Quarterly Report (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021

OR

For the transition period from to

ESM Acquisition Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(713)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐

As of November , 2021, 30,694,067 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 7,673,516 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding, respectively.

				Page
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.		Condensed Financial Statements (Unaudited)
	Unaudited Condensed Balance Sheet as of September 30, 2021			3
	Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021			4
	Unaudited Condensed Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Deficit for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021			5
	Unaudited Condensed Statement of Cash Flows for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021			6
	Notes to Unaudited Condensed Financial Statements			7
Item 2.		Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			23
Item 3.		Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk			27
Item 4.		Controls and Procedures			27
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.		Legal Proceedings			29
Item 1A.		Risk Factors			29
Item 2.		Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities			31
Item 3.		Defaults Upon Senior Securities			31
Item 4.		Mine Safety Disclosures			31
Item 5.		Other Information			32
Item 6.		Exhibits			32

Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET

September 30, 2021

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

3

		For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021			For the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
General and administrative expenses		$	624,280			$	981,057
General and administrative expenses - related party			30,000				67,000
Loss from operations			(654,280	)			(1,048,057	)
Other income (expenses)
Change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities			5,596,697				9,512,278
Offering costs - derivative warrant liabilities			-				(735,150	)
Income from investments held in Trust Account			34,067				44,637
Net income		$	4,976,484			$	7,773,708
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares			30,694,067				23,753,496
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares		$	0.13			$	0.25
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares			7,673,516				7,607,035
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B ordinary shares		$	0.13			$	0.25

Table of Contents

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT

For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 and for the Period From January 13, 2021 (Inception) Through September 30, 2021

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the Period From January 13, 2021 (Inception) Through September 30, 2021

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed financial statements.

6

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1 - Description of Organization and Business Operations

ESM Acquisition Corporation (the "Company") was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on January 13, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the "Business Combination"). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company's formation and the initial public offering (the "Initial Public Offering") described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate income in the form of interest and other income on investments of the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering along with other income and expenses related to changes in the fair value of derivative warrant liabilities. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The Company's sponsor is ESM Sponsor, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the "Sponsor"). The registration statement for the Company's Initial Public Offering was declared effective on March 9, 2021. On March 12, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 units (the "Units" and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the "Public Shares"), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $17.1 million, of which $10.5 million was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 5). The Company granted the underwriter a option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 Units at the Initial Public Offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriter partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased an additional 694,067 Units on April 26, 2021, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.9 million, and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $0.4 of which $0.2 million was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 5) (the "Over-Allotment").

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement ("Private Placement") of 5,666,667 warrants (each, a "Private Placement Warrant" and collectively, the "Private Placement Warrants"), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $8.5 million (see Note 4). Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 92,542 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.1 million.

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Private Placement, and the Over-Allotment, $306.9 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account ("Trust Account"), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

The Company's management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the signing of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company will provide its holders (the "Public Shareholders") of the Public Shares, with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share). The amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares were classified as temporary equity in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 480, "Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity" ("ASC 480"). In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the "Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association"), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. Upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, the Company adopted an insider trading policy which requires insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material information and (ii) to clear all trades with the Company's legal counsel prior to execution. In addition, the initial shareholders agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a "group" (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Class A ordinary shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.

The Company's Sponsor, officers and directors (the "initial shareholders") agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association that would modify the substance or timing of the Company's obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or March 12, 2023 (the "Combination Period"), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders' rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company's obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period.

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Sponsor agreed to waive liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor or members of the Company's management team acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company's indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, except the independent registered public accounting firm, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

Liquidity

Prior to the completion of the Initial Public Offering, the Company lacked the liquidity it needed to sustain operations for a reasonable period or time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statement . The Company has since completed its Initial Public Offering at which time capital in excess of the funds deposited in the trust and/or used to fund offering expenses was released to the Company for general working capital purposes. Accordingly, management has since reevaluated the Company's liquidity and financial condition and determined that sufficient capital exists to sustain operations one year from the date these financial statements are issued and therefore substantial doubt has been alleviated.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues to evaluate the impact of the global pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company's financial position, results of its operations, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Note 2 - Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") for financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the balances and results for the periods presented. Operating results for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected through December 31, 2021.

9

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Restatement of Previously Reported Financial Statements

In preparation of the Company's unaudited condensed financial statements for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021, the Company concluded it should restate its previously issued financial statements to classify all Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in temporary equity. In accordance with the SEC and its staff's guidance on redeemable equity instruments in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require ordinary shares subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. The Company had previously classified a portion of its Class A ordinary shares in permanent equity. Although the Company did not specify a maximum redemption threshold, its charter provides that currently, the Company will not redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Previously, the Company did not consider redeemable shares classified as temporary equity as part of net tangible assets. Effective with these condensed financial statements, the Company revised this interpretation to include temporary equity in net tangible assets. As a result, the Company restated its previously filed financial statements to present all Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption as temporary equity and to recognize accretion from the initial book value to redemption value at the time of its Initial Public Offering and the Over-Allotment. The Company's previously filed financial statements that contained the error were reported in the Company's Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 18, 2021 (the "Post-IPO Balance Sheet") and the Company's Form 10-Qs for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2021, and June 30, 2021 (the "Affected Quarterly Periods").

The impact of the revision to the Post-IPO Balance Sheet is an increase to Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption of approximately $33.3 million, a decrease to additional paid-in capital of $5.5 million, an increase to the accumulated deficit of $27.8 million, and the reclassification of 3,333,048 Class A ordinary shares from permanent equity to Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.

The impact of the restatement on the financial statements for the Affected Quarterly Periods is presented below.

The table below presents the effect of the financial statement adjustments related to the restatement discussed above of the Company's previously reported balance sheet as of March 31, 2021:

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

Form 10-Q: For the Period from January 13, 2021 (Inception) Through March 31, 2021
		As Reported			Adjustment			As Restated
Cash Flow Used In Operating Activities		$	(471,139	)		$	-			$	(471,139	)
Cash Flows Used In Investing Activities		$	(300,000,000	)		$	-			$	(300,000,000	)
Cash Flows Provided By Financing Activities		$	1,603,039			$	-			$	1,603,039
Supplemental Disclosure of Noncash Financing Activities:
Offering costs included in accrued expenses		$	176,099			$	-			$	176,099
Offering costs paid by related party under promissory note		$	127,940			$	-			$	127,940
Reclassification of offering costs from liabilities to additional paid in capital		$	304,039			$	-			$	304,039
Prepaid expenses paid by related party under promissory note		$	26,800			$	-			$	26,800
Deferred underwriting commissions in connection with the initial public offering		$	10,500,000			$	-			$	10,500,000
Initial value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption		$	266,669,520			$	(266,669,520	)		$	-
Change in value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption		$	560,480			$	(560,480	)		$	-

As of June 30, 2021		As Reported			Adjustment			As Restated
Total assets		$	308,728,695							$	308,728,695
Total liabilities		$	27,114,747							$	27,114,747
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption			276,613,940				30,326,730				306,940,670
Preference shares			-				-				-
Class A ordinary shares			303				(303	)			-
Class B ordinary shares			767				-				767
Additional paid-in capital			2,201,714				(2,201,714	)			-
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)			2,797,224				(28,124,713	)			(25,327,489	)
Total shareholders' equity (deficit)		$	5,000,008			$	(30,326,730	)		$	(25,326,722	)
Total Liabilities, Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption and Shareholders' Equity (Deficit)		$	308,728,695			$	-			$	308,728,695

Form 10-Q: For the Period from January 13, 2021 (Inception) Through June 30, 2021
		As Reported			Adjustment			As Restated
Cash Flow Used In Operating Activities		$	(574,019	)		$	-			$	(574,019	)
Cash Flows Used In Investing Activities		$	(309,940,670	)		$	-			$	(309,940,670	)
Cash Flows Provided By Financing Activities		$	308,951,524			$	-			$	308,951,524
Supplemental Disclosure of Noncash Financing Activities:
Offering costs included in accrued expenses		$	112,775			$	-			$	112,775
Offering costs funded with note payable		$	127,940			$	-			$	127,940
Prepaid expenses paid by related party under promissory note		$	26,800			$	-			$	26,800
Deferred underwriting commissions in connection with the initial public offering		$	10,742,923			$	-			$	10,742,923
Initial value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption		$	286,392,250			$	(286,392,250	)		$	-
Change in value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption		$	(9,778,300	)		$	9,778,300			$	-

In connection with the change in presentation for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, the Company has revised its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares participate pro rata in the income and losses of the Company. The impact to the reported amounts of weighted average shares outstanding and basic and diluted earnings per common share is presented below for the Affected Quarterly Periods:

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an "emerging growth company," as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the "JOBS Act"), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company's financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company's management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage limit of $250,000. As of September 30, 2021, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021.

Investments Held in Trust Account

The Company's portfolio of investments is comprised of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities and generally have a readily determinable fair value, or a combination thereof. When the Company's investments held in the Trust Account are comprised of U.S. government securities, the investments are classified as trading securities. When the Company's investments held in the Trust Account are comprised of money market funds, the investments are recognized at fair value. Trading securities and investments in money market funds are presented on the condensed balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in income from investments held in Trust Account in the accompanying unaudited condensed statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of the Company's assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC Topic 820, "Fair Value Measurements" approximates the carrying amounts represented in the unaudited condensed balance sheet.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:

In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

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ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Derivative Warrant Liabilities

The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued share purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and FASB ASC Topic 815, "Derivatives and Hedging" ("ASC 815"). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is at the end of each reporting period.

Offering Costs Associated with the Initial Public Offering

Offering costs consisted of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the Initial Public Offering that were directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs were allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with derivative warrant liabilities were expensed as incurred and presented as expenses in the condensed statements of operations. Offering costs associated with the Class A ordinary shares were charged against the carrying value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Deferred underwriting commissions are classified as liabilities as their liquidation is not reasonably expected to require the use of current assets or require the creation of current liabilities.

Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company's control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares is classified as shareholders' equity. The Company's Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company's control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, 30,694,067 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders' deficit section of the Company's condensed balance sheet.

Effective with the closing of the Initial Public Offering (including the sale of shares in the Over-Allotment), the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.

Income Taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740, "Income Taxes," which prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021. The Company's management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company's only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

14

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company's tax provision was zero for the period presented.​​​​​​​

Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share

The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, "Earnings Per Share." The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period.

The calculation of diluted net income (loss) does not consider the effect of the warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering (including the consummation of the Over-allotment) and the private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 15,990,564 Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.

The following table reflects presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income (loss) per share for each class of ordinary share:

Recent Accounting Standards

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") ("ASU which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company early adopted ASU on January 13, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company's management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.

1

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 3 - Initial Public Offering

On March 12, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $17.1 million, of which $10.5 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. The Company granted the underwriter a option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 Units at the Initial Public Offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriter partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased an additional 694,067 Units on April 26, 2021, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.9 million and incurred additional offering costs of approximately $0.4 million, of which $0.2 million was for deferred underwriting commissions (see Note 5) (the "Over-Allotment").

Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, and of one redeemable warrant (each, a "Public Warrant"). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8).

Note 4 - Related Party Transactions

Founder Shares

On January 15, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain expenses of the Company in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the "Founder Shares"). The Sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 1,125,000 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters, so that the Founder Shares will represent 20% of the Company's issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, 951,484 Class B ordinary shares were forfeited. As of September 30, 2021, 7,673,516 Class B ordinary shares were outstanding with none subject to forfeiture.

The initial shareholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (ii) the date following the completion of the initial Business Combination on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, the Founder Shares will be released from the lockup.

Private Placement Warrants

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the Private Placement of 5,666,667 Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 92,542 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.1 million.

Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be except as described below in Note 8 and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.

The Sponsor and the Company's officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

1

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Related Party Loans

On January 15, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promiss ry note (the "Note"). The Note was bearing and payable on the earlier of January 31, 2022 or upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Company borrowed a total of $154,740 under the Note. On March 15, 2021, the Company fully repaid the Note.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company's officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required ("Working Capital Loans"). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lenders' discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of September 30, 2021, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.

Administrative Support Agreement

Commencing on the date that the Company's securities were first listed on NYSE, the Company agreed to pay affiliates of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial, administrative services and support services provided to members of the management team. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Company's liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees. For the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, the Company incurred expenses of $30,000 and $67,000 under this agreement, respectively, included as general and administrative expenses, related party in the unaudited condensed statement of operations.

Note 5 - Commitments and Contingencies

Registration and Shareholder Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) were entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on March 9, 2021. These holders were entitled to certain demand and "piggyback" registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provided that the Company would not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $6.0 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or $10.5 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Upon the partial exercise of the over-allotment in April 2021, the underwriters were paid $0.1 million in fees and an additional deferred underwriting commission of approximately $0.2 million.

1

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 6 - Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption

The Company's Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company's control and subject to the occurrence of future events. As of September 30, 2021, there were 30,694,067 Class A ordinary shares outstanding, which were all subject to possible redemption and are classified outside of permanent equity in the condensed balance sheet.

The Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption reflected on the condensed balance sheet is reconciled on the following table:

Note 7 - Shareholders' Deficit

-The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company's board of directors. As of September 30, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

-The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2021, there were 30,694,067 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, all of which are subject to possible redemption and classified as temporary equity (see Note 6).

-The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On January 15, 2021, the Company issued 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, of which up to 1,125,000 shares were subject to forfeiture to the Company by the Sponsor for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters' over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of the Company's issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Initial Public Offering and Over-Allotment. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, 951,484 Class B ordinary shares were forfeited. As of September 30, 2021, 7,673,516 Class B ordinary shares were issued and outstanding with none subject to forfeiture.

Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except as required by law.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the initial Business Combination on a basis, subject to adjustment for share share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by Public Shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any Class A

1

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of Working Capital Loans; that such conversion of Class B ordinary shares will never occur on a less than basis.

Note 8 - Derivative Warrant Liabilities

As of September 30, 2021, the Company had 10,231,355 Public Warrants and the 5,759,209 Private Placement Warrants outstanding.

Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days, after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, the Company will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company's Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a "covered security" under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a "cashless basis" in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but the Company will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.

The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the initial shareholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the "Newly Issued Price"), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the "Market Value") is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under "Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00" and "Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00" will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described under "Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00" will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable, or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, except as described below, the Private Placement Warrants will be so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or such purchasers' permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the Initial Shareholders or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

1

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00:

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, it may exercise its redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00:

Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:

The "fair market value" of Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment).

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company's assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

The Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815 (specifically, the instruments are not deemed to be indexed to the Company's own stock and the warrant agreement includes tender offer provisions that do not provide cash to all shareholders). Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the carrying value of the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company's condensed statements of operations. The Public Warrants issued in connection with the Public Offering were measured at fair value using a Monte Carlo simulation model until observable prices in an active market for such warrants were available. The Public and Private Placement Warrants are valued using the publicly traded price of such warrants.

20

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 9 - Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents information about the Company's assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques that the Company utilized to determine such fair value.

Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2, and 3 are recognized at the beginning of the reporting period. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants was transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 measurement in April 2021, when the Public Warrants were separately listed and traded in an active market. The estimated fair value of the Private Placement Warrants was transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 2 measurement in April 2021, as the key inputs to the valuation model became directly or indirectly observable from the Public Warrants listed price.

The initial estimated fair value of the Public Warrants was measured using a Monte Carlo simulation. The initial and subsequent fair value estimates of the Private Placement Warrants is measured using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. Beginning in April 2021, the estimated fair value of the Public Warrants is based on the listed price in an active market for such warrants.

For the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, the Company recognized a gain resulting from changes in the fair value of derivative warrant liabilities of approximately $5.6 million and $9.5 million, respectively, which is presented in the accompanying condensed statements of operations.

Inherent in a Monte-Carlo simulation and a Black-Scholes model are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimates the volatility of its ordinary shares based on historical volatility of select peer companies that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates remaining at zero.

21

ESM ACQUISITION CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements inputs at their measurement dates:

The change in the fair value of the derivative warrant liabilities, measured using Level 3 inputs, for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 is summarized as follows:

Note 10 - Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date these unaudited condensed financial statements were issued. Based upon this review the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the condensed financial statements.

22

References to the "Company," "ESM Acquisition Corporation," "ESM," "our," "us" or "we" refer to ESM Acquisition Corporation. The following discussion and analysis of the Company's financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the unaudited interim condensed financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This report includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Form including, without limitation, statements in this "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and variations thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance, but reflect management's current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of the Company's final prospectus for its Initial Public Offering filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021. The Company's securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Overview

We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on January 13, 2021. We were formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the "Business Combination"). We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.

Our sponsor is ESM Sponsor, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the "Sponsor"). The registration statement for our Initial Public Offering was declared effective on March 9, 2021. On March 12, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 30,000,000 units (the "Units" and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the "Public Shares"), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $300.0 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $17.1 million, of which $10.5 million was for deferred underwriting commissions. We granted the underwriter a option to purchase up to an additional 4,500,000 Units at the Initial Public Offering price to cover over-allotments, if any. The underwriter partially exercised the over-allotment option and purchased an additional 694,067 Units on April 26, 2021, generating gross proceeds of approximately $6.9 million, and incurring additional offering costs of approximately $0.4 million of which $0.2 million was for deferred underwriting commissions (the "Over-allotment").

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement ("Private Placement") of 5,666,667 warrants (each, a "Private Placement Warrant" and collectively, the "Private Placement Warrants"), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, the Company consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 92,542 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.1 million.

23

Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Private Placement and the Over-Allotment, $306.9 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account ("Trust Account"), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by us meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.

Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that we will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. We must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the signing of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, we will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or March 12, 2023 (the "Combination Period"), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds in the Trust Account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders' rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2021, we had approximately $1.3 million in our operating bank account and working capital of approximately $0.9 million.

Prior to the completion of the Initial Public Offering, we lacked the liquidity we needed to sustain operations for a reasonable period or time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. We have since completed our Initial Public Offering at which time capital in excess of the funds deposited in the trust and/or used to fund offering expenses was released to us for general working capital purposes. Accordingly, management has since reevaluated our liquidity and financial condition and determined that sufficient capital exists to sustain operations one year from the date these financial statements are issued and therefore substantial doubt has been alleviated.

Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity from our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor, although our Sponsor has no obligation to provide such funds, or certain of our officers and directors to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.

Management continues to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on our financial position, results of our operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

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Results of Operations

Our entire activity since inception up to September 30, 2021 related to our formation, the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. We will not be generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest.

For the three months ended September 30, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $5.0 million, which consisted of a noncash gain of approximately $5.6 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities and income from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $34,000, partially offset by approximately $654,000 of general and administrative expenses, including $30,000 of general and administrative expenses to related parties.

For the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $7.8 million, which consisted of a noncash gain of approximately $9.5 million resulting from changes in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities and income from investments held in the Trust Account of approximately $45,000, partially offset by approximately $1.0 million of general and administrative expenses, including $67,000 of general and administrative expenses to related parties.

Contractual Obligations

Registration Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans) were entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on March 9, 2021. These holders were entitled to certain demand and "piggyback" registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provided that we would not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable period for the securities to be registered. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $6.1 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and partial exercise of the over-allotment option. In addition, $0.35 per unit, or $10.7 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Risks and Uncertainties

Management continues to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company's financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statement. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

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Critical Accounting Policies

Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption

We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 480, "Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity" ("ASC 480"). Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company's control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares is classified as shareholders' equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, 30,694,067 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders' deficit section of our condensed balance sheet.

Effective with the closing of the Initial Public Offering (including the Over-allotment), we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which resulted in charges against additional capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit.

Net income (loss) per ordinary share

We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, "Earnings Per Share." We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period.

The calculation of diluted net income (loss) does not consider the effect of the warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering (including the consummation of the Over-allotment) and the private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 15,990,564 Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from January 13, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.

Derivative Warrant Liabilities

We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and FASB ASC Topic 815, "Derivatives and Hedging" ("ASC 815"). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is at the end of each reporting period.

The 10,231,355 warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (the "Public Warrants") and the 5,759,209 Private Placement Warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the carrying values of the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the condensed statements of operations. The initial estimated fair value of the Public Warrants was measured using a Monte Carlo simulation. The initial and subsequent fair value estimates of the Private Placement Warrants is measured using a Black-Scholes option pricing model. Beginning in April 2021, the estimated fair value of the Public Warrants is based on the listed price in an active market for such warrants.

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Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") ("ASU which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company early adopted ASU on January 13, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company's management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.

Sheet Arrangements

As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation

JOBS Act

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the "JOBS Act") contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an "emerging growth company" and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for growth companies. As a result, the financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an "emerging growth company," we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor's attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor's report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO's compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our Initial Public Offering or until we are no longer an "emerging growth company," whichever is earlier.

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of September 30, 2021, because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company's annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, the Company's management has concluded that our control around the interpretation and accounting for certain complex features of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants issued by the Company was not effectively designed or maintained. This material weakness resulted in the restatement of the Company's balance sheet as of March 12, 2021 and its interim financial statements for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Additionally, this material weakness could result in a misstatement of the warrant liability, Class A ordinary shares and related accounts and disclosures that would result in a material misstatement of the financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

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Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021 covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting except for the below:

The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for certain complex features of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants. The Company's management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.

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PART INFORMATION

None.

Except as described below, as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our final prospectus filed with the SEC on March 10, 2021 (the "Prospectus"). We may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC. Additional risk factors not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business or results of operations.

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Based on such we determined to account for 15,990,564 warrants (the 10,231,355 public warrants included in the units and the 5,759,209 private placement warrants purchased by our sponsor) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we each of the warrants as a liability at its fair value as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third party valuation firm. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a blank check company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the private placement ("Private Placement") of 5,666,667 warrants (each, a "Private Placement Warrant" and collectively, the "Private Placement Warrants"), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant with the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $8.5 million. Simultaneously with the closing of the Over-Allotment on April 26, 2021, we consummated the second closing of the Private Placement, resulting in the purchase of an aggregate of an additional 92,542 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $0.1 million.

In connection with the Initial Public Offering, our Sponsor had agreed to loan us an aggregate of up to $300,000 pursuant to the Note. This loan was bearing and payable on the earlier of January 31, 2022 or upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. As of September 30, 2021, the loan balance was $0.

Of the gross proceeds received from the Initial Public Offering and the partial exercise of the option to purchase additional Shares, approximately $306.9 million was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the Private Placement are invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less and in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.

To date, we paid a total of approximately $6.1 million in underwriting discounts and commissions related to the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $10.7 million in underwriting discounts and commissions.

None.

Not applicable.

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None.

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

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