POLEW Andretti Acquisition Corporation II

NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Andretti Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted corporation on May 21, 2024. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). As of September 30, 2024, the Company had not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company had not, nor had anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to an initial Business Combination with the Company.

As of September 30, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activities for the period from May 21, 2024 (inception) through September 30, 2024 relate to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.

The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 5, 2024. On September 9, 2024, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), which included the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000, which is described in Note 3.

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of an aggregate of 760,000 private placement units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit, to the Company’s sponsor, Andretti Sponsor II LLC (the “Sponsor”), and BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”), the representative of the underwriters of the initial Public Offering, generating gross proceeds of $7,600,000, which is described in Note 4.

Transaction costs amounted to $15,014,904, consisting of $4,600,000 of cash underwriting fee, $9,775,000 of deferred underwriting fee (see additional discussion in Note 6), and $639,904 of other offering costs.

The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing an agreement to enter into a Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.

Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, on September 9, 2024, an amount of $231,150,000 ($10.05 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units and the sale of the Private Placement Units was placed in the trust account (the “Trust Account”), with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and will only be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations; the holding of these assets in this form is intended to be temporary and for the sole purpose of facilitating the intended business combination. To mitigate the risk that the Company might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk increases the longer that the Company holds investments in the Trust Account, the Company may, at any time (based on management team’s ongoing assessment of all factors related to the Company’s potential status under the Investment Company Act), instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash or in an interest bearing demand deposit account at a bank. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Units will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or by such earlier liquidation date as the Company’s board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s public shareholders.

NOTE 2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, on September 9, 2024, the Company sold 23,000,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, and one-half of one redeemable 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. Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

Warrants — As of September 30, 2024, there were 11,880,000 warrants outstanding, including 11,500,000 Public Warrants and 380,000 Private Placement Warrants. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, and will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and BTIG purchased an aggregate of 760,000 Private Placement Units at a price of $10.00 per Private Placement Unit in a private placement. Each Private Placement Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant (each, a “Private Placement Warrant”). Each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per shares, subject to adjustments.

The Private Placement Warrants contained in the Private Placement Units are identical to the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering except, the Private Placement Warrants (i) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) are entitled to registration rights and (iii) with respect to Private Placement Warrants held by BTIG and/or its designees, will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Rule 5110(g)(8). The Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares, and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial Business Combination if the Company determines it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares, and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares or private placement shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account; and (iv) vote any founder shares and private placement shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of the initial Business Combination.

NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On May 24, 2024, the Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, for which the Company issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, known as founders shares, to the Sponsor. Up to 750,000 of the founder shares may be surrendered by the Sponsor for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. On September 9, 2024, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full as part of the closing of the Initial Public Offering. As such, the 750,000 founder shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.

The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; (iii) the Company’s sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (B) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (C) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the completion window or (D) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (E) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares, public shares, or private placement shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the completion window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within such time period and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account and (F) vote any founder shares and private placement shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions, aside from shares they may purchase in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act, which would not be voted in favor of approving the Business Combination transaction) in favor of the initial Business Combination, (iv) the founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares in connection with the consummation of the initial Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein and in the Company amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and (v) prior to the closing of the initial Business Combination, only holders of the Class B ordinary shares are entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the Company’s constitutional documents or to adopt new constitutional documents, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands).

Promissory Note — Related Party

The Sponsor had agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $400,000, as amended on July 16, 2024, to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial Public Offering. The loan was non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2024 or the closing of the Initial Public Offering. The Company incurred and repaid the total of $312,130 outstanding balance under the note at the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 9, 2024. As of September 30, 2024, borrowings under the note are no longer available.

Administrative Services Agreement

The Company entered into an agreement, commencing on September 5, 2024, through the earlier of consummation of the initial Business Combination or the liquidation, to pay the Sponsor $2,500 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support services.

Additionally, the Company agreed to pay the Chief Executive Officer, $12,500 per month for his services commencing on September 5, 2024, through the earlier of consummation or the initial Business Combination or the liquidation.

For the three months ended September 30, 2024 and for the period from May 21, 2024 (inception) through September 30, 2024, the Company incurred and paid $10,000 in fees for these services.

NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES  

Risks and Uncertainties

The United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine and to Israel, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and its neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions and increased cyberattacks against U.S. companies. Additionally, any resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.

Any of the above mentioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict and subsequent sanctions or related actions, could adversely affect the Company’s search for an initial Business Combination and any target business with which the Company may ultimately consummate an initial Business Combination.

Registration Rights

The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Units (and their underlying securities) and Units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and their underlying securities), if any, and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Founder Shares and any Class A ordinary shares held by the initial shareholders at the completion of the Initial Public Offering or acquired prior to or in connection with the initial Business Combination, are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on September 5, 2024. These holders are entitled to make up to three demands and have piggyback registration rights. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters had a 45-day option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. On September 9, 2024, simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the underwriters elected to fully exercise the over-allotment option to purchase the additional 3,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit.

The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of 2.00% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $4,600,000 in the aggregate, paid on September 9, 2024, at the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 4.25% of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering, or $9,775,000 in the aggregate, payable upon the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 5,000,000 preference shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At September 30, 2024, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.

Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At September 30, 2024, there were 760,000 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, excluding 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption.

Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. On May 24, 2024, the Company issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares to the Sponsor for $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised by the underwriters in full. As of September 30, 2024, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.

The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares in connection with the consummation of the initial Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or any other equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in the Initial Public Offering and related to or in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of all Class A ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering (including any Class A ordinary shares issued pursuant to the underwriters’ over-allotment option and excluding the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Units and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor), plus (ii) all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued, in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the sponsor or any of its affiliates or to officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans) minus (iii) any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders in connection with an initial Business Combination; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.

Holders of record of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as required by the Companies Act or stock exchange rules, an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law and the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company is generally required to approve any matter voted on by the Company’s shareholders. Approval of certain actions requires a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which (except as specified below) requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting, and pursuant to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, such actions include amending the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, meaning, following the Company’s initial business combination, the holders of more than 50% of the ordinary shares voted for the appointment of directors can elect all of the directors. Prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, only holders of the Class B ordinary shares will (i) have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and (ii) be entitled to vote on continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents or to adopt new constitutional documents, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). Holders of the Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on these matters during such time. These provisions of the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended if approved by a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least 90% (or, where such amendment is proposed in respect of the consummation of the initial Business Combination, two-thirds) of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company.

NOTE 8. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

The following table presents information about the Company’s equity instruments that are measured at fair value on September 30, 2024, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:

The fair value of Public Warrants was determined using a Monte Carlo Simulation Model. The Public Warrants have been classified within shareholders’ deficit and will not require remeasurement after issuance. The following table presents the quantitative information regarding market assumptions used in the valuation of the Public Warrants:

NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS 

The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the condensed balance sheet date up to the date that the 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 unaudited condensed financial statements.