.
Pre-Combination RONI
Pre-Combination NET Power
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The following three diagrams illustrate, in simplified terms, the structure of NET Power Inc. following the consummation of the Business Combination under each of the No Redemption, Illustrative Redemption and Maximum Redemption scenarios. Each diagram also assumes the following: (i) no exercise of any warrants that will remain outstanding after consummation of the Business Combination (for more information on the dilutive effect of warrant, please see “— Ownership of NET Power Inc.” below), (ii) Share Forfeitures by the Sponsor in the aggregate amount of 1,986,775 shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement and (iii) no issuance of NET Power shares pursuant to the Amended and Restated JDA after the date hereof.
Post-Combination — No Redemption Scenario
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Post-Combination — Illustrative Redemption Scenario
Post-Combination — Maximum Redemption Scenario
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Ownership of NET Power Inc.
The following table presents the share ownership of various holders of NET Power Inc. upon the closing of the Business Combination, does not give effect to the potential exercise of any warrants and otherwise assumes the following redemption scenarios:
No Redemption: This scenario assumes that no Class A Shares are redeemed from RONI’s public shareholders.
Illustrative Redemption: This scenario assumes that 50% or 16,745,000 Class A Shares held by RONI’s public shareholders (not including the 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO that they have agreed not to redeem) are redeemed. Other than the $5,000,001 net tangible asset requirement and the 15% threshold described above, RONI has no specified maximum redemption threshold under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. The Minimum Available Cash Condition is expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of Interim Company Financing).
Maximum Redemption: This scenario assumes 100% or 33,490,000 Class A Shares held by RONI’s public shareholders (not including the 1,010,000 Class A Shares purchased by certain members of the Rice family in connection with the RONI IPO that they have agreed not to redeem) are redeemed for an aggregate payment of approximately $334,900,000 plus interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to RONI to pay its taxes. Other than the $5,000,001 net tangible asset requirement, which is expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing, and the limitation on any group redeeming in excess of 15% of total outstanding shares described above, RONI has no specified maximum redemption threshold under its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. As noted above, the Minimum Available Cash Condition is still expected to be met with the proceeds of the PIPE Financing (including any portion provided in the form of Interim Company Financing).
Holders |
No |
% of |
Illustrative |
% of |
Maximum |
% of |
|||||||||||||||
Public Shareholders |
|
34,500,000 |
|
15.2 |
% |
|
17,755,000 |
|
8.4 |
% |
|
1,010,000 |
|
0.5 |
% |
||||||
Sponsor and Affiliates(1)(2) |
|
6,640,725 |
|
2.9 |
% |
|
6,640,725 |
|
3.2 |
% |
|
5,088,188 |
|
3.4 |
% |
||||||
Existing NET Power Holders |
|
137,192,563 |
|
60.3 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
65.1 |
% |
|
137,192,563 |
|
70.8 |