Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Business Combination Agreement
On June 23, 2023, Bannix Acquisition
Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Bannix”), EVIE Autonomous Group Ltd, a private company formed under the Laws of England
and Wales (the “Company”), and the shareholder of the Company (the “Company Shareholder”), entered
into a Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”), pursuant to which, subject to the satisfaction
or waiver of certain conditions precedent in the Business Combination Agreement, the following transactions will occur: the acquisition
by Bannix of all of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company from the Company Shareholder in exchange for the issuance
of eighty-five million new shares of common stock of Bannix, $0.01 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), pursuant
to which the Company will become a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Bannix (the “Share Acquisition”) and (b) the other
transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement and the Ancillary Documents referred to therein (collectively, the “Transactions”).
Unless otherwise indicated, capitalized
terms used but not defined in this Current Report on Form 8-K (this “Report”) have the respective meanings given to
them in the Business Combination Agreement. References herein to “Bannix” shall refer to Bannix Acquisition Corp. for all
periods prior to completion of the Share Acquisition. In consideration for the Share Acquisition, the Company Shareholder will receive
8 eighty-five million new shares of Common Stock.
Representations and Warranties
Under the Business Combination
Agreement, Bannix has made customary representations and warranties to the Company, and the Company Shareholder relating to, among other
things, organization and standing, due authorization and binding agreement, governmental approvals, non-contravention, capitalization,
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) filings, financial statements, internal controls, absence of certain
changes, compliance with laws, actions, orders and permits, taxes and returns, employees and employee benefit plans, properties, material
contracts, transactions with related persons, the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company
Act”), and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, finders’ and brokers’ fees, sanctions and certain business
practices, private placements, insurance, no misleading information supplied, the Trust Account, acknowledgement of no further representations
and warranties and receipt of a fairness opinion.
Under the Business Combination
Agreement, the Company has made customary representations and warranties (on behalf of itself and its subsidiaries) to Bannix relating
to, among other things, organization and standing, due authorization and binding agreement, capitalization, company subsidiaries, governmental
approvals, non-contravention, financial statements, absence of certain changes, compliance with laws, permits, litigation, material contracts,
intellectual property, taxes and returns, real property, personal property, employee matters, benefit plans, environmental matters, transactions
with related persons, insurance, material customers and suppliers, data protection and cybersecurity, sanctions and certain business practices,
the Investment Company Act, finders’ and brokers’ fees and no misleading information supplied.
Under the Business Combination
Agreement, each Company Shareholder has made customary representations and warranties (with respect to itself only) to Bannix relating
to, among other things, organization and standing, due authorization and binding agreement, share ownership, governmental approvals, non-contravention,
litigation, certain investment representations, finders’ and brokers’ fees and no misleading information supplied.
Covenants
The Business Combination Agreement includes customary covenants of the parties
including, among other things, (i) the conduct of their respective business operations prior to the consummation of the Transactions,
(ii) using commercially reasonable efforts to obtain relevant approvals and comply with all applicable listing requirements of The Nasdaq
Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) in connection with the Transactions and (iii) using commercially reasonable efforts to
consummate the Transactions and to comply as promptly as practicable with all requirements of governmental authorities applicable to the
Transactions. The Business Combination Agreement also contains additional covenants of the parties, including covenants providing for
Bannix and the Company to use commercially reasonable efforts to file, and to cooperate with each other to prepare the proxy statement
of Bannix.
Conditions to Closing
The respective obligations of
each party to consummate the Transactions, including the Share Acquisition, are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver (where
permissible), by the Company and Bannix of the following conditions:
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Bannix’s shareholders having approved and adopted the Shareholder Approval Matters; and |
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the absence of any law or governmental order, inquiry, proceeding or other action that would prohibit the Transactions. |
Conditions to the Obligations of the Company
and the Company Shareholder
The obligations of the Company
and the Company Shareholder to consummate the Transactions are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver (by the Company, where permissible)
of the following conditions:
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the representations and warranties of Bannix being true and correct as determined in accordance with the Business Combination Agreement; |
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Bannix having performed in all material respects all of its obligations and complied in all material respects with all of its agreements and covenants under the Business Combination Agreement to be performed or complied with by it on or prior to the Closing Date; |
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Bannix having delivered to the Company a certificate dated as of the Closing Date, signed by an officer of Bannix, certifying as to the satisfaction of certain conditions specified in the Business Combination Agreement; |
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no Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to Bannix that is continuing and uncured; |
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Bannix having made all necessary and appropriate arrangements with the trustee to have all of the funds held in the Trust Account disbursed to Bannix on the Closing Date, and all such funds released from the Trust Account be available to the surviving company; |
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Bannix having provided the public holders of Bannix shares of common stock with the opportunity to make redemption elections with respect to their Bannix shares of common stock pursuant to their Redemption Rights; |
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the Company Shareholder receiving confirmation from HM Revenue & Customs
that in respect of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement (i) no counteraction notice under section 698 Income Tax Act 2007 will
be given; and (ii) the provisions of section 137 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 do not apply with the result that the provisions
of section 135 of that Act would not be prevented from applying; and |
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the Ancillary Documents required to be executed by Bannix according to the Business Combination Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been executed and delivered to the Company. |
Conditions to the Obligations of Bannix
The obligations of Bannix to
consummate the Transactions are subject to the satisfaction, or written waiver (by Bannix where permissible) of the following conditions:
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the representations and warranties of the Company and the Company Shareholder being true and correct as determined in accordance with the Business Combination Agreement; |
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each of the Company and the Company Shareholder having performed in all material respects all of their respective obligations and complied in all material respects with all of their respective agreements and covenants under the Business Combination Agreement to be performed or complied with by them on or prior to the Closing Date; |
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the Company having delivered to Bannix a certificate dated as of the Closing Date, signed by the Company certifying as to the satisfaction of certain conditions specified in the Business Combination Agreement but in each case, solely with respect to themselves; |
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no Material Adverse Effect shall have occurred with respect to the Company that is continuing and uncured; and |
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the Ancillary Documents required to be executed by the Company and the Company Shareholder according to the Business Combination Agreement at or prior to the Closing Date shall have been executed and delivered to Bannix. |
Termination
The Business Combination Agreement
may be terminated and the Transactions may be abandoned at any time prior to the Closing Date, notwithstanding receipt of any requisite
approval and adoption of the Business Combination Agreement and the Transactions by the shareholders of Bannix or any party, as follows:
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by mutual written consent of Bannix and the Company; |
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by either Bannix or the Company if any of the closing conditions set forth in the Business Combination Agreement have not been satisfied or waived by December 31, 2023; provided, however, that the Business Combination Agreement may not be terminated under such provision of the Business Combination Agreement by or on behalf of any party that either directly or indirectly through its affiliates (or with respect to the Company, the Company Shareholder) is in breach or violation of any representation, warranty, covenant or obligation contained therein, with such breach or violation being the principal cause of the failure of a condition set forth in the Business Combination Agreement on or prior to the Outside Date; |
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by either Bannix or the Company if any governmental authority of competent jurisdiction will have issued an order or taken any other action permanently restraining, enjoining or otherwise prohibiting the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, and such order or other action has become final and non-appealable; provided, however, that the right to terminate the Business Combination Agreement pursuant to such section will not be available to a party if the failure by such party or its affiliates (or with respect to the Company, the Company Shareholder) to comply with any provision of the Business Combination Agreement was the principal cause of such order, action or prohibition; |
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by the Company upon a breach of any representation, warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of Bannix set forth in the Business Combination Agreement, or if any representation, warranty of Bannix becomes untrue or inaccurate, in each case such that the related closing conditions contained in the Business Combination Agreement are not satisfied, subject to customary exceptions and cure rights; |
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by Bannix upon a breach of any warranty, covenant or agreement on the part of the Company or the Company Shareholder set forth in the Business Combination Agreement, or if any warranty of such parties becomes untrue or inaccurate, in any case such that the related closing conditions contained in the Business Combination Agreement are not satisfied, subject to customary exceptions and cure rights; |
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by the Company if Bannix or the Bannix Securities are no longer listed on the NASDAQ or another national securities exchange; or |
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by either Bannix or the Company if the special meeting of shareholders is held and has concluded, Bannix shareholders have duly voted, and the Required Shareholder Approval is not obtained. |
The foregoing summary of the
Business Combination Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the entire text of the Business Combination Agreement, which
is attached as Exhibit 2.1 hereto, and the Ancillary Documents, the terms of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. The Business
Combination Agreement contains representations, warranties and covenants that the respective parties thereto made to each other as of
the date of the Business Combination Agreement or other specific dates. The assertions embodied in those representations, warranties and
covenants were made for purposes of the contract among the respective parties and are subject to important qualifications and limitations
agreed to by the parties in connection with negotiating such agreement. In particular, the assertions embodied in the representations
and warranties in the Business Combination Agreement were made as of a specified date, are modified or qualified by information in one
or more confidential disclosure letters prepared in connection with the execution and delivery of the Business Combination Agreement,
may be subject to a contractual standard of materiality different from what might be viewed as material to investors, or may have been
used for the purpose of allocating risk between the parties. Accordingly, the representations and warranties in the Business Combination
Agreement are not necessarily characterizations of the actual state of facts about Bannix, the Company Shareholder or the Company at the
time they were made or otherwise and should only be read in conjunction with the other information that Bannix makes publicly available
in reports, statements and other documents filed with the SEC.
Sponsor Support Agreement
Within thirty days after the
execution of the Business Combination Agreement, Bannix, Instant Fame LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (the “Bannix Sponsor”),
and the Company shall enter into the sponsor letter agreement (the “Sponsor Letter Agreement”), pursuant to which the
Bannix Sponsor will agree to, among other things, support and vote in favor of the Business Combination Agreement and use its reasonable
best efforts to take all other actions necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated thereby, on the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in the Sponsor Letter Agreement.